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.