Duncan
Camlin-Irving
4/3/12
Everyday
Use Double Consciousness
“Well,” I
say. “Dee.”
“No, Mama,” she
says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”
“What happened
to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know.
“She’s dead,”
Wangero said. “I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who
oppress me.”
W.E.B
Dubois’ theory of double consciousness refers to the awareness of the
“two-ness” of being “an American and an African-American,” and the “largely
unconscious, almost instinctive movement between these two identities.” (The
Veil and Double Consciousness by W.E.B Dubois, page 2). Many black people
struggle with their identities as both Africans and Americans. They try to see
themselves as Americans but have trouble because they are not treated like
Americans, they are treated like a different species. Many black people in
Dubois’ time chose to turn their back on their American heritage out of spite,
and embrace their African roots. Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use”
illustrates this concept through the characters and plot. In this story, a
mother and her youngest daughter, Maggie live together in a rather run-down old
house in the southern countryside. They are visited by the other daughter, Dee,
who has gone off to college in the city. She has lighter skin than that of her
mother or sister, is modern and fashionable, and a self-styled intellectual. It
is clear that she considers herself better than them. Close to the
beginning of the story, Dee announces to her mother that she has changed her
name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.” This shows how desperate she is to abandon
her African American heritage and explore her African side, which is a perfect
example of double consciousness, because it shows that Dee does not consider
herself as an American any more.
When
Dee (Wangero) says “I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people
who oppress me,” she is literally blaming her ancestors for their enslavement,
which is incredibly ironic, even if she doesn’t see ho. She was named Dee after
her aunt Dee, who was named after her grandmother. She wasn’t named by her
oppressors, she was named by her African American family. It is as if Dee has
unconsciously convinced herself that being a ancestor of slaves is something to
be embarrassed about. She is ashamed to be descended from them because this
idea of ‘double consciousness’ has sunk in so deeply. Dee has not noticed the
presence of this idea of double consciousness that has been buried inside her
mind. The logic behind Dee’s name change is that the name ‘Dee’ was a name
given to her grandmother by the slave owners and so a name from before their
enslavement is better. However, the name she chose is a poor choice.
“Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo” is a hybridization of names from both
East and West Africa. In his essay, “Everyday Use: Defining African American
Heritage”, David White states, "In researching the name Wangero Leewanika
Kemanjo, Helga Hoel found that the names Wangero and Kemanjo are
misspellings of Kikiyu names ‘Wanjiro’ and ‘Kamenjo’. Leewanika is an African
name, but it is not Kikiyu. Hoel also found that Dee’s dress is of West African
origin (The Kikiyu are East African)." Dee’s ignorance of her adopted
African heritage is matched by her ignorance of her actual American heritage.
Dee knew she had been named for her Aunt Dee, but was unaware of how far back
the name went in her family. Dee tries to argue with her Mother about the
origins of the name “Dee.”
"But who
was she named after?" asked Wangero.
"I guess
after Grandma Dee," I said.
"And who
was she named after?" asked Wangero.
"Her
mother," I said, and saw Wangero was getting tired. "That's about as
far back as I can trace it," I said. Though, in fact, I probably could
have carried it back beyond the Civil War through the branches.
"Well,"
said Asalamalakim, "there you are" (318).
By saying that
she couldn’t bear being named after the people who oppress her, in a way, she
means her mother and sister. She sees them as stupid and primitive, while Dee
herself is charming and sophisticated. As Mama puts it, “She
washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we
didn’t necessarily need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she
read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to
understand.” Obviously, Mama feels Dee’s frustration, but tries to understand
nonetheless. When Dee gets out of the car and announces heartily,
“Wa-su-zo-Tean-o,” she must have known her mother and sister would not
understand, however she says it anyways. Wa-su-zo-Tean-o is a Ugandan greeting
which means, “How did you sleep?”
Double
consciousness can cloud someone’s daily life, creating rifts between family and
friends, all because of a little idea that was planted and then grew into
something that transforms the person permanently. Dee can’t see that she has
changed into a different person, one who is ignorant of both sides of her
heritage. She can’t see that maybe she is actually not the smartest person in her family.