English 1102/MW

28 June 2015
No Selfless Acts

Dee, Mamma, and Maggie each have different points of view regarding their African heritage.
Dee is a very confident and attractive. Mamma is manly and rough, Maggie is timid, fearful, and
ashamed:
Mamma was excited that Dee was coming home to visit. She was so proud of Dees
accomplishments. She envisioned her and Dee on a tv show where Dee embraces her and thanks
her for the sacrifices that she has made as a mother to assist her in becoming such a great
success. Mamma and the church raised money to send her to school in Augusta. But, she felt that
Dee was embarrassed by her appearance. Dee would want her to be a hundred pounds lighter that
she is, with lighter skin. Maggie was Dees younger sister who lived so far behind Dees shadow
that she can hardly see her leaving. Maggie was burned in a fire when she was younger. The
burns left her with both physical and emotional scars. Dee hated the house that burned. Dee
always wanted more than they had. She refused to accept things for what they were. Dee
wanted nice things. A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black
pumps to match a green suit shed made from an old suit somebody gave me (Walker 418). Dee
had developed a sense of style by age 16.
Mamma wants Maggie to marry John Thomas, who has mossy teeth in an earnest face (419).
At that time shell be free to sit around the house and do whatever she wishes, with no worries.
Mamma is almost certain that Dee will hate the new house as she did the old one, considering
that its not much different from it. Dee was truly ashamed of the way that they lived when she
was there and she still was once she left She wrote me once that no matter where we choose
to live, she will manage to come see us. But she will never bring her friends (419). When Dee
finally arrives, Maggie begins to run and hide, but Mamma stops her. Through the strong sun,
Mamma realizes that it is Dee as her feet exit the vehicle. Dee brought along with her a friend.
He had hair all over his head and on his chin. Maggie sucked her teeth in disapproval when she
saw him as she when she saw Dees hairstyle. Dee expressed her afro-centric style through her
hair, clothes and jewelry. She wore her hair in an afro with two braids down the sides which
created a path behind her ears.
Dee greets her mother and sister in language which they are unfamiliar with, Wa-su-zo-Tean-o!
(420). Thereafter, her guy friend gives them a Muslim greeting Asalamalakim, which they also
have never heard of. As Dee approaches Mamma and Maggie she begins collecting souvenirs,
starting with the snapping of photos of them and the house. She acts as if she is a tourist, rather
than a former resident. Mama starts a conversation with Dee, calling her by the name that she
had carried since birth. Dee corrects Mamma with her new name, Wangeron Leewanika
Kemanjo (421). Dee assumed that changing her name meant that she was now a different

person, someone more passionate about her African heritage. Dee forgot to change her
personality, views, and attitudes when she changed her name, because her actions showed that
she was the same old Dee that Mamma and Maggie remembered. Dee related keeping the name
that she had been given by her family as support of her oppressors. She wanted to identify more
with her African heritage with her new name, not realizing that she was denying her true
ancestry/history, considering that her name was inspired by her aunt Dicies name, who was
named after Grandma Dee, and she was named after her mother. Regardless of the number of
generations in Dees biological family that are linked to her name, she felt as though the name
had no value.
During the dinner, Wangero noticed the old benches. She admired them along with the butter
dish and churn. Despite the fact that Mamma and Maggie used these items on a regular basis for
survival purposes, Wangeros selfish desires wanted them to put on display in her home as
symbols of her heritage, which she was extremely fuzzy on. Without a selfless thought in mind,
Wangero wrapped the used items to take as souvenirs. I can use the churn top as a centerpiece
for the alcove table, she said, sliding a plate over the churn, and Ill think of something artistic
to do with the dasher (421). The churn and dasher were both handmade by her uncles from a
tree that grew in her aunts yard. Wangero wasnt completely clear on where that came from, but
Maggie was. Wangero was on a mission to reclaim her ethnic heritage, at anyones cost.
Wangero has no knowledge of the true value of Mamma and Maggies possessions. Her only
concern is with the items outer beauty and their connections to the African heritage.
After Wangero had claimed the items in the kitchen, she then made her way to the trunk in front
of Mammas bed. There she found some old quilts. Quilts that had been pieced by Grandma
Dee and then Big Dee and me and had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and
quilted them. One was in the Lone Star pattern. The other was Walk Around the Mountain. In
both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and
pieces of Grandpa Jarrells Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a
penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezras uniform that he wore in the Civil War
(422). Instead of her taking those particular quilts, Mamma offered her one or two of the other
quilts which had been stitched by machine. The ones that Wangero was holding had been stitched
by hand. Wangero understood the difference between the quilts. She knew that the hand stitched
quilts were authentic and had more value, so she did not want the other quilts because they were
worthless in her eyes. Because Mamma had promised those quilts to Maggie, she was forced to
do something that she may have never done before, tell Dee NO. Wangero was furious, She
felt that because Maggie would put them to everyday use she didnt deserve them. At this point
Mamma realizes that the viewpoints on the quilts differ between her and Wangero. Mamma felt
that Maggie was more grounded within her history and everyday use was what she would have
wanted for the quilts. Maggie didnt care if Wangero took the quilts because she did not need
them to define her history or relationship with her ancestors, she held that within her. Wangero
knew nothing of the sort. Maggie also possess the talent to make quilts, which she learned from

watching her mother and aunt. Wangero had been offered the same quilts when she went off to
college, but she saw them as old-fashioned, and out of style. She wasnt aware of their value
before she left home, nor when she returned.
Walker wanted us to understand the values of two different children who were raised in the same
home. She demonstrated through Dees character how people can be so caught up in becoming
something new that they only intensify the old them.