Everyday Use: Exploring Materialism & Family Cohesion Through Culture - Essay Sample

Introduction

Culture is a very important aspect of the survival of human beings. The standard norms in which people should carry themselves were set long ago by ancestors to promote good behavior in addition to creating an identity for various ethnic groups. There exist several cultures in the world, and each culture lays down ways in which its people should behave. In this essay, my focus would be on Alice Walker's short story Everyday Use. The story has several themes regarding materialism and family conflict but above all is the theme of cultural origin. People travel to various places and interact with other individuals of different cultures but are expected to value there cultures and maintain them everywhere. The principal claim of the story is how a person understands how s/he is currently living while reflecting off his/her people and traditions (eNotes.com par. 2). According to Dee, her mom and sister Maggie lack an understanding of their culture since they arrange to put invaluable inheritance coverlets to daily usage. Dee has a big confusion concerning her heritage from her instantaneous household and the greater African culture altogether.

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The best example of Dee's confusion is presented in her decision to change her name. Dee wants to identify herself with her African tradition and therefore decides to rename herself Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. She decides to change her name to reconnect with her African ancestors and refuses to embrace the brutality that was inferred by being named American tags. Her mother considers the name Dee symbolic in that she relates it to the era of the Civil War (GradeSaver par. 5). The mother views "Dee" as a name that symbolizes family unity. The names are significant to the mother since they were adopted from dear people.

Further, Dee's attitude towards the coverlets and other domestic substances depicts her misunderstanding about her inheritance. Though Dee currently castoffs the forenames of her instant descendants, she enthusiastically appreciates their ancient homemade properties including hand-pared bleachers if the household was not able to obtain chairs. According to Dee, objects like stand seats or coverlets are firmly artistic substances. She never valued these objects as cryptograms of subjugation that her household created since they were in no position to afford their market prices. Her current appreciation for these items appears to echo a traditional drift to appreciating substances made of hand instead of some genuine attention to her culture. Anyway, she refused to take a quilt offered to her when she was going to college claiming that it was out of fashion (eNotes.com par. 5). Dee always wanted the best and pursued what she thought was good for her. She was very intelligent and always hankered for schooling since viewed edification as a way to exceed her familiarities and prediction of a perkier imminent. Mama had also been educated but her schooling ended in grade two when her school closed. During the time that Dee's mother was in school, black students faced various challenges due to racial discrimination and hence she could not access better education as Dee. Dee never was for the idea of losing anything in her life and therefore she used naivety and self-centeredness to run away from things she never desired.

Dee is incredibly hypercritical and ingenuous regarding the lives of her mother and her sister Maggie. She stresses that her mother and sister chose to stay at the place they were. Even though they might admit the providence, Maggie and her mother never chose to belong where they were. Although Dee is accessible to the alternating periods, there is no guarantee that everybody born in poverty would be capable of crafting a fresh life (GradeSaver par. 6). Dee received enormous support from her family and church and rather than acknowledging them for their generosity, she denigrated them with narrations about the lives of other individuals as well as much refined customs.

It is during dinner that Dee's attitude is well revealed. She suddenly starts liking meals and other traditional assets as never before. She gains excitement regarding the bleachers, margarine shake plus numerous extra substances that she now considers important substances in the house. She likes some quilts that had been made by her descendants which she formerly rejected. Dee currently values these objects since she thinks that they symbolize the historic importance of oppressed individuals (GradeSaver par. 7). The education she has gained has taught her the significance of these items; nonetheless, it has only taught her to respect them as ancient items regardless of their ancestral perspective.

Dee is confused about her culture both from the instant family and the larger African culture. Dee may not be the only one who has a misunderstanding about the African culture in the rustic South. Maggie and her mum are cynical of Dee though they distinguish the confines of the lives they live. They both acknowledge that they are not that learned as Dee. Dee is confused about her name and therefore decides to change it to recognize her African heritage. At first, she disliked handmade assets but in the end, she comes to recognize their values and starts valuing them.

Work Cited

ENotes.com. Everyday Use by Alice Walker. (2019). Available at https://www.enotes.com/topics/everyday-use/themes

GradeSaver. Everyday Use Summary and Analysis of Everyday Use. (2019). Available at https://www.gradesaver.com/everyday-use/study-guide/summary-everyday-use