1. Mrs. Johnson Mama
Mama‟s core issue seems to be low self-esteem. It is shown when she says she does not look
at people‟s eyes when she talks. Mama says:
Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue? Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It
seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head turned in which ever way is
farthest from them p. 315
From this description we can see that Mama thinks that she is not as worthy as other people, therefore, she will not eye them directly when she
talks. Mama knows that she is dark and heavy. She also tells us that she is
uneducated. The school she attended in the second grade closes down. Another core issue of Mama is fear of abandonment. Mama has the fear
that Dee might leave her someday. It is shown when Mama agrees to call Dee by Wangero.
“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 the conversation between Mama and Dee above, we can see that
Mama agrees to call Dee by Wangero and wants to learn how to pronounce it just for the sake of her daughter. She is afraid that Dee might leave her if she
does not want to call her by it so she tries to respect Dee‟s choice. The fact
that Dee hates their old house, and the way Dee treats Mama, makes Mama
thinks that Dee does not like to live with her and Maggie. We can see that Dee and Mama‟s relationship are not as close as Mama and Maggie‟s. That is why
Mama is afraid if Dee might leave her someday just because she cannot give what Dee wants.
They know that “no” is a word that people never learned to say to Dee. Another proof that she has the fear of abandonment is when she
tries to tell Dee that she cannot have the quilts that she promises to give to Maggie. Mama says,
“I did not want to bring up how I had offered Dee Wangero a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they
were old fashioned, out of style” p. 320. This tells us that Mama is afraid if she brings it up, Dee will be embarrassed, angry and leaves her. That is why
she does not want to talk about it anymore. Now, let‟s take a look at self-defense mechanism that Mama shows to
cope with her core issues. Mama shows avoidance as her defense mechanism. It is shown when Mama does not bring up how Dee rejected the quilts that
Mama had offered in the pa st. Mama says, “I did not want to bring up how I
had offered Dee Wangero a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-
fashioned, out of style” p. 320. Mama fears that Dee might leave her so she does not want to bring up any situation that might
make Dee angry. Mama is also willing to call Dee by her new name, Wangero. She does anything that Dee wants just for the sake of her daughter, because
she does not want Dee to leave her and Maggie. This is why she avoids any situation that probably for Dee is unpleasant.
2. Dee
Dee‟s core issue is known as Insecure or Unstable Sense of Self. Dee is insecure about how she looks. This can be seen when she arrives home. Mama
describes: A dress so loud it hurts my eyes. There are yellows and
oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out.
Earrings gold, too, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and making noises when she moves her
arm up to shake the folds of the dress out of her armpits. The dress is loose and flows, and as she walks closer, I like
it. I hear Maggie go Uhnnnh again. It is her sisters hair. It stands straight up like the wool on a sheep. It is black as
night and around the edges are two long pigtails that rope about like small lizards disappearing behind her ears p.
317.
Mama ‟s description above shows that Dee really pays attention to her
look. Dee always wants nice things and a better life. She dresses elegantly. She changes her looks, her name, and her persona. Another additional
description by Mama is when Dee turns to take her Polaroid in her car, “she turns, showing white heels through her sandals, and goes back to the car” p.
318. Women who like to dress elegantly do seem to wear high heels just like Dee does.
The way she dresses very fancy and “show off” might seems to be irritating at first, but in reality it is just a way to protect herself. She wants to
dress well and look good due to her sense of insecurity. She acts like she is better than others towards her mother and sister. Dee lifts herself above her
family by going to college and joining a “higher class” of people. And then when she returns, she lets her family know that she is better than them by
rubbing her education in their faces. She forgets that they help her financially through college.
As a part of her insecurity, Dee changes her name. She changes her name into Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. It is a name that was passed on from
generation. “Well,” I say. “Dee.”
“No, Mama,” she says. “Not „Dee,‟ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo”
“What happened to „Dee‟?” I wanted to know. “She is dead,” Wangero said. “I couldn‟t bear it any longer,
being named after the people who oppress me” p. 318
From the dialogue between Mama and Dee above, we can see that Dee is ashamed of her own name and changed it to Wangero. She is also denying
where she came from, a poor family, and her own family. One more core issue that Dee has is fear of abandonment. It is shown at
the end of the story when she asks Mama if she can have the quilts that are supposed to be left for Maggie, but Mama will not let her.
“The truth is,” I said, “I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” She gasped
like a bee had stung her. “Maggie can‟t appreciate these quilts” she said. “She‟d
probably be backward enough to put them to “Everyday
Use”” p. 320
In this case, Dee has feeling of abandonment. She probably thought that her mother does not love her as much as her mother loves Maggie since her
mother does not let her to have the quilts and prefers to give them to Maggie.
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