In the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, a misunderstanding about a family's heritage occurs. The family consists of Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Mama is one of the main characters and she also narrates the story. She is described to be a, "large big-boned woman with rough, man working hand"(Walker 61). From this you can picture a very strong willed woman, who has work her entire life to have what she has. Maggie, the youngest daughter, is a quite shy girl. She became this way after a house fire that burned her severely. She is described as having her, "chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle"(62). Dee, on the other hand, is very different from her mother and sister. A closer look at Dee reveals why.

As a child Dee acted as though she was better than anyone in her family. She was impatient, ungrateful, and was ashamed of her family because of their social status. When the family's first house burned down, a

and not pictures of her family. Dee's mother the community church raised money to send Dee to a school in Augusta. While in school she began exploring her African roots. After she arrived and introduced Asalamalakim, "a short stocky fellow with hair to his navel" as the story describes him, Mama calls Dee by her name and she says, "Not Dee, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!" Dee changed her name because she "couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppressed me"(64). She doesn't understand that she was named after her Aunt Dicie and her name came from her grandma.

While Dee is visiting, she begins rummaging through everything looking for things to take back with her. She eyes a butter dish that was whittled by her uncle. She asks for it and Mama gives it to her, but she says, "I can use the churn top as a center piece for the alcove table"(65). Mama had been using the churn top with the churn to make butter but Dee wanted it for a decoration piece. There are some quilts, Dee

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Approximate Word count = 677
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)