A Psychological Analysis of Everyday Use of Alice WalkerThe human mind is divided into three parts which constitute the mind as a whole. These elements are necessary to have a complete mind, just as members of a family are necessary to make up the entire family. Using components to equal a whole is often used in literature. Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" contains the idea of ​​family and spirit, which is why her work can be evaluated using psychological methods. Through their actions, the characters symbolize the three different parts of the mind: the id, the ego and the superego. The first type of mind division, the id, "constantly strives to satisfy basic drives...[and] seeks immediate results." gratification” (Myers 379). In "Everyday Use", Dee's personality is equivalent to the id as she seeks her own personal gain and does not necessarily consider the consequences of her actions. Mama, the narrator of “Everyday Use,” says that “Dee wanted nice things. She was determined to avoid any disaster in her efforts” (Walker 92). Dee strives for satisfaction in everything she does; she will do everything in her power to get what she wants. The story is about a situation in which Dee wants quilts sewn by her grandmother, but Mom has already promised these treasures to Dee's sister, Maggie. Mom said this as she “[moved] around to touch the quilts.” Dee backed away just enough so that [Mama] couldn't reach the quilts. They already belonged to [Dee]” (Walker 96). Mom explains that Dee is determined to take possession of the quilts. Although the quilts belong to her mother, Dee has already mentally determined that the quilts belong to her. Dee's personality is comparable to the id branch of the...... middle of paper ......The use of psychological strategies in Walker's work shows that the characters are joined together and create a single unity, a family.Works CitedAlice Malsenior Walker: An Annotated Bibliography, 1968-1986. Ed. Louis H. Pratt and Donnell D. Pratt. Connecticut: Meckler Corporation, 1988. Everyday Use: Alice Walker. Ed. Barbara T. Christian. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. Third edition. New York: Worth Publishing, 1996. Walker, Alice. “Daily use.” Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Sixth edition. Ed. XJ Dennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/sample/walker.htmlhttp://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/alicew/http:/ /www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/altalic_051697.html