"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

A story that I have recently read was titled “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. This story is all about a small family that is very strange. The story line is very strange as well because it is vey unusual and almost seems to contradict itself sometimes. But it also seems to have the same theme as “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and that is greed; in this story though it is the daughter (Dee/Wangero) who is greedy.
I liked the character of the mother because she was strong, but an unusual mother figure. She described her younger self as more of a man than a woman. I think that Maggie was more like her mother. The description of the mother was very vivid and I feel like I “know” her.
Dee/Wangero is a character that I liked a little bit in the beginning but I really hated her by the end of the story because she was greedy and very mean to her family. Another thing that I noticed about Wangero/Dee was the fact that by shedding her name, “’I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me.’” (4) she also shed her family and heritage. But then when she wanted all of the little knick-knacks in the house it seemed like she was brining her heritage back into her life. At the same time I felt sorry for her because it seemed like she picked jerks for men and that maybe she had been influenced by Hakim-a-barber to do all of this stuff. It also seemed like she was putting her family up like an exhibit, and for that I didn’t like her at all.
Then there is Hakim-a-barber; I really hated this man, he seemed mean and just generally a jerk. I don’t really know why I hate him; he just seemed really pompous about things. I know that he didn’t say much of anything but I get the feeling that he may have been pulling most of the strings in the background.
And lastly we come to Maggie; she seemed like a sweet character but I really wondered if she might be mentally retarded or something. She and her sister seem to be complete opposites of each other; Maggie stayed at home, Dee got out of there as fast as possible; Maggie is going to marry because her mother says so; Dee married whoever she wanted for whatever reason, ext. The point being that Dee just didn’t seem to belong to them but they also didn’t seem to belong to regular society.
I was able to relate to this story because I sometimes feel like I don’t belong in my family because we are so physically and mentally different. So in that sense, I understand Dee. That doesn’t mean that I like her at all though.