Recitatif By Toni Morrison Analysis

Reaction to “Recitatif” In “Recitatif by Toni Morrison, two girls are taken to an orphanage because both of their mothers are unable to care for them. Twyla’s mother is unable to care for her because she simply likes to “dance all night” (Morrison 1). While Roberta’s mother cannot take care of her because she is ill. This story follows the girl's relationship with each other while they are at the orphanage and the times that they meet when they are older. Throughout the story Morrison gives hints to which girl is black and which one is white, but these are not very clear. At the beginning of the story Twyla says that her mother tells her “they never washed their hair and they smelled funny” (1) when Mrs. Itkin introduces Roberta to her. This may imply that Twyla is white and Roberta is black. Or even further into the story when Twyla asks Roberta why she was acting funny that one time at Howard Johnson’s. To which Roberta explains "Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days:

She was “deaf, and dumb. Nobody inside”. None one could tell you anything important “rocking dancing and swaying as she walked”. She knew that Maggie would not scream just like her (17). At their final meeting, Roberta confesses that she wanted to kick Maggie. She also says at the end “what the hell happened to Maggie?” (19-20). Both Twyla and Roberta both are haunted by what happened to Maggie. At eight years old they both wanted to hurt Maggie because she reminded them of what was wrong in their life at that time. As they aged both Twyla and Roberta have finally admitted to themselves about their feelings towards Maggie and how it was morally wrong. The story is not just about being black or white, it is more about not trying to put labels on people. It did not matter whether Twyla and Roberta was black or white because they both had the same inner struggle which they seemed to come to terms with and grow because of