Alice Walker, in her story, Everyday Use introduces two sisters, Dee and Maggie. Usually siblings are thought of to be similar in many aspects. These sisters, however, do not fit that traditional mold at all. They possess enough differences that the relation between the two is very surprising. They seem to differ in many more ways than they are similar. Three ways in which they differ are their physical appearance, their ideas of their heritage, and their treatment of their mother.
Physically, Maggie and Dee are different enough that they could be mistaken for unrelated women. Maggie is permanently scarred by the fire that burned her house down when she was a child. She is “ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs” and seems very self-conscious about her looks (840).
She walks with a shuffle, with her head down and her eyes averted, embarrassed by her physical state. Dee, however, is “lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” (841). She has a sense of style, and dresses better than Maggie dresses. She wears gold earrings and brightly colored clothing while Dee still wears the plain simple clothes of her everyday life.
Throughout the story Dee, or Wangero, seems to be only concerned with herself. She seems too proud to be related to her younger, quieter sister. She gives the impression that she is going somewhere, doing something. She even tells Maggie, “You ought to try to make something of yourself,” although Maggie seems quite content right where she is (845). Dee and Maggie are both young, slightly educated African American women.
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