"Every day Uses " Psychoanalyzing

The story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker introduces the reader to three main characters who have specific traits that make each of them unique and very different from one another. However, when these characters are looked at through a psychoanalytic lens the motive that drives each characters behavior in the story becomes clear. This allows one to see that, even though they may be different in personality, they actually share many similarities psychologically.

 

The three main characters are:

1.      Mama

2.      Maggie

3.      Dee (Wangero)

Maggie

Core Issue: Maggie's core issues are, first she has low self-esteem and second she is insecure or has unstable sense of self. The reason these are Maggie’s cores issues are...

1.      She has burned skin which was caused by the fire in the old house.

2.      Maggie hasn't acquired any of the things her sister has accomplished.

3.      Maggie's body image.

Defenses: Maggie’s primary defense is Avoidance, Maggie takes all her insecurities, she represses them and then she avoids people as if her low self-esteem does not exist. Maggie represses her low self-esteem because she hasn't dealt with it. She allows her sister to get away with everything, even though Maggie is a member of the family it seems as if whatever her sister (Dee) says goes. Mama does whatever it takes to make sure Dee is happy, and even wants to share a bond with her however, Maggie is the one with injuries, and she is the one with the bad eye sight and burned skin from the fire. Instead of Mama making her happy she goes after Dee and Maggie’s just sits back and allows it.

During the end of the story when Dee tried to take Maggie’s inheritance, which were some old quilts given to her by her grandmother. Maggie once again was willing to allow her to do so, the passage stated "She can have them, Mama," she said, like nobody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. "I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts." (Walker 281). The tone in her voice sounds like someone who is use to situations like this, loosing without putting up a fight, she has made her repression and low self-esteem her new normal. She avoids people before they can point it out.

Maggie is always trying to avoid people in the story, she is always hiding, trying to avoid eye contact and any sort of interaction with anyone who doesn't, in a way, remind her of herself, Hence the reason her and Mama get along so well.

Maggie and Family: The first connection that can be made between Maggie's family and her core issues is found from her mother. I previously stated that Maggie does not interact well with people who don’t remind her of herself, however, her relationship between her and her mother, at certain times seem to flourish. First let's consider the setting, it's somewhere in the south in a rual community and it's either early or mid-1900's. Second let's take the first family member Mama; looking at her character we can tell that Mama experience slavery times or racial discrimination at a certain point because the text explains her reactions clearly when she was having her day dream about having a reunion with Dee on the Johnny Carson show. She could not believe it could happen because it's not like her to look white men in the eye. She stated "who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head turned in whichever way is futheresst from them." (Walker, pg. 275).

This proves a lot, because this behavior is what Mama grew up with, even though Maggie has low self-esteem she also looks down on the ground when she walks just like Mama. Just because a person has low self-esteem does not mean they have disregard having eye contact, this could be something Maggie picked up from Mama by watching her. They practically do the same thing, maybe that’s why they get along so well. The second family member is Dee, while reading the book I noticed that Dee and Maggie are completely opposite to one another. Dee is pretty, confident and educated however Maggie has scars, low self-esteem, and stubbles upon words when she tries to read to Mama (Walker, pg. 276).

The text states "Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes; she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her". (Walker, pg. 274). I can see that Dee's trait makes Maggie unsure of herself, she feels inferior to her sister, so much that she is nervous around her own sister until she leaves the home. Dee's talents and accomplishments creates uncertainty in Maggie’s mind, she is not certain if she is good enough because she hasn't accomplish anything close to what Dee has accomplished, education wise, she is insecure because she does not look as pretty and is not as confident.

In conclusion even though Maggie has low self-esteem and is insecure or has unstable sense of self, the burning of the fire may have been the foundation to low self-esteem however, Mama's old habits help build on to her low self-esteem and even made it seem normal. Then Dee's beauty, brains, and dominant personality helped build Maggie’s insecurities.

1.      The reason Maggie has low self-esteem is because she was burned by the fire which left ugly scars on her skin, but she has allowed those scars to become her identity. She has now become someone with insecurities and uncertainties about herself; she is so use to it that she doesn't even realize it when she is showing a sign of low self-esteem or insecurities until someone points it out. The scene that best portray this is in the text when Maggie asks her mother how she looks in her outfit but she does not display enough of herself for Mama to see, she hide but she still seeks someone's opinion on her looks. She has become so accustomed to hiding she even does it at a time when she is seeking for someone to look at her, the text states "how do I look Mama?' Maggie says, showing just enough of her thin body enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she's there, almost hidden by the door. "Come out into the yard", I say." (Walker, pg.275).

