Asserting My Independence

Throughout the story, Dee is determined to become independent from her family. This is due to the fact that she feels that they negatively represent her because she doesn’t believe Mama or Maggie are successful. Dee attended college and has a career and because Mama cannot even read and Maggie is not beautiful due to her being burned, Dee thinks that she is superior and should separate herself from her family.
As a college student there are several ways in which I assert my independence which are similar to Dee’s. Dee wants to be an individual and make it clear to others that she is unique from her family. I have a similar way of declaring my independence in that I choose to attend a college other than Ohio State University or Bowling Green, which members of my family attend/attended. I decided to attend the University of Dayton, not only because I enjoy the school, but because I could be completely independent from my family. In addition, I believe that Dee feels it is important to work hard to be able to support herself and not rely on others. I too think that being able to care for yourself is central in creating independence.
There is one major difference in the way Dee and I assert our independence, which is the fact that Dee wants to be independent from her family because she is somewhat embarrassed of them. She feels it is necessary to change her name in order to become independent and believes that because her sister and mother did not attend college, they are not at a level adequate to her. I, on the other hand, strongly disagree with Dee’s intentions for changing her name. I do not think that it is right to change your name because you are ashamed of your family, especially when they are extremely loving and kind. If asserting my independence meant that I had to change my name, I would rather be completely dependent because I think this is not only disrespectful, but embarrassing for Dee’s family. Also, I am proud of my family and where I come from, so I would have no reason to act in such a way.
Overall, I believe that there Dee and I share similarities and differences in the way we assert our independence. Dee is a strong willed person who strives very hard to represent herself as an independent person, which is similar to how I attempt to show my independence. I, however, disagree with the fact that Dee thinks it’s necessary to change her name in order to assert her independence and would never do something like that to my family.