Recitatif Character Analysis

After Roberta found out that Twyla worked there she and the two men she was with laughed at her. Roberta also mentioned that they were all going to see Jimi Hendrix (7). Roberta and Twyla met up again at a grocery store. This time Roberta went up to Twyla to talk to her. Twyla remembered Roberta not wanting to talk to her and only getting greeted with a wow (9). Now Roberta is different than what she was at Howard Johnson’s. Her hair is slick, she dresses like she’s rich, and she lives in a rich neighborhood. Twyla is upset by this because she says that everything is so easy for them and they think they own the world (9). Twyla confronted Roberta about pretending like she didn’t know her at Howard Johnson’s. Roberta responded "Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was" (13). Through these meetings it is known that Twyla and Roberta are still completely separated by race and class. Despite Roberta being friends with Twyla, she still ignored her and laughed at her for being who she is in front of the two men. She may not have wanted them to know that she’s friends with a poor girl who is of another race and who did not even know who Jimi Hendrix was. Roberta wanted to keep a secret that she associated with someone like Twyla. Twyla saying that they get everything and they think they own the world could be her realizing that the opposite race does not even need to work

Although the Fourteenth Amendment, when adopted in 1868, gave certain rights to blacks, including citizenship, equal protection of law and other freedoms, African-Americans were considered inferior by whites in this country. In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson officially made

Many authors write fictional novels about historical events. A common topic written about is the racial integration between African Americans and whites during the 1950’s. Although the short story “Recitatif” explicate many different themes, the central topic of Morrison’s writing is about racism. Throughout the story, the author expresses examples of hatred between black and white races at the shelter, the different encounters they have, and the remarks to Maggie’s race in conversations between Twyla and Roberta.

With any story, the reader develops a visual image of each character. What one person see’s another person may not, and is probably different from what the author originally envisioned. Typically the author provides physical descriptions of each character. But in Recitatif physical descriptions of the characters are purposely left out, leaving the identities to the imagination of the reader. However, Morrison gave us small clues as to which of the girls was white or black.

While racial stereotypes contribute to the majority of the short story “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, Morrison uses these stereotypes to convey a much larger issue. Morrison uses the stereotypes of intelligence, social class, and the character’s behavior and attitude to break the racial code. The two characters, Twyla and Roberta, realize that it is not about race but about their experiences of relating Maggie to their mothers that makes them similar. Many readers try to figure out which character is which race and as they go through, trying to figure out these clues. All they do is realize their own stereotypes.

Roberta's mom "brought chicken legs and ham sandwiches and oranges and a whole box of chocolate-covered grahams. Roberta drank milk from a thermos while her mother read the Bible to her.” Also, Roberta's mother would not shake hands with Twyla’s mother. Continuing further the girls meet again in the grocery store. It seems more likely that Twyla (who worked as a waitress and eventually married a firefighter) would be African-American and that Roberta (who eventually married a rich man with servants) would be white. However, just because it’s more likely doesn’t make it true. They reminisce of an earlier meeting, “I don’t know; you acted sort of like you didn’t want to know me then.” Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black- white. You know how everything was.” Moving through a part of history including when segregation was still popular. As picketing and rioting began about the integration of their children’s schools they meet again. “Now they surrounded my car gently, gently began to rock it. I swayed back and forth like a sideways yo-yo.” “Automatically I reached for Roberta, like the old days in the orchard when they saw us watching them and we had to get out of there, and if one of us fell the other pulled her up and if one of us was caught the other stayed to kick and scratch, and neither would leave the

Constitution. This amendment was to help African Americans with citizens rights and equal representation. The U.S Constitution stated that the 14th amendment said “all person born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The 14th amendment provided African Americans that was born in the United States equal citizenship with other natives in the U.S. It also limited the power of states that they could not take away the rights of the citizens of the United States.

