Alice Walker in "Everyday Use" shows one African-American woman trying to "overcome" her past. This story is about two sisters, Maggie and Dee, and their mother. Maggie lives with her mother while Dee has moved out, gone to school, and created another life for herself. However, Dee has issues left to resolve before she can become the woman she wants to be. Her conflicts over her heritage have made Dee unable to accept her past life and ashamed of her family. Dee uses separation strategies of changing her name, changing her view of family antiques, and physically moving away to convince herself that she is better than her family. .

             Dee has turned her back on a part of her past and her family by taking the name of "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (177). Her reason for changing her name was because she "couldn"t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me" (177). It is as though she would rather claim the name of an unknown slave to that of her aunt and grandmother. Dee by changing her name she can no longer be associated with her old name and family. .

             One of Dee"s motivations in returning home is to retrieve a few articles from her "heritage." She uses a Polaroid camera to capture pictures of her mother and sister. That Dee "never takes a shot without making sure the house is included" (177) implies that she wants to be able to capture her former life on film. Dee"s main goal is to show how far she has come from her roots. Dee does take some family heirlooms and plans to "make something artistic" (179) out of them. She is unable to accept these artifacts as they are; she feels she must change them to fit into her new life. The other object that Dee wants are some quilts that Dee refused to accept when she first left home that are now promised to Maggie. Dee originally turned the quilts away because they would have been a reminder of the life she was trying to forget. Dee now wants them because she can wave them like a banner, to let everyone know what she has overcome to become the person she now is.