Dynamic Characters in "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

When reading Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use, one is rushed with a variety of emotions. It is hard to distinguish these emotions because each character exudes traits that are not comparable to the other. Furthermore Mama tells the story, and the reader is only aware of her true feelings. Although the Alice Walker’s story is told in first person, it still allows the readers to develop their own opinion of the characters. “Everyday Use” contains messages varying from the significance of family, to the importance of understanding and appreciating culture; however the underlying theme of “Everyday Use” revolves around the harmfulness of superficiality. From the first line of the story, it is evident that Mama’s feelings towards Dee are unlike that of most parents waiting for their child to visit home. “Everyday Use” begins with Maggie, and Mama, the narrator anticipating her eldest daughters arrival. As opposed to leaving the house and yard “as is”, Mama and Maggie made the yard “so clean and wavy” (Walker 69) the previous day in preparation for the beloved Dee. Consequently, this odd preparation causes the reader to believe Dee is treated as a guest in her own house. Preparing for her arrival in such fashion only proves that Mama has placed Dee on a pedestal, extremely too high. “Houston Baker points out “The mood at the story’s beginning is one of ritualistic waiting,” of preparation “for the arrival of a goddess” (Farrell 1) Moreover, Mama’s description of Dee is comparable to that of an angel, “Her feet were always neat-looking, as if God himself had shaped them with a certain style.” (Walker 72), however her description of the younger Maggie is rather unusual. Instead of describing Maggie in a positive light, Mama chooses to point out all of Maggie’s flaws, and goes as far as comparing her to a “lame animal, perhaps a dog ” (Walker 70). Susan Farrell argues that “Mama’s view of Maggie is not quite accurate” further proving she has placed Dee on a pedestal in comparison to her sister. Dee is undoubtedly the object of a range of emotions amongst her mother and sister. Although Mama illustrates a picture, where Maggie is “eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (Walker 69), it is Mama who is experiencing these feelings of jealousy, and admiration. As Susan Farrell states, mama has displaced her feelings towards Dee onto Maggie, when in reality Maggie is disgusted with Dee’s superficial tendencies. Upon her arrival Dee greets the pair by saying “Wa-su-zo-Tean-o”, (Walker 72) as if her family would understand the meaning. It is obvious she believes a few African words immediately create a direct tie to her ancestry. Furthermore, Dee is convinced that changing her name to a “traditional” African name (Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo)(Walker 73) will free her from the oppression burdened upon those of African descent. Instead of embracing the name that was passed down through generations, she drops it like a bad habit. Farrell describes this event as a “turning point in the story”; we see that Dee is “rejecting her family heritage and identity in this scene”, (Farrell 3) consequently Maggie is clearly bothered by this because she sarcastically moans “Uhnnnnh”(Walker 73) when Mama and Dee are discussing the roots of her name. As simple minded as Dee tries to make her mother and sister seem, they have a “true sense of heritage as opposed to Dee’s false or shallow understanding of the past.” (Farrell 3) Maggie is the one who understands Dee was not named after a strange white woman, whom she strongly thinks she was; but Dee’s name is significant because it has remained within their family for ages.
Mama and Dee have the strangest relationship within the story. Although Mama attempts to appease her daughter, it is apparent Dee resents her. She acts like her mother is incompetent of doing anything except, yard work. When Mama reflects on Dee reading to her and Maggie, she says “ She used to read to us without pity … Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand” (Walker 71); As opposed to taking her time while reading to the two, Dee lacked compassion towards them. Nancy Tuten argues that Dee’s verbal skills equip her “to oppress and manipulate others and isolate herself.”(1) As a result of being better educated than her mother, Dee further distances herself. Moreover, she gives the impression that she is not thankful of anything her mother has ever did for her. Mama raised money to send her away to school, and even got her the “yellow organdy dress” (Walker 71) she wanted for her high school graduation. Not once does Mama mention Dee expressing gratitude. Conversely Dee becomes upset when Mama refuses to give her the quilts her grandmother made. Although Mama began the story discussing that “no is a word the world never learned to say to her” (Walker 69), at the end of the story Mama experiences a change of heart and tells Dee no, for the first time. In turn she condescendingly insults her mother and sister, and leaves the house. Dee is an extremely ungrateful individual, who shows no appreciation for her relatives, especially her mother.
When it comes to remembering what her mother has sacrificed for her well being, Dee is comparable to an amnesia patient. She cannot comprehend the sacrifices her mother and sister have made for her to become the person she is. Dee is ignorant to the rich heritage her mother has passed down, by doing simple thing like milking cows, and naming her after her aunt. Dee believes the material items will allow her to become in tune with the true African culture. One of the only traits Dee exudes in this story is, superiority. There is no question that when it comes to education and looks Dee is superior in comparison to her family, however this does not make her a more wholesome individual. This superiority causes Dee to be superficial in every aspect of the word.