to use her knowledge and cultural identity to gain peace in her life, so she becomes contemptuous towards her family because they live serene, yet modest, “uneducated” lives. Dee demands success in her pursuits and strongly urges her family to fall in line with her views. Dee will not accept her family as they are because they have the peace she so desires; therefore, she attempts to mold them by “…forcing words, lies, and other people’s habits” (Walker 281) upon them in an effort to destroy their secure lifestyle. Dee ensures however, that her seemingly impressive intellectual capacity and cultural awareness masks her insecurity. Obviously exhibiting contempt towards Maggie, Dee says, “ ‘ you ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie’ ” (Walker 286). Dee is fully aware that Maggie, while shy and defeatist, has a peace that Wangero will never have. Dee cannot fully realize that intellect cannot provide all that is necessary to succeed and rather than understanding her rich heritage, she chooses to use it and manipulate it.In reality Dee Johnson is a product of trend. Although she confesses a superior understanding of her family’s rich heritage, Dee in fact is quite ignorant of her people’s past. She refuses to accept her family for who they are, and believes that if she oppresses them with her educated and yet opinionated views will be the means to deliver them. Ironically, by attempting to raise her family’s self expectations, she subjects them to a tyranny similar to the oppression she claims to despise. Dee is nothing more than a self-righteous, self-serving hypocrite whose desires are extremely shallow, which is reveled partially by Dee’s desires to be in style and fashionable. “ ‘ At sixteen she [Dee] had a style of her own, and knew what style was’ ” (Walker 281). Thus, when Momma tried to give Dee a...