2.      Another thing that builds on to Maggie's low self-esteem and or, insecurities is the fact that Dee Maggie’s sister has acquired much knowledge which has made her very popular amongst different people and given her loads of confidence. Maggie may be feeling as if she is not good enough because where she started off in life is where she still is, at home helping out with Mama, while Dee goes to school and travels. The text states "Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good naturedly but can't see well. She knows she is not bright. Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by." (Walker, pg. 276).

Later on in the story we get an even better understanding of Maggie's insecurities because later in the story we can how serious Maggie’s condition is. Even when she knows something she has no confidence in her to speak out boldly, the scene that best depicts this behavior is stated to say "uh huh", she said happily. "And I want the dasher, too."

"Uncle Buddy whittle that, too?" asked the barber.

Dee (Wangero) looked up at me.

"Aunt Dee's first husband whittled the dash," said Maggie so low you almost couldn't hear her." (Walker pg. 279). This part shows us even when Maggie knows she is right she lacks the confidence to speak up for people to hear.

3. Maggie's body image is also very important in understanding the kind of person portrayed in this text. The best scene where we can find this is during the middle of the story when Dee returns home. Even before Maggie saw her sister she was rushing to hind in the house before Dee stepped out the car. The story states "Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house, in her shuffling way, but I stay her with my hand. “Come back her," I say. And she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toes." (Walker, pg. 227).

Maggie's avoidance can also be tied back to the core issues. She avoids people because she does not have pride in herself worth. This could primarily be because of herself image. During the beginning of the story Mama describes her daughter Maggie's in some very unattractive words, she states "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That's how my Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house down." (Walker, pg. 275).

Mama

Core Issue: Mama's core issue is insecure or unstable sense of self. This is evident especially when Mama expresses herself throughout the narration of the story, which is directed towards the reader and not the people who need to hear her the most, her family.

1.      Mama's description of herself

2.      The way she has allowed her past to hold her back from being the woman and mother she wishes to be.

3.      Mama's inability to change anything in her life, she does not progress she just stays the way she is in the same situation she is in.

Defense: Mama's main defense mechanism is Avoidance because she tends to avoid many things in her life, the things that she can clearly see are going wrong but she does not intercede, she avoids having conversation about them with the other characters. However, when she speaks like a narrator it's like the reader is getting a chance to read Mama's brain because she exposes everything she wishes she could do, or the things she regret not doing because she was too busy avoiding them. Two examples of when she did this in the story is first, when she meets Hakim a. Barber and she avoids asking her daughter Dee the questions an average mother would ask her child who has been away at school for years and comes home with a stranger. The text states "(They didn't tell me, and I didn't ask, whether Wangero (Dee) had really gone and married him.)" (Walker, pg. 279). Even though Dee is her daughter Mama seems to be unsure of herself when it comes to speaking up, she doesn't tell her own daughter how she feels so in the end she avoids the whole thing.

Another example of Mama using this defense mechanism is seen again with her daughter Dee however, it's at an earlier part of the story when Dee is young and the first house was burning down. Her focus on the flames lead Mama to infer that Dee was happy to see that house in flames however she held back her questions towards Dee. The passages states "...her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in towards the red-hot brick chimney. Why don't you do a dance around the ashes? I'd wanted to ask her. She had hated the house that much." (Walker, pg. 276). Mama has an urge to understand her daughter, she wants to speak and have a better relationship with her however, and she gets insecure about her questions and just ends up avoiding them.

Mama and Family: When it comes to family impacting your life and building on to your core issues and defense mechanisms there is one main advocate who does that for Mama and that person is Dee. Maggie has low self-esteem so she doesn't really challenge Mama. Maggie and Mama are kind of the same because they don't speak up about how they feel because they are insecure, even though Maggie's condition is a bit more severe then Mama's. However, Dee is completely opposite to Mama, she is the one that gets Mama to think about the things she wishes she could do, she is the one that Mama wishes she could be more like. There is a scene in the story where Mama is describing herself and does a comparison between Dee and herself and it sounds as if she wishes to be more like Dee. The Passage states "Who can imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head turned in whichever way is furthest from them. Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature." (Walker, pg. 274). Mama likes the fact that Dee has confidence, something she wishes she could have obtained, however, when it comes to telling her daughter how she feels she feels unsure about herself and avoids the whole conversation.