The 14th Amendment became law in June of 1866. This new law declared any person born in the Unites States a citizen, with rights undeniable by any state. It is this type of action Douglass desired in Congress and discusses in his article as only the beginning to the

In “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, two young girls Roberta and Twyla meet one another at a state home for orphan and foster children. It is apparent from the start that either of the girls is white or black. Even at their young age, they both have preconceived expectations of the other because of their difference in race. However, as each character ages and is developed further, many of their traits could be that of someone white or black, albeit they contrast in personality. As a result of these traits, readers will likely unconsciously try to racially classify Roberta and Twyla only to change their mind a minute later. “Recitatif” forces readers to abandon the preconceived stereotypes and realize that they are constantly

One of the traits that made Toni Morrison’s writing style unique was her significant choice in the story. Her main choice was not telling the readers who was black and white and making the girls have similar backgrounds. The first time Twyla and Roberta meet is in the orphanage. Their fathers are both out of the story, mothers who are unable to care for them, and very alone. In the very first page of the story, Twyla mentions that, “we looked like salt the pepper standing there,”. By this quote, we can infer that Twyla and her friend Roberta are black and white. However, Morrison chooses not to reveal who was which race. Since this leaves the readers to make their own assumptions through often wrong stereotypes, Morrison makes a point to switch the stereotypes around for the girls in various places in the story.

In Toni Morrison's short story "Recitatif", the story revolves around two girls, one white and the other black, and how their social status affects their way of life. The narrator, Twyla, has five significant instances in her life where she is in a setting with her childhood best friend, Roberta. When they first met at the orphanage, they disliked each other, but because both of them still had a parent to their name, they were seen as social outcasts to the other children of their orphanage. Through their social disgrace they became friends and helped each other out. As they grew up, their lives were distinctly different with Twyla living the life of a lower-middle class citizen while Roberta was living a lavish lifestyle, creating conflict between the two. In the end, there is a slight sense of reconcilement in that they clear up a misunderstanding of their past, but there is an open question to what had happened to an element of their past.

In “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, Twyla is reminiscing upon the events that have impeded upon her friendship with Roberta-since the two girls are of a different race (610). The role of her memory is crucial to the development of the plot because Twyla is forced to consider whether her friendship with Roberta is able to withstand the racial division of the time. Although, both girls were roommates in the same orphanage with mothers unable to take care of them, unlike the other children whose parents were actually dead, the bond they formed as children has become frail because of the racial tensions inflicting their society. As a result, every memory that Twyla remembers has the potential to either maintain or break that bond. However, in the

All throughout Toni Morrison’s work Sula, the author focuses on several topics and theme throughout her book that once played an important role in the everyday lifestyle of those during the time the book was published. Today, these issues are still very much present and hold a great concern in our day to day society. However, out of all the topics that are woven into Sula, it is the issues of identity that shines the brightest. Born in Ohio on February 18th, 1931, Morrison’s family originally came from the south and in order to escape the racism that would have surrounded them, they moved to the northern states. Considering the time period in which she grew up in, no matter the area, it is without question that Morrison herself would have

Twyla shows that she has a difficulty understanding why Roberta treats

Prior to the disturbing incident, Roberta ignores the racial difference between herself and Twyla because their similarities rise above any color barrier. Two eight-year-olds orphaned to give their mothers more freedom and less worry find common ground more easily than perhaps imagined. Even after the unsettling encounter, Roberta gives Twyla reason to believe that "she was sorry that her mother would not shake [Twyla's] mother's hand" (214). Rather unluckily, Roberta's presence during her mother's actions, geared toward making Twyla and Mary feel small, upsets her stability. In the same way, Nelson's feet slip from their base. Mr. Head not only publicly announces his racial attitudes, but he does so repeatedly. As he himself says, "A six-month-old child don't know a nigger from anybody else" (252). The same idea applies to a ten-year-old child, especially if someone feels it necessary for him to "be content to stay home for the rest of his life" (251). Nelson even has the urge to rest in a black woman's secure arms once his grandfather gets them lost in the city. Still, Nelson learns to hate black people in Atlanta and decides "[he'll] never go back again" (270) based on his perception of the city as allowed by Mr. Head. Though the competition almost overcomes them, Mr. Head and Roberta's mother apparently possess almost absolute power.