Everyday Use
by Alice Walker

The thing that really struck me in this short story was the ridiculous names some of the characters choose to go by. "'No Mama,' she says. 'Not 'Dee,' Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!'"(Walker) Dee's new name sounds like an African name rather than the name of a slave in the South. This was her way of distancing herself from her poverty as a child. Before Dee tried to accomplish this by wearing nice clothes and resenting her old house. Now she is trying to find her identity through her ancestors. However, her new name sounds ridiculous after the simplicity of Dee. Her mother thinks the same thing and tries to point out that the name "Dicie" had been in their family for years. But Dee skipped over all of those ancestors because they were poor slaves and then just poor until her mother. Dee is still running away from her family's poverty, just in a different way. She is hiding behind the idea that she should celebrate her African heritage while avoiding her African American heritage. It's like if Dee focuses on before her ancestors were slaves she can be more proud of where she came from.