Everyday Use
Everyday Use
How was Dee changed when she showed up to see her family?
How was Dee changed when she showed up to see her family?
Dee finally arrives wearing a colorful, chic African dress. Maggie tries to bolt for the house but Mama stops her. Dee has changed her name to the more “African” sounding "Wangero". Mama attempts to explain that her given name Dee holds deep family meaning but "Wangero" insists that, at one time, it must surely have been a slave name forced on them by white owners. Dee has appropriated her own culture as a sort of trendy identity from which she can receive cultural validation from people in the city.