Dee's Name example essay topic

The "Black Experience" is continually depicted in Alice Walker's works. Ms. Walker sheds light on aspects of Southern Black life during the period of 1900 thru the early 1970's. She is a very passionate and powerful writer. Her works are subject to constant controversy. Because she puts so much truth in her work, some people are offended by what she writes. There are common threads between most of her works.

They can be seen as the differences in Northern and Southern living for Black Americans. They also can be seen as the differences between educated and undereducated Blacks. Another thread is the struggle of Blacks trying to find themselves. Being a Black woman and southern born, Ms. Walker stays true to her roots with her inclusion of the south and black women in her works.

In" Roselily" the narrator tells the story of Roselily's wedding day. There are two things going on that day. There is the actual wedding ceremony, and then there are the scenes that are playing out in Roselily's head. We get to visualize both because the narrator tells all that is said and thought in the story. The story opens with the Preacher performing the wedding ceremony. He says the opening line "Dearly Beloved" (Walker 19).

While Roselily daydreams about what her life was and what her life will now be. She wrestles with the many lifestyle changes she will face now that she will be married to a Muslim. She will endure changes in her religion, her dress, her habit, and her mannerism. "She wonders what one does with memories in a brand new life?" (Walker 24). "She wonders how to make new roots" (Walker 24).

As the preacher recites every line, Roselily ponders more and more about the decision she has made to marry this man. "She does not even know if she loves him" (Walker 28). She does know she loves the characteristics that he possesses. "She loves his sobriety" (Walker 28).

"She loves his pride" (Walker 28). With her husband she sees "A new life! Respectable, reclaimed, renewed. Free" (Walker 27). Roselily thinks that by getting married and leaving Mississippi to go to Chicago her life will be changed for the better. She considers Mississippi as her roadblock and Chicago as her clear path.

Roselily looks at the North as a haven. People are different up north. The people that move from the south up north to live return home (south) completely changed. The North has a way of giving a sense of rebirth to the blacks that migrate there from the south. In the days of slavery, the fugitive slaves were always told that if they made it to the north they would be free. The north has held onto the stigma of the land of the free.

It is obvious Walker views religion as a powerful influence on an individual from the way the Muslim Religion is described in the story. The Muslim women are required to be submissive to their husbands. When they are in the house of worship the women are required to sit apart from the men and they are to keep their heads covered. This is what Roselily is contemplating while the wedding ceremony is being performed.

She thinks of how being a Muslim wife will change her from who she once was. She will now have to wear black and white always. She will have to keep her body and head covered at all times. She will not be able to work. Also Ms. Walker's reference to the north versus the south is evident of how she wants the reader to view the north and the south. The north is portrayed as the land of opportunity and prosperity.

Likewise, the south is considered a choke hold and the land of despair. Roselily mentions in the story how once in Chicago she will get respect, a chance to build. She considers Mississippi as a detrimental wheel that she is under. The reason why this story is considered to be so controversial is its reference to religion and to an unwed mother. When you look deeply into the story you find the bigger picture. It is an awareness story.

Roselily has weighed out her circumstances against what she will come to face to see if this marriage is what she really needs. This story parallels to another Alice Walker work. Walker's "Everyday Use" also deals with self-awareness. Dee thinks she has found herself by going away to college and embracing the Muslim faith.

Her name change to Wangero signifies her growth (so she thinks). Wangero wants to shed the slave mentality of the South and the name of people who oppressed her. Dee's (Wangero) mom is the narrator in "Everyday Use". Therefore, we see the mother's point of view of both Dee (Wangero) and Maggie. The story opens with Maggie and the mom waiting for Dee to arrive.

When Dee (Wangero) arrives she greets them with an African greeting. While her male companion offers a Muslim greeting and tries to give Maggie a ceremonial handshake the she does not understand. Since "Hakim-a-barber" (as called by Dee's mom) is Muslim and does not eat pork, he will not partake of the dinner Dee's mom has prepared. Dee has changed from the stylish girl of the South.

She comes home in an orange dress, jangling golden earrings and bracelets. She has attempted to embrace her African ancestry. Her hair "It stands straight up like wool on a sheep" to Maggie's distaste (Lit. 88).

Dee says she has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, because "I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me" (Lit. 88). However, what Dee (Wangero) fails to realize is that her birth name is more true to her heritage than this name she has adopted. Dee's name is a family name that was carried down through the generations. How could Dee truly appreciate the quilts if she could not even appreciate her own name?

Dee (Wangero) looked down on her mother and sister Maggie as being simple. She sees them as behind the times, a bit backwards. Now on this visit home Dee (Wangero) has a new interest in the old way of life for her own selfish reasons. Dee (Wangero) enjoys torturing her sister Maggie.

There is a hint of Dee (Wangero) being the cause of the fire in the old house that leaves Maggie severely burned. After hearing that the quilts are promised to Maggie when she marries, Dee (Wangero) is appalled. She says, "Maggie can't appreciated these quilts!"She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use" (Lit. 90). It is ironic how both stories make reference to the Muslim culture.

A culture that is full of Black pride, entrepreneurs, and self-preservation. By adopting another culture Dee (Wangero) has let go of her true heritage. Dee is confused about what her heritage means. This shows in how she rejects the name of her immediate ancestors, but she eagerly values their old handmade goods.

In "Roselily" you also have Roselily giving up her life to embrace the Muslim culture. However, she does this with some reservation. I think the central theme in both stories concerns the way in which a person understands his or her present life in relation to the traditions of his or her people and culture. I do not think you can understand where you are going until you understand where you have been. If Dee (Wangero) had understood that her name could be traced back to the Civil War, that the quilts she wanted were made from scraps of her ancestors clothing, she would have thought twice about changing her name.

Similarly, Roselily should have rationalized her life in Mississippi. What it has meant to her, the closeness of her sisters and her father. She was free to practice a religion she is comfortable with. She would have considered more closely her choice of marrying and moving to Chicago. Alice Walker stories let you see that life is all about choices. The stories also show how choices affect you, good, bad, or indifferent.

Her stories are truly a pleasure to read and discuss.