Toni Morrison Flashcards
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison was born to an African American family who moved to Ohio during
the Great Migration. She said that her father’s experiences of Southern racism led
him to vocally resent white people. He taught the young Morrison stories from the
African American folktale tradition, which she learned alongside classics of the
Western literary canon. Morrison received her BA from Howard University and her
MA from Cornell, eventually returning to teach at Howard after a stint at Texas
Southern University. She married the Jamaican architect Harold Morrison, with whom
she had two children before the couple divorced. It was not until she was 30 and raising
two children in addition to working as a professor and editor that Morrison first began
writing. She joined a writers’ group at Howard, where she workshopped a story that
eventually became her critically acclaimed first novel, The Bluest Eye, published in
1970. Some of Morrison’s most famous works include Sula, Song of Solomon, and
Beloved. She is one of the most widely read American writers and arguably the most
famous African American female author. She was also the first African American
person to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, which she was awarded in 1993.
Morrison’s work explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, and the family, and it
often features the perspectives of children. She was unafraid of broaching
controversial themes, such as incest, rape, and—in the famous case of Beloved—a
child’s murder by her own mother. While her writing often exposes the sinister side
of human nature, Morrison also left space for forgiveness, redemption, and
optimism. Morrison died in 2019, at the age of 88, of complications from pneumonia.
Historical Context of Recitatif
“Recitatif” is set during three different time periods, all of which saw notable racial
tensions and shifts in culture within the US.
The first part of the story, when Roberta and Twyla are eight years old, takes place in
the 1950s. During this period, Jim Crow segregation was in full swing, and the Civil
Rights Movement began. In 1954, the Supreme Court issued Brown vs. Board of
Education, which outlawed school segregation. In 1957, the famous “Little Rock
Nine”—nine African American students enrolled in a previously white high school in
Little Rock, Arkansas—were met with severe protests by white segregationists and
eventually required the intervention of President Eisenhower to be able to actually set
foot in their school.
The next stage of the story is set during the 1960s, when Roberta and Twyla are young
adults. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, and the Black Power movement
gained momentum during this period, particularly following the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Meanwhile, the ‘60s also saw a huge cultural shift,
with the rise of a rebellious youthful counter-culture which was broadly defined by
rejection of conservative social norms, progressive politics, and an embrace of “sex,
drugs, rock’n’roll.” A key figure of this culture was the psychedelic rock guitarist
Jimi Hendrix, whom Roberta is on her way to visit when she stops at Howard
Johnson’s.
The 1970s saw marginal improvements in race relations, but black communities still
faced high rates of poverty and incarceration, which worsened notably under the
presidency of Ronald Reagan, who was elected in 1981. Although “Recitatif” was
written at the beginning of the Reagan era, it alludes to some of the social issues that
were exacerbated during his presidency, such as an increased disparity between the
quality of life of the wealthy and the poor. Meanwhile, despite the Brown vs. Board of
Education ruling taking place in 1954, the 1970s and ‘80s saw an increase in the use of
busing as a method of forcing the racial integration of schools. Although it has subsided
since the 1990s, the practice of busing is still in use today.
Literally context of Recitatif
“Recitatif” was published in a period of increasing acceptance and celebration of
African American literature within global culture. This moment was preceded by
several other key movements of the 20th century, such as the Harlem Renaissance,
which lasted roughly from 1920-1940, and whose central literary figures included
Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes. Meanwhile, in the 1940s
and ‘50s writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright
explored themes of racism and segregation, thereby creating a sense of cultural
momentum leading up to the Civil Rights Era of the 1960s.
Following this period came the Black Arts Movement, the cultural element of the
Black Power Movement. The movement was established by Imanu Amiri Baraka,
who, along with his wife Amina, edited the volume Confirmation: An Anthology of
African American Women, in which “Recitatif” was first published. The Black Arts
Movement sought to define aesthetic principles that were separate from the white
Western tradition, and to liberate black artists and writers from their dependency on
white institutions such as universities and publishing houses. Some of the writers that
made up the movement include Baraka, Nikki Giovani, and Maya Angelou.
