The mother in the story worked very hard to raise Dee and her sister. Her mother did everything to send her to college even though she actually had no money and had to ask the church for help. Dee returns from college with a new personality and tries to tell her mother and sister what they are doing wrong. She is described as not being a good role model because she doesn't appreciate anything people do for her. Dee has become a very materialistic person since she returned home from college. He wants the things his mother accumulated from his ancestors. Dee wants these things because she wants to decorate her house for them. Dee even searches her mother's trunk to find other things, like her grandmother's quilt. Dee wants the items because she wants to show off her heritage, but her mother wants to give them to her sister who will actually use them. Dee is described as not being a good role model because she is a very materialistic person instead of seeing the value in things. Dee Johnson is not a great role model. As he grows up he becomes very ashamed of his heritage and origins. She was the first in her family to go to college. Finishing college made her feel superior to her family. By the time she completes college she becomes arrogant, unappreciative, and materialistic