Method of the Study

Mama is characterized by her speech. Mama is characterized as a patient woman. We can see it when Dee changes her name and Mama did not even get mad at her. “How do you pronounce this name?” I asked. “You do not have to call me by it if you do not want to,” said Wangero. “Why shouldn’t I? I asked. “If that is what you want us to call you, we’ll call you.” “I know it might sound awkward at first,” said Wangero. “I’ll get used to it,” I said. “Ream it out again” p. 318 From what Mama says above she is willing to back down and call Dee with the name that she wants them to call her by. As a parent, Mama has the right to reject what Dee wants because she is named after their ancestors and she cannot just change it easily. It is a kind of disrespect. But in this case Mama does not even get mad but back down instead. She is willing to learn how to pronounce Wangero’s name. Mama is also honest. It is shown when Dee wants to have the quilts which Mama promises to give to Maggie. Mama tells Dee, “The truth is, I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas” p. 320. From that sentence, Mama shows that she is not afraid to tell the truth to Dee even though she knows that it might hurt Dee’s feeling and makes her angry. W hat Mama says about Dee, that “no” is a word that the world never say to her. But this time Mama really does say no to Dee. She knows that Dee might not like the truth she tells but she says it anyway. Mama can think of any other reasons why she can’t give the quilts to Dee instead of telling that those are Maggie’s portion since she knows that Dee used to hate Maggie, but she does not do it. She prefers to tell the truth to Dee. By now we can conclude that Mama is a patient and honest person. Another characteristic’s of Mama is wise or fair. We can see when Mama says that Maggie knows how to appreciate the quilts. Mama says, “I reckon she would. God knows I been saving „em for long enough with nobody using „em. I hope she will” p. 320. Mama did not want to bring up how she offers Dee a quilt when she goes away to college, then she says they are old- fashioned and out of style. So Mama tells Dee that she can have the other quilts to make it fair. Mama says, “Take one or two of the others” p. 321. Even though Dee does not want to take the other ones, Mama still does not let Dee to take Maggie’s portion because she promises to Maggie that she will give them to Maggie. After Mama knows that Dee cannot appreciate the quilts like Maggie does, she even more sure that the decision to give them to Maggie is the best for all of them because Maggie always can make some more. Maggie knows it better than Dee does and that is just how you appreciate your heritage. Mama is characterized by her reactions. Mama is a caring mother. It can be seen when Maggie says that Dee can have those quilts, and Maggie looks at her sister with something like fear but she does not mad at her. Mama says, “I did something I never done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Mi ss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” p. 321. From Mama’s reaction of hugging Maggie shows that Mama really cares about Maggie and wants to fight for what Maggie deserves to have. She acts like she wants to protect her daughter from dange r. And the part when Mama snatches the quilts out of Wangero’s hands and dumps them into Maggie’s lap also shows her firmness as a parent. So we can conclude that beside she is caring, she is also a firm mother. She can act caring and firm at the same time. This reaction also shows us her wisdom.

2. Dee

Dee is Mrs. Johnson’s Mama oldest daughter. She is characterized by her speech, and Dee as seen by another. She exhibits the most diverse characterization in the story. Dee is characterized by her speech. It is shown when Dee arrives home, her mother called her with her birth name “Dee” but Dee says, “No, mama. Not „Dee’, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo” p. 318. Dee tries to cut herself off from her own family. It is shown when she states, “She is dead. I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after people who oppress me” p. 318, whenever her mother asks her why she changes her name. Some words and statements characterized Dee as an unappreciative woman. She does not appreciate her own heritage by changing her name to Wangero. She knows that her parents named her after their ancestors, but she thinks that she is being named after people who oppressed her when actually no one oppressed her. Dee also does not appreciate what Mama has done to her in the past. She should have known that her mother in the story works hard to raise her daughters, supply food and clothes, and even gets her into college