Analysis of Dee and Maggie Johnson in Alice Walker's Everyday Use

Alice Walker crafts the characters of Dee and Maggie Johnson in the short story Everyday Use in a clever way. Both Dee and Maggie have very unique traits that Walker is able to build around. Walker portrays the two sisters as being polar opposites but also leaves enough room for sympathy for both sisters.

Starting from the first paragraph, Walker creates an image of Dee, who at first seems very shallow. Dee then becomes a more complex character as the story progresses. Blessed with both brains and beauty, Dee emerges as someone who is still struggling with her identity and heritage. Dee is a flat character, who is described as arrogant and selfish with an egotistical nature. The mother in the story had worked long and hard rearing her daughters, and has even gotten Dee into college somehow. Although she may be educated when it comes to college, she is not educated with her family heritage. For the most part, Dee believes that she is too good for her family. She wrote to her mother saying "no matter where we ?choose' to live, she will manage to come see us. But she will never bring her friends". From this quote, it is apparent that Dee is ashamed of her family's home. Dee is completely unappreciative. . Dee returns with her college education and new personality and attempts to preach to her mother and Maggie about what they are doing wrong. Dee spoke down to her mother and Maggie. Dee's physical beauty can be defined as one of her biggest assets. The fact that Maggie sees Dee "with a mixture of envy and awe" shows that Dee has the more favorable appearance. The simplistic way in which Walker states that "Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure," gives the reader the idea that Dee's beauty has made it easier for her to be accepted outside her family in society. ?

Maggie, Dee's younger sister, on the other hand is very different. Maggie is a young girl who is not only physically but also mentally scarred. The way the burning house, her stuck-up sister, and society affects Maggie makes her different from everyone else. Maggie was so traumatized from her house burning down that she became a timid and under appreciated little girl. Maggie is so self conscious that her mom says she walks like a dog run over by a car: "chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground." This shows that Maggie's lack of self-confidence makes her scared to make eye contact. She thinks that if she cannot see the people around her, then they