1.      Mama's description of herself really gives the reader a first-hand account about the person Mama is. In the story Mama describes herself as the woman she wishes she could be then her insecurities kick in and she tells the readers who she is however her tone is very negative. She starts of by day dreaming herself and Dee on the Johnny Carson show embracing each other, and then she states "In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. ...I am the way my daughter wants me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights. Johnny Carson has much to keep up with my quick and witty tongue." (Walker, pg. 275). This description is full of insecurities however, Mama keeps it covered by avoiding such thoughts especially when she states "But that is a mistake. I know even before I wake up." (Walker, pg. 275)

2.      Due to the fact that Mama grew up in a time where African Americans could not look whites in the eye she has been left with that impression and still looks down when she talks. Another thing is the old house that burnt down looks like the new houses they live in. Even after the years that Dee went away to school Mama's living conditions and life has not changed. She is still living the same way she did for years. The text states "I have deliberately turned my back on the house like the one that burned, except the roof is tin; they don't make shingle roofs any more...No doubt when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down" (Walker, pg.276). Mama seems to have a personality that does not want to progress, it wants to keep its old ways, so her feeling inferior to whites and staying in her poor condition just adds on to how insecure she is about herself, even to a point where change has become nonexistent in her life.

Dee

Core issue: Dee's core issue is, she is insecure or unstable of sense of self. The reason this is her core issue is because throughout the story we see Dee changing herself so she will not be like Mama and Maggie. She dresses well, is educated, and loves being outside of her comfort zone. However, near the end of the story Dee comes back from school and she is dressed differently, she is dressed in a way that embraces the African Culture, she goes as far as changing her name so she can be "closer to her roots" but in the end the reader is left asking themselves "who is Dee?" Is she the self-proclaimed intellectual who wants to be better than Mama and modernize with the rest of the world or is she just another so called "advocate" for African Americans and their heritage.

1.      How she is described by Mama in the beginning of the story

2.      How she is in the end

 

Defenses: Projection, Dee has a problem with self-identification, she does not know who is wants to be but she blames Mama for not knowing or understanding who she is and where she comes from. At the end of the text when Mama finally stands up for Maggie and gives her the inheritance that Dee was trying to take because she said that Maggie won’t understand the meaning of the beautiful handmade quilts, Dee gets upset. However instead of going after something else that will remind her of her heritage she gets in a car with her friend and puts on sunglasses that cover her face. This is kind of symbolic to her personality because it's saying I'm still hiding behind materialistic items which mean nothing. The text states "What don't I understand?" I wanted to know.

"Your heritage," she said. And then turned to Maggie, kissed her, and said "You ought to try to make something out of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it." She put on some sunglasses that hid everything above the tip of her nose to her chin. (Walker, pg. 281).

Dee and family

In this story Dee may perceive to be a complex character however, if the reader really analyzes her they may come to discover that Dee may just be a person who was looking for acceptance. Dee is the only one in her family who in a sense if different. Different meaning she tries to stand out from Mama and Maggie not because she doesn't love them but she thinks they need to grasp the opportunities that the world is giving them. Even though they live in a poor rural area Dee in the text is mentioned to "...wanted nice things. A yellow dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she'd made from an old suit somebody gave me. She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts." (Walker, pg. 276).

She didn't want to look or be poor she wanted something better for herself and believe it or not, for her family as well. Mama in the text assumed that Dee hated their old house and may have been happy to see it burnt down and because the new house resembled the old one. Mama assumed she will want to tear it down, the text states "No doubt when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down." (Walker, pg. 276). Mama and Maggie don't dress the way Dee does or act the way she does either, so Dee may think that Mama and Maggie has allowed poverty to drag them down but Dee on the other had was not going to allow that to happen to her, and she really wanted to change them as well. The text states "She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know." (Walker, pg. 276). I believe that Maggie and Mama's current situation influenced Dee to try harder to break free from that poverty stricken community.

1.      Dee is described to be a very beautiful young woman who wants to stand out, and is very ambitious to break free from her current poor living situation and make something out of her life. Even Mama in the beginning of the story is day dreaming of a time when she and Dee will be on television and she will be embracing her talented daughter while Dee is loving and thanking her for all the wonderful things Mama has done for her. The text states "Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a tv program of this sort...Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes." (Walker, pg. 275). Trying to live up to these qualities that Mama has seen and admires can sometimes bring pressure on the person. At times it can make the person insecure; however Dee portrays a strong sense of self, which is how she covers up her insecurities.

2.      At the end of the story when Dee returns back home with a new male friend she has changed completely in image and in mind. She use to want to break free from the so called things that held her back like her home, presentation of her family, and farm like life style that Mama and Maggie lived. However, when she comes back she is dressed differently with vibrant colors and is now trying to cherish everything that has to do with their home and Mama and Maggie’s life style because now she calls it her heritage. Also her male friend also encourages her on her search to find things in Mama and Maggie's home that symbolize the heritage Dee has recently realized she had. The text goes on to say "Oh, Mama!" she cried. Then turned to Hakim -a-barber. "I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints, she said, running her hands underneath her and along the bench. Then she gave a sigh..." (Walker, pg. 279). In this scene the reader can tell that Dee need assurance before she can touch the benches but not from the people that own them, she needs it from her male friend Hakim -a-barber, she looks at him before she gets all dramatic with the benches.