summary of Everyday use by alice walker
In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker a selfish young woman named Dee Johnson returns home from her so called sophisticated life to visit her mother and sister Maggie. As Mama and Maggie wait for Dee’s arrival mama daydreams about her daughter Dee bringing her on a TV talk show to reunite and thank her for everything. Soon after Maggie arrives wearing a long bright orange and yellow dress, gold earrings, and her hair fixed nice. Dee’s companion Hakim-a-barber, a nice foreign man, also steps out of the car. After Dee and Hakim-a-barber greet Maggie and Mama, Dee tells her family that she has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Mama tries to explain to Dee that she was named after her Aunt Dicie and not “the people who oppressed her”, but as always mama gives in and accepts Dee or Wangero’s decision.