Although not technically part of the Black Arts Movement, Toni Morrison is often
associated with it, and her work is placed firmly within the greater African American
literary tradition. As an editor at Random House in the 1960s and ‘70s, Morrison
worked on the texts of other African American writers such as Toni Cade Bambara and
Gayl Jones. One year before the publication of “Recitatif,” Alice Walker published
The Color Purple, which was to become one of the most widely read novels in the
African American literary tradition
Key Facts about Recitatif
Full Title: Recitatif - The story’s title is the French version of the word “recitative”. It
is a style of the musical oratorio that hangs between ordinary speech and song. During
operas, Recitatives are used for narrative and dialogic interludes. It can also be defined
as the tone and rhythm specific to any language. These definitions suggest the episodic
nature of the story. It deals with the five sections of the story that are different from the
ordinary lives of the two main characters Twyla and Roberta. The sections of the story
bring rhythm in the lives of the two characters. All of the moments are narrated in the
voice of Twyla, so one can say the short story is the “Recitatif of Twyla.
When Published: 1983
Literary Period: Late 20th century African American fiction
Genre: “Recitatif” belongs to the category of a short story fiction. It is a story in racial
writing as the race of Twyla and Roberta is ambiguous and debatable. It is not clear
which is Caucasian and which one is African American.
Setting: Newburgh, NY. The story begins when the girls are preteens. This was around
the 1940s or 1950s. The story continues until both girls are much older women with
kids of their own. Although Twyla has settled into a comfortable life, where she is
happy, she realizes that when she meets up with Roberta, her life has not been happy
or comfortable.
Point of View: The story is narrated from the first-person point of view. The narrator
of the story is the main character, Twyla. Twyla narrates the story from first-hand
experience. She cannot understand why Roberta is treating her the way she does. If the
story were narrated from Roberta’s point of view, it would be drastically different.
Tone: The tone of the short story “Recitatif” is realistic and somber. The apparent
prejudices make it impossible for the two girls to get along with each other. Robert’s
mother and society are among the sources of outside society that makes such prejudices
Summary of Recitatif
The story opens with Twyla’s declaration that she and Roberta were brought to the
orphanage of St. Bonny’s because Twyla’s mother (Mary) “danced all night” and
Roberta’s mother was ill. (Twyla establishes a parallel between her mother’s dancing
and Roberta’s mother’s illness, both of which are ailments that prevent them from
fulfilling their role as parents). When they are initially introduced, they do not get
along. Mary has taught Twyla to hold prejudiced views about people of Roberta’s race,
but when Twyla tells this to Big Bozo (the woman in charge of the shelter), Bozo rudely
dismisses her.
Eventually, the girls begin to bond over the fact that they understand each other without
asking questions. They are also brought closer by the fact that they both get Fs “all the
time”; Twyla can’t remember anything she learns, and Roberta has not yet learned to
read. They are also forced together by the fact that they are excluded from the rest of
the children at St. Bonny’s because they are not “real orphans with beautiful dead
parents in the sky.”
Sometimes, Twyla and Roberta are picked on by the older girls (or “gar girls”), who
wear makeup and seem scary but are in fact mostly vulnerable runaways. The older
girls hang out in the orchard, where they listen to the radio and dance. Twyla often
dreams of the orchard, but isn’t sure why because “nothing really happened there,”
except one incident in which Maggie fell down there. Maggie is a “sandy-colored” old
woman who works in the kitchen and has multiple disabilities. She is mute and possibly
deaf, and has bow legs that cause her to rock and sway as she walks.
One Sunday, Mary and Roberta’s mother come to attend a church service and lunch at
St. Bonny’s. Twyla and Roberta are excited about this prospect; they wear nice outfits
and curl each other’s hair. When Roberta introduces her mother to Twyla and Mary,
however, Roberta’s mother simply ignores them and walks away. Twyla is
embarrassed further when Mary doesn’t bring any food for them to eat, and wishes she
could kill her.
