St. Bonny: People In Society

People in Society The main characters, Twyla and Roberta, meet at first in St. Bonny that is an orphanage. In general, the orphanage is a facility for children who are abandoned by their parents and whose parents are dead. However, the two main characters have different situations from other “real orphans” (Morrison 132). The reader can have knowledge of their situation by the first sentence of the story “[m]y mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick” (Morrison 131). Even though they did not like each other at first, the bond of sympathy between Twyla and Roberta creates a close friendship in St. Bonny. Moreover, their strong friendliness assists to overcome difference of race that is described as “like salt and pepper” (Morrison 132). However, after they enter …show more content…
Twyla meets Roberta who gets all dolled up to watch Jimi Hendrix’s performance with her friends. Contrary to Twyla’s expectations of friendly greeting, Roberta ignores her and leaves with a reason that she does not know Hendrix. After they leave Howard Johnson, Roberta greets Twyla warmly as they encounter again in Food Emporium, unlike last time. The question that Twyla asks her why she ignored in Howard Johnson proves how the social negative circumstance changes people badly, when Roberta answers her question such as “how it was in those days: black – white” (Morrison 141). The changing attitude of Roberta who does not care about difference of race before she enter into the society strongly demonstrates that social problems have a negative effect on people. Moreover, when they talk about Maggie, the reader can recognize that the memory of Twyla and Roberta about Maggie is changed differently after they advance into society. This situation also prove how social environment affect recollection of people’s past by prejudice and different values that people learn in the