A Literary Analysis of Recitatif by Toni Morrison In 1983, Toni Morrison’s only short story was published. The short story was called Recitatif. Recitatif derives from the word recitative. Morrison wrote about the differences blacks and whites had during different times throughout the story. Although the readers knows one character is black, and one character is white, Morrison never tells which is of each race. She uses symbolism and racism to portray messages in the story.
In the short story Recitatif, Twyla & Roberta are two friends of different races who learn how to grow up in the Civil Rights Era. They meet at St. Bonneventure's orphanage for girls. Right away they become instant friends because they consider themselves not "real orphans". …show more content…
The first encounter is when Twyla is in her twenties and working as a waitress. She sees Roberta in one of the booths with two men. When Twyla confronts Roberta, Roberta is not polite and brushes Twyla off. The second encounter is when Twyla sees Roberta in the grocery store about 5 years later. They are both married with children. Twyla confronts Roberta about the way Roberta acted when they saw each other in the restaurant years ago. Roberta says “you know how it was in those days: black-white.” She says this because at that time, blacks and white didn’t associate with each other. The next encounter is when Twyla sees Roberta picketing at the school, so Twyla decides to stop as well. The two get into an altercation once again about racial issues. Roberta tells Twyla that Twyla was the one who pushed Maggie, the mute kitchen helper from the orphanage, down on the ground and kicker her. However, during their last and finally encounter, Roberta tells Twyla that she lied, that is was really the big gar girls. She states she only told Twyla that because Roberta wanted to be the one to push Maggie down. She also states that wanting to do something is doing
In the short story Recitatif, Twyla & Roberta are two friends of different races who learn how to grow up in the Civil Rights Era. They meet at St. Bonneventure's orphanage for girls. Right away they become instant friends because they consider themselves not "real orphans". …show more content…
The first encounter is when Twyla is in her twenties and working as a waitress. She sees Roberta in one of the booths with two men. When Twyla confronts Roberta, Roberta is not polite and brushes Twyla off. The second encounter is when Twyla sees Roberta in the grocery store about 5 years later. They are both married with children. Twyla confronts Roberta about the way Roberta acted when they saw each other in the restaurant years ago. Roberta says “you know how it was in those days: black-white.” She says this because at that time, blacks and white didn’t associate with each other. The next encounter is when Twyla sees Roberta picketing at the school, so Twyla decides to stop as well. The two get into an altercation once again about racial issues. Roberta tells Twyla that Twyla was the one who pushed Maggie, the mute kitchen helper from the orphanage, down on the ground and kicker her. However, during their last and finally encounter, Roberta tells Twyla that she lied, that is was really the big gar girls. She states she only told Twyla that because Roberta wanted to be the one to push Maggie down. She also states that wanting to do something is doing