Who Is Dee In Everyday Use

Maggie and Dee are extremely different people, but they share some qualities like all sisters do. One similar trait is they are both from the same family and experienced some similar events in childhood. Both children had to experience the fire that burnt down their old house (49). Another example of their similarities is that they are both in a relationship with a man. Dee is with the person that may or may not be her husband Hakim-a-Barber and Maggie has the man she is courting, John Thomas. They both are going through the ups and downs of a relationship. Lastly, they both want the quilts that Mama has. Dee wants to take them back to

     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.

During Dee?s visit with her family, she asks for the two quilts, and her mother refuses. The mother had offered them to Dee before she went to college and she did not want them. Back then, Dee had called the quilts "old-fashioned, out of style" (Walker 1154). This shows that Dee was not interested in the quilts until they were considered fashionable, trendy, and "in style." This also shows that Dee is a "stylish" person who is trying

     In this story, Dee is completely unappreciative. One can get the feeling that the mother in the story had worked long and hard rearing her daughters, and has even gotten Dee into college somehow. Dee returns with her college education and new personality trying to preach to her mother and sister about what they are doing wrong. Plenty of times Dee spoke down to her mother and little sister, Maggie.

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 is a controlling person who always wanted everything to herself only and don't want anybody to take something more than her. And that appeared when mama said that the quilts which were handmade by their grandma Dee, that she would give it to Maggie, Dee was very angry for that and she wanted to take the quilts herself not because she wanted, just because she don't like anybody to take something more than her and wants everything for herself only. Dee was well educated and didn't liked her mother's and sister's way of living so she traveled and when

As the story advances however, Dee does get more complex and is demonstrated to be battling with her own particular personality and heritage. Concrete subtle elements are expressed about Dee that lead you to know she is beautiful, smart and certain. Dee is described as thin with a little waste. She is a light cleaned dark individuals with a decent review hair. She is also well educated. Dee is fashion conscience, continually needing more pleasant things that were not affordable to her family. First and foremost of the story, Dee’s mother and sister, Maggie are is getting ready for Dee’s entry for a visit. Here is the place you get the first flash of Dee’s obvious identity. Maggie is portrayed by her mother as being apprehensive until after Dee goes when Dee hasn’t arrived yet. This persuades that maybe Maggie is threatened by Dee and maybe feels inferior compared to Dee. Dee’s mother discuss dreaming a fantasy about being welcomed by Dee with a grasp and tears in her eyes. All things considered Dee’s mother and sister don’t appear to feel just as they truly measures up to what Dee expects or needs them will be Dee’s mother never had much of an education and Dee’s mother raised enough cash to send Dee off to school. Maggie is specified as having poor sight and not being brilliant. Dee the again is smart.

Dee’s selfishness is on display not long after she arrives with her husband, Hakim-a-barber. The family sits down for a meal when Dee remembers that there is something she wants from the house. She has her eye on the

The behavior of overlooking her sister's, Maggie, and Mama's feelings since her childhood to the present indicates Dee's character as a person who disregards others. Mama ponders that while the house where they used to live burned to the ground; Maggie was burning, her "hair smoking and dress falling off her in little black papery flakes." Although she saw that Maggie needed her sister's aid, Dee stood "off under the sweet gum tree" at a distance (87). Walker reveals that Mama still finds Dee carrying her self-centeredness when she excludes herself from the pictures and "never [took] a shot without making sure the house is included" (89). Dee wants to capture the signs of poverty from her past so that she can show how much success she has gained in spite of being poor to her friends. Dee is so egotistical that she declares her sister is "backward enough to put [the quilts] to everyday use" (91) whereas she considers herself smart and would appreciate the quilts by hanging them. Her coldness and lack of concern make

She shows that you can value things like the quilts in different ways. Maggie and Dee are very different characters. Each one has characteristics in areas that the other doesn’t. The two sisters did not share a bond throughout any part of their life. In fact they did not even say anything to each other until Dee was leaving. There is a constant communication barrier that is put in front of the two of them. Dee intimidates Maggie with her fierce ways of getting her point across. Maggie being the shyer of the two does not have a whole lot to say in order to defend her. She depends on her mom to fight her battles. Throughout this whole piece, Walker uses contrasting characters to highlight

From all of the vivid descriptions used to describe Dee and Maggie, it is obvious that Maggie and Mama's perspective of heritage is more respectable than that of Dee's, because of the way that Dee acts as though she is ashamed of it. It is ironic that Dee wants the family quilts so badly, when in many ways she tries to disown her family in attempts to lose her heritage. Washington argues that Dee is a character who "is awakened to life by a powerful political force... and puts up a consequent effort to reintegrate themselves into their culture to rediscover its value"; which explains her actions when she comes back for her family items only when it seems fashionable to display them (23). Maggie and Mama both know that a true appreciation of one's heritage comes from learning their family history and about personal experiences. Dee fails

The majority of the short story is focused on Dee and how she neglects her family and shows little compassion or thought to Maggie and Mama’s household and their possessions. Walker emphasizes Dee’s lack of family value when she attempts to take the quilts originally planned for Maggie with Dee saying “’Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!’ she said. ‘She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use!”’ (320). Dee puts her self-worth above her family and has misguided thoughts about her upbringing.

Dee seems to be so interested in all of the little household items that her family still uses. When she sees the top to the butter churn that her Uncle whittled out of a tree, she wants to keep it and use it a centerpiece for her alcove table. Also, Dee says, "I'll think of something artistic to do with the dasher" (412). These items are a part of life for Maggie and her mother, but to Dee they are merely pieces for decoration.

Dee is the afro-centric, ego- centric and eccentric pseudo-intellect. She values her culture in a more materialistic aspect. She respects the artifacts of her history rather than the usefulness. Dee’s earthly-mindedness sets the stage for conflict throughout the entire story, from her arrival until the central conflict when there is a battle amongst the other two main characters Mama and Maggie, about who is truly entitled to the hand-stitched quilts. The quilts were works of art that have been passed down throughout

After the mother saw Maggie offering Dee to have quilts, she was proud of Maggie and gave her their grandmother’s quilt instead of Dee. Later the mother told Dee to take one of the other quilts. Dee left telling her mother she did not understand her own heritage. Dee also told Maggie, she needed to try and improve herself. Even though the Maggie was angry when she heard sister asking for the quilts, she wanted her sister have the quilts to show her sister was more important to her than the quilts were. Nevertheless, Dee left with one of the other