"Everyday Use"

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker

                In “Everyday Use,” Walker employs both direct and indirect characterization. Walker directly characterizes Maggie and Dee through their mothers’ description of them in the beginning of the story. For example, “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe,” (Walker, 173). Later in the story, Walker characterizes the two sisters through indirect characterization. Through Maggie’s interaction with Dee or Wangero and her new husband, we learn that Maggie is bashful and cherishes her home. In addition, we learn that Dee is fashion forward and longs to be modern. Moreover, Dee is accustomed to getting what she wants in terms of material items.

                When Dee comes back to visit an ironic situation arises. When Dee got married, she changed her identity by changing her name to Wangero, instead of keeping her long running family tradition of the name Dee. Wangero wanted the quilts from her mother that have been in their family for generations, but Wangero or Dee’s  mom decides not to give the quilts to her because she would not truly appreciate them. As a result, Dee spouts off about her mom not understanding heritage. “ ‘What don’t I understand?’ I wanted to know.  ‘Your heritage,’ she said,” (Walker, 181). I found it ironic that Dee or Wangero was lecturing about understanding heritage when she ended a long family tradition through names, and at the same time, she is obsessed with being modern.