ipl-logo

Recitatif Essay Thesis

988 Words4 Pages

In Recitatif by Toni Morrison, two girls, Roberta and Twyla, grow a bond with each other while in an orphanage called St. Bonny’s. They did not really fit in with the other girls, which gave them a reason to stick together. The other girls were orphans, but Roberta had a mom that was very sick and unable to take care of her and Twyla’s mother “danced” all the time and could not provide for Twyla. The two of them got bullied by the bigger girls, aka the “gar girls.” They would push them around and laugh at them, which did not seem to be a big deal at the time. Despite this obviously negative interaction, much like stereotypical bullies and their victims, there is evidence that these girls had a lasting influence on Twyla and Roberta. This begs …show more content…

A few years later, Twyla and Roberta ran into each other at a cafe called Howard Johnson’s. Twyla is working there and she sees Roberta walk in. When Twyla comes to approach her, Roberta is a bit standoffish and she does not seem a bit excited to see her. Twyla seems to be hurt by this interaction and is not sure how to act. This shows that it was not likely for Roberta to act this way and something influenced her to believe that this was okay. When Twyla first sees Roberta, she thinks to herself, “she made the big girls look like nuns” (Morrison 6). This portrays the fact that Roberta is taking on the role of one of the girl girls, being mean and looking like them. They run into each other again at a grocery store and reminisce on some of their memories at St. Bonny’s. Twyla brings up Maggie, who worked in the kitchen at St. Bonny’s. She thought that Maggie used to always fall over, but Roberta remembers things quite …show more content…

After Roberta says this, Twyla does not stop thinking about it and it makes her wonder if the girl was really that mean. As time goes on, Roberta and Twyla run into each other once again. This time, they are both protesting about having to send their kids to a new school. Things get a little intense between the two of them and after a small argument, Twyla reaches out for Roberta when she is scared. Twyla thought that Roberta would take her hand and help her feel safe like they used to do when they were younger, but instead, “Roberta was looking at me swaying from side to side in the car and her face was still” (Morrison 15). Roberta felt no sympathy towards Twyla and it is evident that the gar girls had this impact on her when they pushed the two girls down and never helped them back up. The gar girls never showed sympathy towards anyone, which put the thought in Roberta’s mind that she does not have to show sympathy towards Twyla if she does not want to. This protesting carries on and the argument between Twyla and Roberta seems to get worse and worse. Maggie gets brought up again and Roberta changes the story from the gar girls pushing her to Twyla kicking

Show More
Related
813 Words | 4 Pages

While the two girls’ lives reflected one another, they also experienced vast differences. For instance, after her father’s arrest, Ingrid’s neighbors outcasted her and her family while Sumi, who lived in a predominantly Japanese neighborhood, shared the same fate as many of her neighbors. Additionally, Ingrid, who dropped out of school shortly after her father’s arrest and did not attend school in Germany, never graduated high school whereas Sumi eventually went on to chiropractic schooling in the United States. Ultimately, both Ingrid and Sumi found their way back to the United States, where they tried to recreate a semblance of pre-World War II normalcy. Though neither ever recovered from the psychological effects of their experiences, both established a life and

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

First, Twyla plays the part of the protagonist in “Recitatif.” When we first meet her she is very judgmental towards her new roommate, Roberta, which is made evident when she says “Roberta sure did. Smell funny, I mean” (Morrison 239). She is shown to be a very static character throughout the story, as her naivety never seems to go away, and she

Read More
1597 Words | 7 Pages

She had always been confrontational and tough, this showing through when she is determined to overcome an obstacle. This is significantly different to how Rebecca Skloot grew up, living in a white, agnostic neighborhood instead of Deborah’s Christian childhood in the South. When Deborah and Rebecca first meet, they find themselves contrasting, even leaving Rebecca speechless at times over their first phone call. While Rebecca prepares herself to be ‘honest, compassionate, and patient’

Read More
1291 Words | 6 Pages

Prejudice is a predominant theme in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif”. A short story that follows the lives of Twyla and Roberta, two girls of different races who met in a state home. This piece has been the subject of much discussion, particularly about race, but also about class and disability. Prejudice has deeply impacted and shaped the main characters’ lives. “Recitatif” addresses the characters’ prejudice in a variety of ways, but also forces the audience to consider their own prejudice through Morrison’s use of stereotypical descriptions.

