Comparing Dee And Maggie In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Everyday Use is a story about the differing lives of Dee and Maggie and her mother. Maggie and her mother are not fully financially stable, unlike Maggie’s sister Dee who had the privilege to attend college. In Everyday Use, the mama is the narrator. As a narrator, mama is truthful. For instance, she does not only say good things about her daughters, but also truthfully describe how each of them has certain weaknesses. She openly states that “Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car…That is the way my Maggie walks.” (Walker). The narrator is open minded about her views. In the story, Dee is portrayed as a negative character. This could be because she did not appreciate the efforts of her mother to send her to college. After getting an education, she thinks of herself as superior in front of her family. It would have been interesting if the narrator told us more about Dee’s life after she left for college. In addition, the narrator should have focused more on Hakim-a-barber and his relationship with Dee because the readers are left unclear on whether Dee is married or not. I think that the narrator …show more content…
The reason for this conflict is the differences in their education backgrounds. Dee is portrayed as a girl with an attitude from the beginning as she did not like the first house the family lived in. The narrator points this out by saying “Why don’t you dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. She had hated the house so much” (Walker). The narrator always tells us that there might be a possibility that Dee hates Maggie, but that is later proved incorrect when Dee shows affection for Maggie at the reunion. The differences between the two characters of the same family appealed to me the most. This story teaches the lesson that you should never disrespect your family and always give to those who are not as privileged as you