The story jumps eight years ahead in time. Twyla is working at a Howard Johnson’s
on the Thruway. One day, when a Greyhound Bus stops at the diner, Twyla notices
that Roberta is among the passengers, accompanied by two young men. Roberta is
wearing an outfit and makeup “that made the big girls look like nuns.” The two women
have a brief, casual conversation, but Roberta appears rude and disinterested, and
scoffs when Twyla accidentally reveals that she doesn’t know who Jimi Hendrix is.
Roberta goes to leave without saying goodbye, but before she does Twyla asks how
Roberta’s mother is. Roberta replies that she is fine, asks after Mary, and leaves.
The narrative jumps another twelve years forward. Twyla is now married to a man
named James whose family have lived in Newburgh for generations; the couple have
a son named Joseph. Despite high rates of poverty, Newburgh is simultaneously
gentrifying, and a gourmet market has opened in the city. Twyla visits out of curiosity,
but feels anxious at the prospect of buying anything. She eventually resolves to buy
only Klondike bars, because both her son and father-in-law love them. At the checkout,
Twyla runs into Roberta, who is dressed elegantly and reveals that she now lives in the
wealthy suburb of Annandale along with her husband and four stepchildren. Roberta
suggests the two women have coffee. In the coffee shop, the women hold onto each
other tightly, giggling and “behaving like sisters separated for much too long.” They
recall stories about their time at St. Bonny’s, and Roberta shows off that she has finally
learned to read.
Twyla brings up Maggie, and Roberta claims that Maggie did not fall in the orchard,
but was pushed by the gar girls. Twyla doesn’t believe her, but Roberta reveals that she
knows because she went back to St. Bonny’s twice and ran away the second time.
Twyla mentions the time at Howard Johnson’s when Roberta snubbed her, and Roberta
blames her behavior on the racial tensions of the era. Twyla is confused, as she
remembers many interracial groups of friends coming into the diner together, but
brushes it off. The two women ask after each other’s mothers, promise to keep in touch,
and part ways. Twyla explains that that fall, Newburgh was overcome by “racial strife”
over the issue of forced integration through busing. One day, Twyla accidentally drives
past a protest against busing, where she sees Roberta holding a sign that reads
“MOTHERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO!”. This compels Twyla to drive back and approach
Roberta. The two women have a conversation about the protest that quickly descends
into fierce and petty bickering. Eventually, some of the protesting women begin to rock
Twyla’s car. She reaches her hand out for Roberta’s help, but Roberta doesn’t move.
After the women clear away, Roberta notes that she is a different person to who she
was as a child, but that Twyla is the same—“the same little state kid who kicked a poor
old black lady when she was down on the ground.” Twyla, surprised, responds that
Maggie wasn’t black. Roberta insists that she was, and that the two of them both kicked
her. The women call each other liars, and eventually Twyla comes back to join a
counter-protest, at which she waves a series of signs that directly address Roberta and
don’t make sense to anyone else. The final sign reads: “IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?”,
and this seems to cause Roberta to abandon the protest. With Roberta gone, Twyla
chooses not to come back either.
More time passes. It is Christmas time, and Joseph is now in college. On her way back
from buying a Christmas tree, Twyla decides to stop and get a cup of coffee. Near the
diner she sees a group of wealthy people in eveningwear and admits “it made me tired
to look at them.” Twyla goes into the diner, and here she finds Roberta, who has
evidently come from the event at the hotel. Roberta asks to speak with her, and although
she is resistant at first, Twyla eventually agrees.
The women briefly exchange small talk, before Roberta admits that there is something
she had promised herself she would tell Twyla if the two ever met again. Roberta
admits that she truly thought Maggie was black, but that she knew all along that she
and Twyla did not kick her—they just watched while the gar girls did it. However,
Roberta adds that she really wanted the girls to hurt Maggie, which is just as bad.
