Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis

In Alice Walker’s anthologized short story “Everyday Use” published in 1973, the author illustrates categories of women that evolved after the second World War. She uses her character Dee to describe the cultural transitions African American women experienced as they began to focus primarily on individuality and collective identities. Dee denies any form of her traditional heritage and seeks to value her African background differently than the other characters. Additionally, she does not consider the impacts of her behavior on her peers, but selfishly attempts to obtain any materialistic item that she desires. Walker characterizes this antagonist to reflect elements of the modernist literary period, which seeks to promote individuality and alter tradition.

To illustrate Dee’s individuality from her family, the narrator describes her as confident and manipulative, as it is revealed that “she would always look anyone in the eye.

Hesitation was no part of her nature” (Walker 922). This characteristic is contrasted with Mama Johnson’s personality traits, as she represents devotion to others rather than herself. Unlike Dee, she wonders “who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye?” (Walker 922). Dee denies all of her mother’s feelings of intimidation and seeks to find her individuality by pretending to boldly confront any situation as if she were not a minority. She does not associate herself with any of her immediate ancestors and attempts to define her identity without genetic influences. Similarly, African American women in the Civil Rights Movement attempted to define themselves as individuals without reflecting on their past or ancestry. Many activists promoted ideas of progression, but failed admire the homogeneousness that came along with African American history. While the literary period of modernism did promote individuality, it also disrupted the unifying period after World War Two, which resulted in a division in

society.
Furthermore, Dee rejects her family’s American heritage by associating her identity with African Muslims. As she approaches her family in a “dress down to the ground” (Walker 922) even though it is inappropriate for the weather, she greets her family with a foreign language, stating “wasuzoteano” (Walker 922). Although her immediate family associates as rural Americans, Dee’s first form of dialogue in the story represents her as an African Muslim. Additionally, she attempts to alter her heritage and this is shown through her desire to change her name from “Dee” to “Wangero” for the purpose of no longer “being named after people who oppress [her]” (Walker 924). Even though Dee’s name originated from her aunt, she views her ancestor’s history as shameful, as she chooses to relate more to her African heritage than her American background. Women during the Civil Rights Movement were influenced by groups such as the Black Panthers, which advocated for individuals rejecting their identities as Americans. These followers did not consider of the advantages that comes along with being an American, as they only focused on the negative aspects of their history. In the literary period of modernism, many individuals attempted to criticize their culture and alter tradition, which reveals their disassociation with American patriotism.
Modernism focuses on internal conflicts and self-values, unlike any other literary time period seen throughout American history. Alice Walker’s character Dee focuses on only motives that will benefit herself, as she attempts to value her heritage differently than her mother and sister. She is only capable of appreciating elements of life that will heighten her individuality and self-esteem, which conflicts with her understanding of cultural identity. Walker criticizes her antagonist for lacking the ability to seek progressive change for others, as the influences of modernism illustrate her as egocentric and narcissistic.