Everyday Use Character Analysis

Throughout her story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker conveys the artifacts and ideas we value and choices we make shape our identity as a person. The two central characters, Mama and her daughter, Dee (Wangero), undergo transformations throughout the story. Dee undergoes transformations once she reaches society and is not repressed by her culture, which she so desperately hated. However, when she visits engage, she loves the artifacts from her culture and see them as a piece of art. Mama and Dee undergo big transformations as they face a daughter and mother conflict against their heritage. Dee undergoes a transformation that occurs more exterior as she expresses a more superior personality. She changes her outside look, but manages to keep her

Dee has always demanded for her way of life. Mama and Maggie are acclimated to this and give Dee her way to save a headache. Towards the end of the story though, Mama sees things differently. It is almost as if she has built the courage to stand up to her. Dee starts kind of demanding for the quilts because Maggie “can’t appreciate these quilts” (Walker 16). However, Mama “snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap.” (Walker 17) This was Mama’s way to standing up to Dee. She has told Dee “no” letting Dee know she is in charge. This one quote shows the conflict between the daughter and mother. A mother and daughter’s conflict in “Everyday Use” is about their heritage overall. In the end of the story, Dee tells Mama, “What don’t I understand?” I wanted to know. “Your heritage,” she said.” (Walker 17) Dee has gone out and learned an outside look of her culture. She is from the outside looking whereas Mama is living the culture. But, yet, Dee tells her mother that she doesn’t understand her culture. Mama has lived this culture since she was younger and is still living. How does she not understand her