Recitatif Character Analysis

The fiction “Recitatif” was written by Toni Morrison, which is a profound narrative and meant to invite and let the readers wondering to search for the buried connotation of the encountered experiences of the main characters, Twyla and Roberta faced as children and their reunion as an adults again. Some of the story’s meanings and values involving around friendship, race and abandonment began to emerge as the plot thickens, and also more additional messages got concealed and remain unrecognized until even the most last sentence of the story about Recitatif. From the very first paragraph of the story, there were few details that were not mentioned which required further deeper possibility and that produced the story extremely engaging for me.

Blanche was a school teacher in Mississippi, but when she got fired for having intimate relationships with underaged boys, she moved in with her sister. Her sister, Stella is married to Stanley, who abuses her and yet she still does not leave him. Stella and Stanley have a toxic relationship, where they both have a mutual dislike for each other, but because of societal norms at the time, were unable to leave each other. Both female characters are victims to Stanley’s abuse and hurt ego. I personally do not like any of the characters, I do not get a good “feel” about them. They are all hurt in one way or another and do not know the correct way to express themselves. However, these character do remind me of how the society in third world countries expect families to be. In third world countries, men are the head of the households, and any women living under the roof is expected to follow their orders.

The author uses the young girls’ friendship to show the world that if small children can interact freely despite being of different races, why would adults discriminate against one another? The author intended to use two different races without mentioning them since he knew that readers are very intelligent and can always figure out the races he was talking about. In addition, the author was very skillful in keeping the reader in suspense so as to compel the reader to read all through in an effort to find out what the two races are (Sklar, Howard 137-154). The author is trying to show us that there are different social classes between the two races. This is evident through the description the author gives the two mothers, that is the mother of Twyla and Roberta’s mother. Twyla’s mother is described as party lady who often attends to parties such that she can’t afford to have time to care for her daughter. This alone shows that Twyla’s mother belongs to a better well off social class. Only a person with money would go to parties very often. Therefore, as readers, we are able to conclude that Twyla and her mother belong to a high social class. Only people in high social classes are associated

“Recitatif” is a short story by Toni Morrison, an african american author. On the outside, this story seems to feature 5 meetings between two girls, each aging slightly each time we see them. One white. One black. Referred to as “Salt and pepper”. However, on the inside, Toni Morrison reveals her intention to educate the readers about racial stereotypes and their everyday impacts. She does this through her unique writing style of making influential choices, and using symbols to harmonize them with her theme.

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.

Recitatif is a story written by Toni Morrison. It is about characters Twyla and Roberta and their experiences during and after being put in a shelter. Race can change what a person’s motives are viewed as. Racial stereotyping and racial segregation play a big part in this story. Twyla and Roberta are of a different race/ethnicity which causes strife between the two and they have different opinion on things.

In 1983, Toni Morrison published the only short story she would ever create. The controversial story conveys an important idea of what race is and if it really matter in the scheme of life. This story takes place during the time period of the Civil Rights Movement. The idea of civil rights was encouraged by the government but not enforced by the states, leaving many black Americans suffering every day. In Morrison’s short story Recitatif, Morrison manipulates the story’s diction to describe the two women’s races interchangeably resulting in the confusion of the reader. Because Morrison never establishes the “black character” or the “white character”, the reader is left guessing the race of the two main characters throughout the whole

The short story titled “Recifatif” is written by Toni Morrison. Morrison was born in 1931 in Ohio, and is known for writing novels with African American history involved. She

Twyla’s first reaction to being placed with “a girl from a whole other race” is being sick to her stomach (Morrison 239). She tells Big Bozo that “my mother won’t like you putting me in here” (239), but soon they “unite as the two outsiders” (Otten 3) despite Twyla’s mothers’ racial biases of those of another race who “never washed their hair and … smelled funny” (Morrison 239). Because the girl’s mothers live dysfunctional irresponsible lives, and the girls not actually “real orphans with beautiful dead parents,” as a result, at St. Bonny’s they were not liked and mistreated by the older “put-out girls” who gathered at the apple orchard

Although Reb is not a good father figure and is oblivious to the pain he causes his family, his religious beliefs are genuine and will do whatever it takes to live up to what the Torah claims. At the start of the chapter, Sarah notes that she gets know money for herself because her father refuses even to buy her a winter coat. Instead, he one-tenth of the money brought in is given to different organizations and charities that father is involved with. Sarah is aware that there is no point in arguing with her father because “Father was like a stone in his high purpose of living for

Then, after they leave the orphanage, Twyla and Roberta meet again in Howard Johnson’s. Roberta starts to view Twyla as lower than herself, because of where she lives, her job as a waitress and possibly her race. The reader can infer this, when Roberta

Toni Morrison’s only short story was Recitatif, she never reveals which character is white or black. The story explores the relationship between Twyla and Roberta, and their experiences based on their racial differences. By decoding each characters racial identity, we can then understand how race defines a person’s status in society. In analyzing the social cues such as culture, politics and economic signs, to identify the racial identity of Twyla and Roberta. I believe that Twyla is the white character and Roberta the black character.

“Recitatif” addresses several problems in society without attaching a character to a specific issue. Toni Morrison shows racial stereotyping as a learned behavior as well as an incessant activity. The most admirable characteristic of this story is it does not draw a particular conclusion nor does it come to a clean resolution. The general framework of the story poses questions that incite the reader to reevaluate one’s opinion of the importance of race to them. The story causes one to try to see others as

'Recitatif', by Toni Morrison, is a profound narrative that I believe is meant to invite readers to search for a buried connotation of the experiences that the main characters, Twyla and Roberta, face as children and as they are reunited as adults. Some of the story?s values and meanings involving race, friendship and abandonment begin to emerge as the plot thickens; however, more messages become hidden and remain unrecognized, even until the very last sentence.

As you read, you notice that Morrison never really just states the race of the girls for a reason: to allow the readers to form their own opinion. The story starts off with Twyla being dropped off at the orphanage by her mother. This is where she met Roberta, who became a close friend, the two girls started bonding because no one wanted to play with them, and the reason for that, as Twyla states is that, “we weren’t real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky” (pg 201). The two girls of the opposite race were just two abandoned girls whose mother’s did not have the ability to raise them right. Although the girls didn’t have many friends, they made their time at St.Bonnys very adventurous. The last time the girls saw each other at St.Bonnys was at the picnic, which shortly Robertas mother came and took her home. This event made the first mall breakage in their friendship.