Examples Of Stereotypes In Recitatif

Morrison’s Recitatif is a thought-provoking story about an inter-racial childhood as two girls partially grow up in an institution without their mothers. Roberta’s mother was sick and Twyla’s mother wanted to dance all night, or so the girls believed. The two girls were able to bond through their life experiences and different predicaments and become friends. As they run into each other various times in adulthood, the story creates an interesting narrative of the views of society as a whole and individual racism. The way this story is set up causes the reader to not have a clear understanding as to how to interpret and perceive the overall narrative. Morrison’s writing helps uncover one’s stereotypes and racial views that one may not have been

Twyla expresses things that are usually taken as racist statements within the first few paragraphs of the novel. She mentions that when she is introduced to Roberta she was not the biggest fan of the situation. Twyla does not hesitate to express her discomfort of having to live with someone of a different race. It is apparent that Twyla’s ideologies come from her mother. One example of this is when Twyla expressed her thoughts and concerns regarding Roberta’s hair and overall hygiene. The opening paragraphs also mention that Twyla is bothered at having Roberta’s fingers in her hair. You can sense the racial divide within the story. From the beginning, it is quite obvious that Roberta and Twyla are of different races. During the time period, and throughout the story, a negative attitude was taken toward black people. Since Twyla’s mother warned her about people of Roberta’s race, one might assume that Twyla was white. Yet, as each character was continually developing throughout the story, it becomes less and less clear which character is black or white. The story confuses the issue even more by causing the reader to create certain inferences in one moment, and have those inference be affected and changed in the next chapter of the story. It is my belief that the scheme of the story is meant to do exactly