{"id":163090,"date":"2024-11-08T07:35:08","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T07:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=163090"},"modified":"2024-11-08T07:35:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T07:35:10","slug":"read-the-following-excerpt-from-the-story-everyday-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/08\/read-the-following-excerpt-from-the-story-everyday-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Read the following excerpt from the story \u201cEveryday Use\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Read the following excerpt from the story \u201cEveryday Use.\u201d
“Well,” I say. “Dee.”
“No, Mama,” she says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”
“What happened to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know.
“She’s dead,” Wangero said. “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.”
“You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie,” I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do these lines reveal about Dee and Mama? What ambiguity and irony do you see in these lines? Give examples from the text to support your views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is :<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Alice Walker\u2019s \u201cEveryday Use,\u201d the exchange between Dee and Mama reveals important aspects of both characters’ identities and their relationship, with elements of ambiguity and irony woven throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dee\u2019s desire for change<\/strong>: Dee\u2019s decision to change her name to \u201cWangero Leewanika Kemanjo\u201d signifies her rejection of her given name and, by extension, the heritage and culture that she associates with it. Dee’s claim that she could no longer bear the name \u201cDee\u201d because it symbolizes \u201cthe people who oppress me\u201d suggests her growing discontent with her past and the heritage tied to her family. She distances herself from what she views as an oppressive legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama\u2019s perspective<\/strong>: Mama\u2019s response to Dee’s renaming, \u201cYou know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie,\u201d highlights a deep sense of attachment to family history and tradition. Mama views the name as a tribute to their ancestors, showing her pride in the legacy, which contrasts with Dee’s desire to reject it. Mama\u2019s tone, while not overtly confrontational, conveys a sense of disbelief that Dee would want to abandon her roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambiguity and irony<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Irony of Dee’s self-reinvention<\/strong>: Dee\u2019s new name is meant to symbolize a break from her past, but it\u2019s ironic that the name she chooses sounds constructed and unfamiliar, whereas \u201cDee\u201d was a name she grew up with and had familial meaning. In trying to find identity through a new name, she inadvertently reveals her disconnection from her true roots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ambiguity of “oppression”<\/strong>: Dee claims the name Dee \u201crepresents oppression,\u201d yet she has benefitted from the same culture and family legacy she now denounces. It is ambiguous whether she genuinely feels oppressed or if she is using the term to justify a desire for a more affluent or \u201cmodern\u201d identity, as her educational opportunities and lifestyle have distanced her from the poverty-stricken life her mother still endures.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In summary, these lines reveal the tension between the two characters\u2019 values: Mama\u2019s attachment to tradition and Dee\u2019s desire for self-definition through a rejection of her past. The irony and ambiguity in Dee\u2019s actions and words serve to highlight the complexity of identity and heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Read the following excerpt from the story \u201cEveryday Use.\u201d“Well,” I say. “Dee.”“No, Mama,” she says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”“What happened to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know.“She’s dead,” Wangero said. “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.”“You know as well as me you was named after your aunt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}