Using
Concepts from Psychoanalytic Theory to interpret literature
When
applying Psychoanalytic Theory to “Everyday Use”, it is quite evident that most
of the characters display some form of dysfunctional behavior. According to the
author, everyone experience events that alter our emotions. Most times, we tend
to deal with these experiences by repressing them so that we avoid dealing with
these problems.
In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, we see two
sisters possessing some of the core issues as described by the Psychoanalytic Theory.
Dee, who changes her name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo”, can be described as
having an insecure or unstable sense of self.
It is evident that Dee or Wangero hates her heritage or maybe is ashamed
of it. Therefore, when visiting her family, who is responsible for her path to success;
she presents herself with a completely new image, one that is distant from her
real and true heritage. She is dressed in loud colors with earrings dangling
down to her chest, an image not even her mother could have recognized. The fact
that she also changes her name shows that she has a problem finding her true
self. Dee asks her mother for her churn and quilt but yet this is the same Dee,
who before told her mother that she changed her name because she didn’t want to
be associated with the people who oppressed her, the same people who made these
items.
Maggie,
on the other hand, possesses a very low self-esteem. This is traced back to the
house fire that occurred decades ago which is responsible for the bodily burns
she now wears. Maggie is obviously jealous of her sister as described by her
mother who says that Maggie will continue to be nervous until her sister
leaves. She hides in corners hopelessly for she is ashamed of her scars. But can
we really blame her for being this way when her sister shuns them and shows off
a knowledge they didn’t comprehend?
Dee
deals with these issues by building up her own defenses. She tend to be in
denial, for she wants to believe that she was not once poor and that her mother
did not bend her back backwards to give her the life she now has. Hence, Dee
avoids visiting her family because of those memories left behind, including the
house fire. In an attempt to displace her own experiences, Dee, is negative
towards her heritage, her mother and her sister. She believes that her sister
is incapable of appreciating the quilt claiming that they know nothing about it.
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