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Dee changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo in an attempt to embrace her African roots and redefine her identity. She argues that “Dee” is a white woman’s name, and she could no longer stand having a name associated with oppression.
- “Everyday Use” Summary
- “Everyday Use” Theme Analysis: Heritage and Identity
- Other Themes in “Everyday Use”
- Irony in “Everyday Use”
Mama Johnson tells us she’s expecting a visit from her daughter Dee. Her other daughter, Maggie, still lives at home with her. Mama plans to wait in the freshly cleaned front yard. Maggie will be nervous and self-conscious during the visit because of her burn scars and Dee’s advantages. Mama sometimes dreams of being on one of those TV show where s...
The crux of “Everyday Use” is a consideration of heritage and the broader issue of identity. Dee’s attitude toward her heritage undergoes the most obvious change, but it’s only a superficial one. As a young person, she’s not happy with where she’s from. Dee hated the old house that burned down. Her distance from it was mirrored by her standing away...
Changecould be considered as an “Everyday Use” theme: 1. Dee has changed her educational level, where she lives, and her name and hair style to emphasize her African heritage. 2. Mama is facing a significant change as Maggie is soon to married, so she’ll be living by herself. 3. Maggie’s life will change when she marries. She also experienced a cha...
Some examples of irony include: 1. It was Dee’s mother and church (parts of the heritage she rejects) that allowed her to go to school in Augusta, setting her up to leave it behind completely. 2. When Dee connects with her African roots, she ignores her family roots. 3. Dee wants to display objects from her grandparents but disdains their legacy.
For Dee, easy eye contact and intense gazes show her critical, condescending nature. For Maggie, her downward, shy, even scared gaze reveals how small she feels or how inferior she is to Dee. This difference shows how opposing these two characters really are.
Dee wants the quilts so she can hang them up in her home and remember her heritage.
When Mama gives Maggie the quilts instead of Dee, she breaks the unusual family dynamic, in which Mama and Maggie sacrifice so that Dee can have what she wants—in her own way, Mama is finally “looking someone in the eye” and standing up for herself in this moment.
Jul 3, 2024 · Summary: Dee's character in "Everyday Use" is portrayed as superficial and materialistic. She values heritage as a means of self-expression rather than a lived experience,...
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Dee, a young, well-educated, and self-confident African-American woman, is Mama ’s daughter and Maggie ’s sister. The story centers around Dee’s visit with her family at her childhood home in the Deep South. As a child, Dee was angry, bitter, and resentful towards her family and their poverty.