Roberta starts crying and Twyla comforts her, suspecting that Roberta is upset because
she is drunk. Twyla soothes her friend by reminding her that they were only eight-yearold children who were lonely. Roberta seems to feel a little better, and Twyla asks after
her mother. Roberta sadly admits that she never got better, and Twyla says Mary never
stopped dancing. However, at that moment Roberta is suddenly overcome with despair
again, and the story ends with her exclaiming: “Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened
to Maggie?”
THEMES OF RECITATIF
FRIENDSHIP VS. FAMILY
The short story “Recitatif” is an account of the two girls’ friendship, Roberta and
Twyla. They meet in the orphanage or shelter St. Bunny’s. There are lots of parallels
between the two girls, which creates a sense that they are twins. They are of the same
age; their mothers are alive but could not take care of them. This fact is emphasized
when they have the same fashion sense; for example, they curl each other’s hair when
their mothers come to meet them. Moreover, Twyla also says that they both are
behaving like sisters meeting after twenty years living in St. Bonny together. However,
the notion that Roberta and Twyla are sisters is disrupted by the fact that they both
belong to different races. Even though Toni Morison deliberately makes it unclear that
which girl belongs to which race, it is clear that both of them do not belong to the same
race. Twyla also mentions that other children at St. Bonny calls them “salt and pepper.”
This illustrates their difference yet conjunction as a single unit.
The family relationship of both Roberta and Twyla is out of reach, which shows their
desperate desire to have a family. Their relationship is counterfeit against the setting
of a symbolic ‘family” at St, Bonny that is made up of children that have no parents
along with the socially expelled figures like Maggie. Even though the children at St.
Bonny are linked as family, they are also haunted by the absence of their own family.
Moreover, Roberta and Twyla are excluded from the family at St. Bonny because they
are not real orphans. Even though, as adult women, both of them have their own
families, these families are not talked about in detail in the story. Therefore, the story
suggests that symbolic families and familial relationships are more significant and
meaningful than real families. Twyla and Roberta conveyed their undecided feeling
about their motherhood in a confusion that surrounds protest. Even as an adult woman,
Twyla depends upon Roberta for her sense of identity, which is the strong evidence of
her familial nature of their friendship. keeping aside the familial implications of their
relationship, the friendship of Robert and Twyla is also intensely charged. When the
story opens, they have different opinions and are enemies because of racial prejudice.
Even though they have become very close to each other, when they meet at Howards
Johnson’s, their friendship is plagued with alienation, resentment, and
misunderstanding. All of the issues are because of social class differences. Roberta
appears to have a glamorous and exciting life, while Twyla is working as a waitress at
a restaurant. Even though the ladies are closer to each other than any other at some
points in the story, their class and racial difference come in their way, and they are not
able to overcome them.
OUTCASTS, OUTSIDERS AND THE UNWANTED
The initial setting of the short story “Recitatif” inside an orphanage /shelter launches a
theme of alienation and social exclusion that is carried throughout the story. In the
shelter, the children brought to be raised whose parents are dead or cannot take care of
them. Twyla says that she and her friend Roberta were “dumped” and alienated because
their mother is alive and are not real orphans. Thereby, Roberta and Twyla face double
exclusion: from society and also from the institution of social outcasts. The older girls
at St. Bonny’s are described as the scared runaway of pit out girls who fight off their
uncle. However, these girls would threaten Twyla and Roberta. Over here, Toni
Morison points towards the fact that how abandoned or excluded members of the
society are regarded as “tough” and threatening. However, they are extremely weak
and sensitive.
