Abandoned Child (Epiphany)

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the narrator struggles to understand Wangero's distorted cultural pride throughout the majority of the story. In many ways, it appears that Wangero takes great pride in her culture, changing her name from Dee to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo because she refuses to be "named after the people who oppress [her]." She claims to understand her "heritage" and claims that her mother and sister do not. Yet it is clear that Wangero chooses to supposedly embrace her culture simply as a way to be different. She has grown up in white-dominated world and has thrived in it, accepting "words, lies, other folks' habits, [and] whole lives." In all senses, she has received the best of what the white world has to offer; yet she claims to be oppressed by that same world. Considering that it was the narrator who paid for her education, it is clear why the narrator is understandably confused at this behavior.

Wangero reveals her hypocrisy later by searching through the narrator's belongings in search of handmade tools and furniture. She seems to adore them for their beauty and homeliness, for the fact that they were handcrafted. Yet she admits that she only seeks to use these tools as art, whether it be "a centerpiece for the alcove table" or "something artistic." She claims to love these "heritage" pieces for their cultural value, yet she completely ignores the significance and function that these pieces actually served. Wangero is not truly proud of her heritage; she acts more as a tourist than as a member of her culture.

The narrator finally confronts Wangero over the handmade quilts which were promised to Maggie. After having to deal with Wangero's condescension toward Maggie for years, the narrator finally has an epiphany. She realizes that it is not actually Wangero who has embraced her heritage, but herself and Maggie who have respected their culture by living it. In refusing to give Wangero the quilts, the narrator makes it clear that Wangero is an outsider to her own culture, while she and Maggie are still members of that culture. In that moment of truth, the narrator detaches herself from her posing daughter.