Question

In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, what does the narrator’s internal voice indicate about the relationship between Dee and the narrator? The narrator feels guilty about losing touch with Dee. The narrator understands Dee more than Dee realizes. The narrator has forgotten Dee’s self-centered nature. The narrator wishes Dee could be more like Maggie.

Answer 1

Answer:

The narrator understands Dee more than Dee realizes.

Explanation:

Alice Walker's short story Everyday Use revolves around the three characters of Mama and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. And through them, the theme of heritage, identity, belonging, and their own understanding of what it means to be black are all dealt with by the author.

Narrated from the point of view of Mama, the story involves a lot of her internal voice. And being an older generation than her daughters, she has seen a lot of the world and understands it, even though at times it may seem otherwise from her daughters' point of view, especially Dee "Wangero". And despite the anger of Dee (who believes that her mother only cares about Maggie), Mama cares and knows/ understands a lot about her too. Especially in the scene where she had just asked for the quilts and was refused, Mama' internal voice mentions that Dee was furious, "for she has a temper". Mama knew exactly how her daughters are and so did not seem to think fit to respond or reply to whatever Dee said.

Thus, the correct answer is the second option.