Ward 1
Tyshawn Ward
Ms. Maggert
English III
27 February 2017
Friendship Trumps Racial Inequality
Imagine you are walking down the street of your neighborhood and you see two young
girls playing, one is white and one is black. Today you would not take a second glance, but in the
1980’s that was not so common. In the short story Recitatif, by Toni Morrison, two young girls
are brought into a shelter and become friends with a very conflicting relationship. Morrison
wrote Recitatif to show that friendships can be stronger than the racial inequality occurring in the
1980’s.
Twyla was put into the shelter because of her mom’s job. Her mom was a dancer and
neglected Twyla most of the time. When Twyla saw Roberta for the first time, she …show more content…
Twyla had to work for her living and struggled
understanding Roberta. Roberta had a lot of challenges with civil rights and where she belonged.
They grew close in the shelter due to the fact they both were not really orphans but that they
were simply dropped off because of their parents lack of care. “We didn’t like each other much,
but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren’t real orphans with beautiful dead
parents in the sky. We were dumped.” In each encounter, one of the girls always asked how their
mother’s were doing or approached the other with respect and care.
Racial Inequality was a detrimental problem in the 1980’s. To become friends and stay
friends with someone of the other race was a tremendous accomplishment in my opinion. They
had their struggles and had their time away from each other. Their mothers did not agree and
neither did most of the United States of their friendship. However, they never failed to keep their
respect and care for one another. Due to the problems they have faced together, Twyla and
Roberta will have a friendship to cherish for the rest of their lives. Their friendship just proves
friendship can trump racial
Tyshawn Ward
Ms. Maggert
English III
27 February 2017
Friendship Trumps Racial Inequality
Imagine you are walking down the street of your neighborhood and you see two young
girls playing, one is white and one is black. Today you would not take a second glance, but in the
1980’s that was not so common. In the short story Recitatif, by Toni Morrison, two young girls
are brought into a shelter and become friends with a very conflicting relationship. Morrison
wrote Recitatif to show that friendships can be stronger than the racial inequality occurring in the
1980’s.
Twyla was put into the shelter because of her mom’s job. Her mom was a dancer and
neglected Twyla most of the time. When Twyla saw Roberta for the first time, she …show more content…
Twyla had to work for her living and struggled
understanding Roberta. Roberta had a lot of challenges with civil rights and where she belonged.
They grew close in the shelter due to the fact they both were not really orphans but that they
were simply dropped off because of their parents lack of care. “We didn’t like each other much,
but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren’t real orphans with beautiful dead
parents in the sky. We were dumped.” In each encounter, one of the girls always asked how their
mother’s were doing or approached the other with respect and care.
Racial Inequality was a detrimental problem in the 1980’s. To become friends and stay
friends with someone of the other race was a tremendous accomplishment in my opinion. They
had their struggles and had their time away from each other. Their mothers did not agree and
neither did most of the United States of their friendship. However, they never failed to keep their
respect and care for one another. Due to the problems they have faced together, Twyla and
Roberta will have a friendship to cherish for the rest of their lives. Their friendship just proves
friendship can trump racial