Compare And Contrast Plessy V. Ferguson

During the mid-to-late-1900s, there was a lot of controversy surrounding race. Although slavery had been abolished around a century ago, many people still did not treat African Americans as equals. Even the supreme court had declared that white people and black people should remain “separate but equal”, in their landmark case Plessy Vs Ferguson (“Separate but Equal - Separate Is Not Equal.”, n.d.). The “separate but equal” doctrine meant that African Americans were to be given separate facilities and opportunities from white people, given that they were equal to each other. However, this doctrine did not protect the rights of African Americans, and often worked against them instead. Although African Americans were considered “separate

The two characters are introduced when they are placed in the same room in a shelter they call St. Bonny’s. When Twyla finds out she is going to be sharing a room with someone of a different race she says “[m]y mother won’t like you putting me in here“ (Morrison, 1983). She also says that she feels “sick to [her] stomach” at the thought of being placed “with a girl from a whole other race” (Morrison, 1983). Even as a child, the barrier between black and white was visible enough to Twyla that she argued against sharing a room with someone from another race. However, the two become friends after a short period of time, and remain so until Roberta has to go back home to her mother (Morrison, 1983). After their stay in St. Bonny’s, Twyla and Roberta do not see each other until they are much older, when Twyla is working at a Howard Johnson’s. Twyla tries to have a conversation, but Roberta rudely brushes her off, seemingly for no reason. Twyla is confused because she believed that they were friends, and had done nothing to make Roberta dislike her (Morrison, 1983). Roberta brushed Twyla off because she did not want the guys she was with to see her being friendly towards her. Roberta wanted to be seen as cool, so she was discourteous and acted as though she wanted nothing to do with her. Years later, when they meet again, Twyla asks why Roberta acted so rudely all those years ago. Roberta

Ellison focused more on the idea that racial division caused white people to treat African Americans as though they were subhuman. In Invisible Man, the boys were treated as though they were meant only to entertain the white men. Ellison uses their predicament as a metaphor for how many African Americans felt helpless to stand up for themselves during this time period. Morrison focused more on the social aspect of the inequality. In “Recitatif”, Roberta and Twyla were heavily affected by the barrier created by society. They were friends as children, but the constant battle between black and white caused them to lose their connection with each other. Morrison used their relationship to show how society caused strife between African Americans and white people that was often unnecessary and based only on