Essay

She grew up in the generation that was told not to disobey the ‘White Man’ in order to survive. She asks, “Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them…with my head fumed in whichever way is farthest from them” (p. 6). Mama can’t fathom the thought of standing up to someone of the opposite race because she is scared of what could happen to her. Dee, on the other hand, is part of the generation that is tired of assimilation, tired of being forced to blend in with a white society.

“I got up and pretended to study the pictures on the walls like I was a lover of religious art. When I got to the Merciful Mother right above Sinita’s head, I reached in my pocket and pulled out the bottom I’d found on the train. It was sparkly like a diamond and had a little hole in back so you could thread a ribbon through it and wear it like a romantic lady’s choker necklace. It wasn’t something I’d do, but I could see the button would make a good trade with someone inclined in that direction.

In the story Everyday Use, Dee otherwise known as Wangero, is the rebellious character just as Jing-Mei was in Two Kinds. These stories show relation because the two kinds of daughters Jing-Mei’s mother describes in Two Kinds are evident in Everyday Use. Maggie would be the obedient daughter explained while Dee would be the one who chose to follow her own mind. Though both stories represent different cultures, the both embody the importance of customs and tradition.

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is a story of a black family composed of a mother and her two daughters: Maggie and Dee. Walker does an excellent job illustrating her characters. There are all types of characters in this short story from round to static. Dee is a flat character, yet Walker uses Dee’s character to warn people of what might happen if they do not live properly. Walker describes Dee’s character as arrogant and selfish, and through Dee’s character one is allowed to perceive the wicked effect of an egotistical world.

List and describe the four force multipliers. How do terrorists us force multipliers? Give examples for each force multipliers.

Alice Walker crafts the character of Dee Johnson in the short story “Everyday Use” in a clever way. Starting from the first paragraph, Walker creates an image of Dee, who at first seems very shallow. Dee then becomes a more complex character as the story progresses. Blessed with both brains and beauty, Dee emerges as someone who is still struggling with her identity and heritage.

Dee’s selfishness is also portrayed by her cultured verbal skills. Dee can talk her way through anything. Dee often manipulates others with her verbal skills. This is shown when she reads to her mother and sister “without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice” (Walker 289). This statement further demonstrates the fact that Dee’s family feels inferior to her. Mama describes the situation as if Dee has some kind of power over her family because she is scholarly and her family is not. Dee uses her education to make Mama and Maggie feel less important without, necessarily meaning to.

Dee on the other hand, represents more of a modern, complex, materialistic way of life. She moves to the city to become educated. She is ashamed of where she comes from. In a letter mama receives, Dee writes “no matter where we ‘choose’ to live, she will manage to come see us” (Walker 281). Furthermore, when she comes home to visit she tells mama that she has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo because “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me” (Walker 282).

Often in literature character relationships change and evolve. In “Everyday Use,” the author, Alice Walker, introduces Mama and her daughter Dee as having two completely different attributes. While Mama is caring and hardworking, Dee is selfish and believes she is entitled to everything. This leads to Mama having enough of Dee’s emotional bludgeoning and cause a shift of Mama’s feelings toward her daughter. After a careful analysis of the story, the reader understands how Mama’s feelings toward her daughter Dee have changed, why her feelings changed, and how this change affects the story as a whole.

The African heritage plays a major role in the story, “Everyday Use”. Alice Walker emphasizes the meaning of heritage by having Dee come visit her family and contradicting her heritage. As Dee go off to college, she meets new people and finds her a boyfriend, Asalamalakim. Alice Walker adds attention onto Dee’s new name, Wangero, because Dee changes her name, not understanding the true root of her original name. “No, mama,’ she says. ‘Not Dee, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’ ‘What happened to ‘Dee’?’ I wanted to know. ‘She’s dead…” (160). However, Dee truly believes that her heritage lies way back to Africa. The African clothes and name gives an understanding that Dee thinks that she is from Africa and that is where her heritage originally lies. In addition, Mama and Dee have different point of views on what heritage truly is. Mama tells Wangero (Dee) that her name comes from a line of ancestors, yet Wangero believes that her new name has more roots in it. “You know as well as me you were named after your aunt Dicie,’ I said. Dicie is my sister. She named Dee. We

Alice Walker skillfully crafts the character of Dee Johnson in the short story "Everyday Use." From the first paragraph, Walker begins to weave the portrait of Dee, who at first seems shallow in many aspects. Dee becomes a more complex character, however, as the story unfolds. Blessed with both brains and good looks, Dee emerges as someone who is still struggling with her identity and heritage.

Bonnie Green, Chief Estimator, agreed that in a normal year only slight delays might develop due to a shortage of labor. However, she pointed out that for such a large project, the company would have to use unionized employees and that the construction industry labor agreements with New York City were to expire on October 30, 2004. Past experience and current construction activity in the surrounding area indicated that any union tradesman would support a strike against the city. Since this is a public project, she estimates that there is a 50% chance that they would strike this project to gain the attention of the national media.

Dee?s character in the story is a direct relation to any number of people in society that do not know or are confused about their heritage. She is struggling to create an identity for herself, and is confused as to what it encompasses. She grasps at African tradition and culture, yet fails to acknowledge her own African American culture. This happened all over America, particularly in the North, in the 1960?s, following the civil rights movement. Dee is misconstruing her heritage as material goods, as opposed to her ancestor?s habits and way of life. This may be due in part to her leaving her hometown and becoming an educated, sophisticated young woman. Dee?s direct heritage is that of African Americans.

Dee is clearly distancing herself from her mother and sister. She goes so far as to change her name from Dee to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, saying, "I couldn't bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me." Yet, she wants the quilts that are made by the very people that she despises. Mama is uneducated but not so ignorant as to realize Dee's unrooted, superficial motivation to have the quilts. "For her, heritage is something to be displayed on the coffee table and on the wall." Dee blatantly disrespects her mother's authority and free will.

As a result of her lack of knowing what heritage really is, she thinks that the quilts will bring her closer to her culture. Dee’s absence of knowledge of what heritage actually is heritage and her selfishness is shown through her actions and interactions.