Read More
378 Words | 2 Pages

Often girls of this age give cruel nicknames. I believe this gives our narrator an interesting point of view through the story. She is often being pressured to follow the group and do things she doesn’t quite believe in. I don’t believe she has the courage or

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

When Roberta and Twyla meet, Roberta is upset that her kids are being bussed to a different school because the school district is forcing integration. Roberta tells Twyla that she kicked an employee that worked at the orphanage named Maggie. Twyla denies these claims and the two part still frustrated with each other. This is where we see the second change take place. Roberta has changed from a party girl to a mature woman but she still has insecurities.

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

At that point, she starts to discuss how her mom and sister are as yet living out-dated and how they would never think about the world. She doesn 't generally comprehend that Mama and Maggie are cheerful just they way

Read More
1204 Words | 5 Pages

By making Twyla and Roberta’s races unclear in the story yet giving both characters stereotypes, “Recitatif” attempts to expose the reader’s own

Read More
988 Words | 4 Pages

In “Born to Not Get Bullied” Nicholas Kristof discusses the increasing problem that Lady Gaga was facing at school base on being bullied. There have many young teenagers in school who would really call her horrible names in a very loud way in the front of a different races. During her teenage years, boys would repeat cruelty of peers to her and that was affecting her from coming in to school because she couldn't handle the world that were coming from other teens in school. For one thing, she couldn’t concentrate in class and image that she was a straight A student so that show she was really hurting inside. Another problem is that it is also very dangerous for students getting bullied because, that led to abuse alcohol, contemplate suicide and skip school.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

She deliberately avoids her and her new sense of self-righteousness. Maggie's lack of exposure to society makes her weak in her sister's eyes and vulnerable to her sister's pretentious attitude toward what is owed to Maggie. Dee disturbs the peace by proclaiming, "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!” It is clear that Dee believes that she deserves to receive whatever she wants, yet Maggie never fights for what she is already entitled

Read More
805 Words | 4 Pages

At first, Twyla is not too keen on being roommates with Roberta, but as Twyla 's memory went on it showed the girls had more in common that she thought. Both girls were eight years old, they were not very good in school, and their mothers were still alive. This is what separated them from all the other girls

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

Sarnowski describes Maggie by stating, “She ekes out an existence on the family farm and has neither the intelligence nor the physical attributes of Dee/Wangero” (Sarnowski 278). This statement shows that Maggie lives a conservative type of farm life, and due to this lifestyle, she is less intelligent than her sister. This statement also shows how the character Maggie is described in a sense as inferior to Dee because of her lack of education and physical attributes. Maggie’s traditionalist ways show, however, when she tells her mother, “"She can have them, Mama,” … "I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts"” (Walker 6).

Read More
481 Words | 2 Pages

We all know both abraham lincoln and dr martin luther king jr both wrote some amazing speeches.both men had three things in common for example both had repetition,parallelism and tone.and using these three factors help them write a spectacular speech. Repetition was used in both speeches and the reason it was used was to let the people and the readers know what their key point was and their purpose for writing the speech. “In the i have dream speech” king repetition was “i have dream a today! I have a dream that one day down in alabama ---with its vicious racist,governor have his lips dripping with the words interposition….i have a dream today!.the repeating phrase is “i have a dream” he uses that phrase to let you know that he believes that one day we’ll all wake up and be free.

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

Similarly, Raphaela appreciates Ruth’s welcome to the school, as being new is difficult for her. At a school with distorted hierarchy, emotional support is crucial. So, Ruth provides Raphaela a place where she could feel comfortable. Despite her appreciation, Raphaela often compares her bravery to Ruth’s.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

Maggie has a very bad relationship with her bigger sister Dee with jealousy and hatred. Mama always thinks that Maggie lives an unfair life but Maggie never said that. “Maggie asked me mama when Dee ever had friends” (Walker, 317, 14), this quote shows how Maggie is jalousie from Dee, actually dee has friends. When Maggie sees stuff she doesn’t like she hides it and doesn’t talk but when she knew that Dee wanted to take the quilt that mama promised to give her she dropped the plates and smashes the kitchen door very hard.

Read More

More about Recitatif Essay Thesis

Open Document