Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo's Character In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Dee really doesn't understand her family past, but still, wants to keep them. In the poem, Dee changes her name to Wangero and never knew that she was named after her aunt.This tells you that Dee didn't really care about her family heritage and doesn't know a lot about her heritage.

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.

     Dee believes she is more cultured than her family. She may have more knowledge about different cultures and religions that she learned in school, but she does not know as much about the family heritage as she thinks she does. For example, when Dee changes her name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo” she destroys important links to her heritage that she will never understand. Her mother tries to explain to her that her name is significant because it belonged to particular beloved ones. However, Dee seems to reject the names of her ancestors, yet she is eager to seize their handmade goods. When Dee realizes she is not going obtain possession of the quilts, she storms out of the house without saying a word. It is apparent that the only reason for her visit is to get the family heirlooms, not to see the house, her mother, or Maggie.

Dee is a flat character, who is described as arrogant and selfish. Through the eyes of Dee, one can see her egotistical nature. Dee is portrayed as a light-skinned black person who feels as though she is better than everyone else because her waist is small, her skin is light, she has a nice grade of hair, and she is somewhat educated. Although she may be

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).

Dee's inability to accept who she is can be seen as a weakness. Dee has turned her back on a part of her past by taking the Muslim name of "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (412). Her reason for changing her name was because she "couldn't bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me" (412). Her mother sees the action of the name change as Dee turning her back on her immediate blood relatives. Dee's insecurity concerning her past becomes evident, and her mother sees it as a denial of where she came from. It is as though she would rather claim the name of an unknown slave to that of her aunt and grandmother. Her biggest fear seems to be that by not declaring her heritage, she might someday have to return to the simple life of her mother and sister. Dee uses the

Mama said” I never had an education myself” (745) but Dee went off to college. This demonstrates how times were different and now Wangero does not want to be held back by old times. Also, because she is independent and intellectual and doesn’t want to be embarrassed by her family. To emphasize, Maggie character shows her being described as “lame animal perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car.” (744) This shows how Maggie isn’t educated with having any potential. Also, Maggie is an introvert and does not like to talk except to Mama. Wangero insults her sister by “Maggie brain is like an elephant” (747) which is saying she stupid. Then Wangero brings up the quilts and talks with Mama and Mama said “I promised to give them to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” (748) Dee states ““Maggie cannot appreciate these quilts” (748) “She probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use”” (748). This represents again how Maggie is viewed as not bright person to not be able to have the

Second, there were some cultural differences, Maggie and Mama lived in a house located in a pasture with animals, and you could tell through Mama's description of Dee that she was more modernized probably a city Girl. When Dee/Wangero came to visit she wore a bright dress with loud colors, bangles and gold earrings. Mama said Dee's dress had so many yellows and oranges it was enough to throw back the sun (109). Maggie wore a pink skirt and red blouse that enveloped her body (107). Dee was an educated woman having graduated from High School. Mama on the other hand never made it past the second grade because the school she attended was closed down in 1927. Mama said that, "Colored asked fewer questions than they do now" referring to why the school closed (109). Circumstances such as age, education, and living arrangements dictated their

Wangero only thinks about herself all the time, now that she has come back she wants everything her mother and sister have. “Out she pecks next with a polaroid.” Wangero thought everything was so “cute and old.” She had to make it known she wasn’t the same person as before. Now she’s more selfish then she has ever been. Dee is a determined individual that makes her best effort to get what she wants. What Dee wants is her reality not the real reality. She wants everything to be different she wants it all her

Dee shows that she does not value heritage by changing her name to Wangero. She adopts an African name "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" and rejects her identity. She tells her mother that the name Dee is dead and that she "couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me". When Dee does speak of her changed name, "it's as if there is not even a tombstone to make the presence of her absence and it is as if her return seems less a return, she appears a curious visitor who has momentarily stopped off a road which began and ends elsewhere". Through heritage, her name was chosen after her aunt and Grandma Dee.

In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker presents an everyday average family which involves a single mother with two daughters, one who seems to have life handed to her, and the other who is shy and lacks confidence in herself due to a family tragedy. Alice Walker gives some interesting stories behind each of her main characters: Mrs. Johnson, Dee (Wangero), Maggie, and Hakim Akbar (Asalamalakim). Among the characters in the story, Mrs. Johnson stands out because she loves her daughters equally, she accepts them both, and she overcomes her conflict with Dee.

First, Dee’s personality can be described as arrogant, irritable, and jealous. Although away from her family, she is pursuing a greater education and a strong sense of self. Dee was spoiled as a child, and she never gets told no. She is rarely concerned with anyone’s needs other than herself. While eating dinner, Dee states “I knew there was something I wanted to ask you if I could have.” She insists that she takes the churn top and the dasher. After

When Dee comes back to visit her family she makes herself an outcast. Dee greets her family with a language that they are not familiar with. She wants things from her “past” life to decorate her house with. Dee distances herself further by changing her name. Dee believes that her name is a way of tying her self to the “people who oppress” her (2440) instead of thinking about her family’s history with that name. She claims that Dee is dead and her new name was Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Dee’s beliefs are also shallow. Her and her boyfriend Hakim-a-barber are supposed to be Muslim but when mama makes food with pork she gobbles it down.

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use” she creates a conflict between characters. Walker describes a family as they anxiously await the arrival of, Dee, the older sister of the family. When Dee (Wangero) comes home to visit Mrs. Johnson and Maggie, right away the readers see the differences in the family by how they talk, act, and dress. Dee has changed her name to an "African" name and is collecting the objects and materials of her past. Dee thinks that since she is in college she knows mores then the rest of her uneducated family. She is more educated and looks down on the simple life of her mother and sister. When Dee asks for a beautiful family heirloom quilt to hang on her wall, Mrs. Johnson finally denies her of this task. Mrs. Johnson finally sees that Dee does not want the quilt for the same purpose as Maggie does. Instead, Mrs. Johnson will give Maggie the quilt to keep her and her husband warm. The theme of the importance of heritage becomes clear at this point of the story. This theme is shown by Walker's use of conflict, irony, and symbolism. All throughout her short story she incorporates heritage. She describes it as a background feeling between family members, and African heritage to heirlooms that have been in the family line for generations. Dee the older sister takes her heritage for granted by only wanting her heirlooms for her educational purposes.

Furthermore, identity is a key point for every character in the story. At one point, each of them are comfortable with who they are. Dee action towards her family as rude, individualist and isolate creates a tension of between her and Maggie. Though, Maggie’s personality is shy and need of her older sister approval shows she lack confidence, but that’s who she is. Maggie’s lack of self-esteem is what Dee hates the most about her sister. Dee loathe Maggie idea to stay content than to changes her roots. When Dee dehumanize her heritage and old identity to transform herself to “Wangero” she erase any humanity of her past self. Supporting, Shoomp Editors, states ‘’Dee probably thinking, there was an enslaved person name’’ (Shmoop Editorial Team).