All human beings have a heritage. Some aspects of heritage may make one proud, while others lend embarrassment. It is very easy for two people to perceive the same heritage with very different viewpoints. In "Everyday Use," Dee values her heritage only from a trendy point, while Mama and Maggie value the same heritage for its usefulness and personal significance.
             The first clue in the story that Dee has strayed away from her heritage, when it is not trendy, is her appearance. Mama describes Dee as having on a dress "so loud it hurts my eyes." Mama goes on to talk about the yellows and oranges in the dress. Mama describes the jewelry Dee is wearing and how the "bracelets dangle and make noises." Dees hair is portrayed, as "black as night and around the edges are two long pigtails that rope about like small lizards disappearing behind her ears." From earlier descriptions of Mama and Maggie, it is evident that Dee is not wearing clothes from her heritage. Mama talks of wearing "flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day." The day of Dee's arrival Maggie is dressed in a "pink shirt and a red blouse." Mama and Maggie's apparel is quite different from Dee's.
             The next evidence of Dee rejecting her heritage is when she wants Mama and Maggie to address her as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo." Mama questions Dee about the name change, but Dee only answers "she's dead." By changing her name, Dee is trying to distance herself from her heritage. This fact is even more noticeable when Dee says, "I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me. When Mama then tells Dee that she was named after her Aunt Dicie it is evident that the name Dee is part of her heritage because it is a name passed down for many generations. Knowing the name has been carried down from one gen
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