–How is the theme of maternity explored in the story? Give at least two examples.
–Morrison adds issues of class to what is already a complicated story about race. Why? Where in the story do you see evidence of this?
–What is the meaning of Morrison’s title, Recitatif? How does it work as a title for this story?
–What are Twyla and Roberta fighting about in the section about school busing? What’s going on between them?
–Is the story’s perspective on race relations ultimately pessimistic or optimistic? Why?
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
13 thoughts on “Toni Morrison, “Recitatif””
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–How is the theme of maternity explored in the story? Give at least two examples.
The theme of maternity is explored between Twyla and Roberta’s mothers. Twyla’s mother is seen as the opposite as Roberta’s mother in terms of maternity. One example is when Twyla’s mother visits her in the orphanage. She bears no gifts or even food to feed Twyla. On the other hand, Roberta’s mother reads Roberta the bible and feeds her. The difference in maternity in this section of the story shows how Twyla’s mother might not be the most caring like Roberta’s.
The second instance of maternity in the text is explored when Twyla and Roberta talk about Maggie at the end of the text. They are both on the same boat thinking of maternity when they relate Maggie to their mothers – deaf and mute. Twyla viewed her mother as someone who couldn’t communicate or watch over her properly. Roberta remembers her mother being brought up in an institution when she thinks of Maggie. Both characters thought the maternity of their mothers could’ve been better in this instance.
–What is the meaning of Morrison’s title, Recitatif? How does it work as a title for this story?
Recitatif is defined by a style of musical speech, blending song and ordinary speech, and particularly used for dialogic and narrative interludes. Toni Morrison divides Roberta’s and Twyla’s encounters into five parts. The encounters happen over years where the two reflect on their childhood and the meaning behind it. While there is no summary of what happened between these years, Toni Morrison jumps into the next encounter leaving the reader to ask questions. Recitatif is a great title for this story because each part allows the reader to connect the pieces gathered from each encounter to form an analysis on the two characters and their issues.
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
I believe Morrison wants us to realize that no matter what we say, we go by stereotypes. We automatically assume who is who based how the girls speak, their odor, their hair etc. However, as the story went on, it was harder and harder to know which is who because who I thought was the African American girl in the beginning, is actually the Caucasian one.
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
Morrison chooses specifically not to tell readers that Twyla is African American and Roberta is Causasian because she wanted to prove a point that no matter where or when we are, racial codes will always be segregated into our thoughts and opinions about things. Morrison wanted readers to be able to step away from stereotypes and to think about the story in a way where racial codes don’t infuence our thoughts or opinions about the characters.
Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
I think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian because she wants us read without using race as a factor of understanding the story. There is no clear indicator of who is of what race, thus the readers are forced to use what they believe are social indicators of a specific race and label the girls. I think Morrison wanted us to recognize our own racist assumptions and prejudices which is why she refrains from explicitly labeling the girls.
– Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
Morrison choose not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian because first she wants to create a confusion between her readers and let them from their own perspective to determine who is Black or White in order for us to draw our own conclusion. second Morrison also wants all readers that by reading the story identify themselves based on their thought and judgement toward opposite race.
Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
I think Morrison chose not to tell the reader which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian to prove a point. When I was reading the text, even though Morrison did not put a color to a girl, unconsciously, I gave the characters a color. I think Morrison is trying to prove that people are naturally racist. Even though we say we aren’t, there are some indicators that point us to think a group is a certain race. At the same time, Morrison wants us to read the story without attaching a color to the girls to see how the reader thinks.
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
I think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about the race of the girls to take away a bias from the reader. It is very easy to sympathize with a character when you can relate the the characteristics you (the reader) share with specific characters. Taking away the knowledge of which race belongs to which character gives the reader and more open perspective on each side while reading. I also believe the author chose not to tell the race of the women to show that the stereotypes that someone may believe cannot actually tell what race a person is. Many times through out the text Morrison flips around the stereotypes being associated to Twyla and Roberta making it almost impossible to determine which race each of them are, proving the point that stereotypes are simply not fact.
What are Twyla and Roberta fighting about in the section about school busing? What’s going on between them?
Twyla and Roberta are fighting about the intergration of their children’s schools. Twyla and Roberta are from two different races, so are their children. Twyla agrees that her child to be placed in a school outside the neighborhood to eliminate racial segregation. However, Roberta opposes to put the kids from other races into her step children’s school. The thoughts about races is obvious different between Twyla and Roberta. Compare to their childhood, they do not have much thoughts about races. Even though they know they are different, they still live, study and play together. Now, they grow up. They have the different ways to treat racism.
How is the theme of maternity explored in the story? Give at least two examples.
The theme of maternity is explored firstly by showing what type of relationship Twyla and Roberta had with their mother. The relationship here is negative and both girls aren’t proud of their mom. They both are in institutions because of them. Later on in the story we learn that Twyla and Roberta becomes mothers as well and due to competing with each other they realized that they too are disconnected to their kids.
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
Throughout the story, the author makes it difficult to distinguish which character identifies with which race. I think that Morrison’s goal was to show that people can go through similar experiences and hardships no matter what the color of your skin is. The purpose of this confusion might be to show that your race does not define your political, social, or economic position in life. Morrison does not state which character is African American and Caucasian also to show that we as readers can inevitably make assumptions based on stereotypes.
Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?
By not choosing to tell which girl is black and which girl is white, it helps the readers understand the conflict better. The story is about two protagonists’ childhood and them dealing with each other’s class issues rather than just racial issues. I find Morrison’s intention important because sometimes if the character is a certain race, it is easy for a reader to associate stereotypes and assumptions towards that character.
What are Twyla and Roberta fighting about in the section about school busing? What’s going on between them?
Twyla and Roberta are fighting about the integration of schools. Roberta believes that parents should have a say in allowing other children from different races/ and neighborhoods to go to school with her stepson. She does not want this to happen. However, Twyla disagrees with her as her son is one of those children who is gonna bus to a new school. Twyla believes that the children should have a voice and say in where they want to go to school. In this moment we can see the differences they both have.