History Alive?

Zach McVay
A.P. English
Mr. Coon
7 September 2009
Word Count: 769
History Alive?
An appreciation and respect for one’s history and heritage is a very valuable quality. Without such an appreciation, objects, events and people worthy of remembrance might easily be forgotten, and thereby denied to future generations. This respect for one’s heritage, at least in the modern world, often appears in the form of monuments and museums filled with mementos from important individuals and events of the past. Ask just about anyone, and he or she will agree that such displaying of artifacts is the best way of preserving history and heritage. However, a conflict of understanding ensues when those of the modern era, who wish to preserve what they believe to be “the past,” come into contact with those who are still living the lives and practices that the former wish to preserve. Exactly this kind of conflict develops in Walker’s “Everyday Use.” Dee, or Wangero Leewanika Kamanjo, is the historian/museum curator who wants to memorialize her heritage, while her mother and younger sister Maggie, both of them still living the very lifestyle that Dee (Wangero) wants to put on display, find her semi-archaeological expedition through their house to be quite bizarre. They are, in fact, representatives of the past feeling threatened by the forces of change.
The first instance of conflict emerging between Dee (Wangero) and her mother can be seen in the conversation between the two when Dee comes to her mother’s house for a visit and introduces herself under the name Wangero Leewanika Kamanjo. Her mother, confused at the new and unusual name, questions her as to what happened to her old name. The new Wangero responds that Dee “is dead. I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me” (446). This exchange is particularly significant in that, in addition to demonstrating the conflict between Wangero and her mother, it also reflects a historical shift in the African American community from a passive acceptance of their oppression to the cultural pride and nationalism that were present in stages of the African American civil rights movement. In this scene, Dee/Wangero, with her loud, colorful clothing, distinct style, and self-adopted African name, represents the members of the Civil Rights movement, while her mother represents the quiet, mind-one’s-own-business, passivity of the Reconstruction generation.
After her mother’s confusion regarding her new name, Dee/Wangero continues into the house and requests the dasher and handle from an old butter churn which we find out that an Uncle Buddy whittled out of a tree that once stood on their property. Once she has claimed the churn, Dee/Wangero, notably without asking permission from her mother at all, goes into the bedroom and digs through a trunk to pull out two old quilts. Acting as the narrator, Dee/Wangero’s mother describes the rich history of these quilts, one of them having a patch “from Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform” (448). It is when she asks to take these as well that the conflict between them becomes evident. To Dee/Wangero, the quilts are symbols from a bygone era that need to be preserved, displayed and otherwise treated as priceless artifacts, but to her mother they are but simple bed quilts that are meant for Everyday Use. Dee/Wangero’s mother knows that they are special quilts, but would rather give them to Maggie years down the road to use for their actual purpose, than give them to Dee/Wangero who will “hang them up.” Her mother cannot understand why Dee/Wangero should be so attached to having those particular quilts, because, to her, they are just quilts, and should be used as such. She does not see Dee/Wangero’s desire to preserve relics of this heritage of hers while it is still very much alive, with her and Maggie living their heritage every day.
This conflict is a unique one that only occurs in the kind of situation that is present in “Everyday Use.” It is growing ever more rare as the heritage we wish to preserve gradually does disappear from the living world. This conflict only appears when those being “preserved” are still living and do not see themselves as representatives of a dying or endangered heritage or way of life, but only as people going about their business. In “Everyday Use,” Dee/Wangero’s mother sees herself and Maggie as being treated like a museum exhibit, or animals in a zoo, all on display to the outside world. She is confused in the same way that the wild animal in the zoo is confused. The zoologist confuses the wild animal; Dee/Wangero confuses her mother.