Leaving the past behind is never the right idea to get. Nor can you ever escape your past as hard as you try. In the story, “Everyday Use”, Dee got the idea that she could escape her past by changing her name, where she came from, and her future life. Dee lived a life where she was embarrassed of her upbringing such as her homeland and family. Dee hated the way that her and her family lived their life. She wasn’t understanding of the things that her family gave up for her. Perhaps the story, “Everyday Use”, was written to show us how to respect our upbringing and the history behind our cultural item. This story helps us to better understand how we are taking advantage of our present life, rather than respecting our past , this showed us how
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In “Everyday Use”, the story showed us how negative Dee was to her own family. Dee states, “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”. This quote helps us to understand how Dee doesn’t appreciate her ancestry, she changed her name because she wanted to break away from the family. Dee was ashamed of her families past as we assume they were slaves, in which that’s why she didn’t want to belong to that history any longer. Dees new name was Wangero, which has no meaning to the family as her past name. In similarity to Dee changing her name, she also has selfishness when she arrives to the house. Mama understands that when Dee arrives she will have thoughts, Mama says, “No doubt when Dee sees It she will want to tear it down”. This quote helps us to understand how Mama assumes Dee is going to act when she sees where Mama and Maggie are living. To Dee where she came from and her family are embarrassing. Dee hasn’t seen the house since it burned down but at that point she showed no concern for the burned down house nor when Maggie got badly hurt so Mama can only think of what Dee is going to think now. Another point in the story, Dee disrespects her past, by showing up at Mamas house with, “A dress down to the ground…so loud it hurts my eyes”. To me this quote helps us see how Dee is trying to rub her new identity
In “Everyday Use”, the story showed us how negative Dee was to her own family. Dee states, “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”. This quote helps us to understand how Dee doesn’t appreciate her ancestry, she changed her name because she wanted to break away from the family. Dee was ashamed of her families past as we assume they were slaves, in which that’s why she didn’t want to belong to that history any longer. Dees new name was Wangero, which has no meaning to the family as her past name. In similarity to Dee changing her name, she also has selfishness when she arrives to the house. Mama understands that when Dee arrives she will have thoughts, Mama says, “No doubt when Dee sees It she will want to tear it down”. This quote helps us to understand how Mama assumes Dee is going to act when she sees where Mama and Maggie are living. To Dee where she came from and her family are embarrassing. Dee hasn’t seen the house since it burned down but at that point she showed no concern for the burned down house nor when Maggie got badly hurt so Mama can only think of what Dee is going to think now. Another point in the story, Dee disrespects her past, by showing up at Mamas house with, “A dress down to the ground…so loud it hurts my eyes”. To me this quote helps us see how Dee is trying to rub her new identity