Analysis of Recitatif

A detailed Summary of Analysis of Recitatif

In Recitatif, by Toni Morrison, the racial identity of Roberta and Twyla is an ambiguous part of the story. From the outset, it is apparent that Roberta and Twyla are of different races. They were both "stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race." Throughout the story, each character is developed more and more, though it does not necessarily lead to a conclusion as to what race each girl is. Many of the traits could be indicative of either a black or white girl. More so, it confuses the issue even more by leading the reader to decide one way and change his/her mind a minute later. However, in the scheme of this story, I think that is just the point.

In the beginning, my first initial reactions were that Roberta was the black girl, while Twyla was the white girl. During the time period in the beginning of the story, a negative attitude was taken toward black people. It seems as though Twyla's mom had warned her about the black people who "never wash their hair and they smelled funny. Roberta sure did. Smell funny." However, this is not enough evidence to decide one way or the other. Twyla also tells the Big Bozo, "My mother won't like you putting me here." A white mother did not want her white daugh

ter to be roomed with a black girl. Furthermore, Roberta does not seem to understand this. "Roberta must have thought [Twyla means] that [her] mother would be mad about [her] being put in a shelter. Not about rooming with her, because as soon as Bozo [leaves] she [comes] over to [her] and [says,] 'Is your mother sick too?'" In my interpretation of how things were in those times, a white person may be offended to be paired with a black person, while the black person may not care. In this case, Twyla shows concern for being put into the same room as Roberta, while Roberta does not seem to notice any animosity.

Following this incident in the story, Twyla encounters Roberta in Howard Johnson's. Roberta "[is] sitting with two guys smothered in head and facial hair. Her own hair [is] so big and wild [that Twyla] could hardly see her face." This implies to me a sort of "Afro" hairstyle for both Roberta and her escorts. Even her clothing and jewelry seen to suggest that she is black. "She [has] on a powder-blue halter and shorts outfit and earrings the size of bracelets," similar to the earrings worn by African women. She is also on her way to see Jimi Hendrix, a black musician, and snubs Twyla for not knowing who he is. Though this is not entirely indicative of a black person, it is more likely to be a black person. This once again contradicts the previous conclusion of Roberta's race. The line between who is black and who is white gets very hard to distinguish.

This brings up another important issue in the story. Society has given blacks a negative marking, a negative "brand." Psychologically, even black people begin to find the black race as repulsive and digusting. Regardless of which girl was black, this could have led them both to have the yearning to "hurt" Maggie. This leads to my primary point. Genetics and appearance do not make people different from one another. The difference between a black person and a white person is so hard to distinguish without visual features that maybe there is actually no difference between them except for the visual features. Even these features are sometimes absent in a mixed race person who is still considered black (non-white) due to genetics, but white due to appearance. In many of the situations where I drew conclusions on the race of either girl, I know I could have given an argument otherwise to switch an opposite conclusion.

Another hint of each girls' race is the depiction of each of their mothers. Twyla's mom, Mary, wore "tight green slacks" and a "ratty fur jacket with the pocket linings so ripped she had to pull to get her hands out of them." Roberta's mom was quite different. "She was big. Bigger than any man and on her chest was the biggest cross [that Twyla had] ever seen...and in the crook of her arm was the biggest B

Some common words found in the essay are:
Roberta Twyla, Bible Twyla's, Twyla Roberta, James Benson, Oh Twyla, Furthermore Tywla, Maggie You're, Johnson's Roberta, Roberta It's, Roberta Roberta, twyla's mom, black person, white person, black people, black girl, twyla roberta, white woman, white girl, roberta's mom, black white, howard johnson's roberta, black person black, contradict roberta's statement, person black person,

Approximate Word count = 1899
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English