However, at St. Bonny, children are not only the outcasts. An old lady who is disabled
and works in the kitchen is arguably more outcast and unwanted than children. The
children bully her, and she cannot respond because she is mute and perhaps dead. She
has a significantly most central role in the story when Roberta and Twyla fight over
her. Roberta claims that along with other girls, they also kick her. However, Twyla
refuses this. Even though Roberts changes her opinion, she remains obsessed with the
fate of Maggie. Roberta was not only a child at St. Bonny; she belongs to the category
who are socially excluded and vulnerable. She still can feel complicit and guilty at
Maggie’s exclusion from society. The story mainly deals with the theme of social
exclusion. It demonstrates race and segregation. Robert and Twyla are having the
opposite opinion about busing or integration of school when they are adults. Even
though Roberta’s protest is mainly because her children are sent to other schools out
of the neighborhood, she is indirectly supporting segregation.
SICKNESS AND DISABILITY
The primary theme of the short story “Recitatif” is a disability. Even though Maggie’s
is the main disabled character in the story, she appears to be the background character
of the story. However, at the end of the story, she becomes a central character. Maggie
appears to be more vulnerable than the children at the shelter. She has a mysterious
character, and everyone has a different perspective on her. Some children claim that
her tongue has been cut, while Twyla supposes that she is deaf. They try to test her
listening ability by calling her with rude names. Though she does not respond, her
reaction cannot be concluded with certainty. Twyla is guilty and ashamed that Maggie
could possibly listen to her. Because of her subjectivity, interior emotions, disability,
and vulnerability, Maggie is not considered as human.
Moreover, the children at the shelter/orphanage also blame Maggie for her
vulnerability and defencelessness. For them, the sight of someone miserable and
vulnerable makes them inflict more pain on them. This is the consequence of the
Children’s own expulsion and suffering at the hand of society. They express their
feelings of helplessness and rejection by inflicting suffering and pain on someone
inferior to them. However, Maggie is not the only vulnerable or disabled character in
the story. Twyla, as a narrator, asserts in the very first sentence of the story that they
are brought to St. Bonny because her mother Mary danced all night, and Roberta’s
mother is sick. Because of the mental/physical sickness of Roberta’s mother, she is
unable to take care of her. This sickness is paralleled with Mary’s obsession with
dancing all night and is shown as a kind of disability that prevents her from taking care
of her daughter. The way Maggie walks makes Twyla compare her with her mother.
This suggests that there is something about the way they move, which is socially not
acceptable or inappropriate. This idea is a racialized concept as in American history,
and black is demonized for dancing or any other kind of movement that is linked with
black culture.
CHILDHOOD VS. ADULTHOOD
The central topic that the story deals with is childhood and adulthood. Half of the
narrative is set at the shelter where Twyla and Roberta spend their childhood while the
other half the story is set when they are adults. The children are living in a world in
which Maggie, an old woman, is presented as a child because of her dressing and
helplessness. However, the children are forced to live responsible lives and act as
grown-up because of the absence of their parents. They grow up more mature and
responsible than the children of their age. This can be seen in the behavior of gar girls
who wear makeup and intimidate young children. Twyla and Roberta are made to
behave like grown-up adults because their mother cannot take care of them and fails to
perform their role. Twyla’s mother was unable to be mature enough to take care of
herself. Twyla associates her with youth culture. These facts demonstrate the idea that
childhood and adulthood are not something concrete or could be measured with age.
They are not the absolute opposite. However, they are in moving states and depend on
the different ways and situations in the lives of people.
RACE AND PREJUDICE
Like most of the works of Toni Morrison, the short story “Recitatif: also deals with
racial identity, prejudice, and community. Toni Morison deliberately kept the races of
the three main characters in the story. The readers are certain that Twyla and Roberta
belong to two different races: black and white; however, it is uncertain who belongs to
which race. Moreover, Maggie is described as sandy-colored, while Twyla asserts that
Maggie is not black. The vagueness of the racial identity of Maggie is the main element
that makes her mysterious and significant. This ambiguity shows that race is a largely
social construction and arbitrary. These are practiced in real life because these
prejudices and racial concepts originate in the minds of people. Twyla and Roberta
disagree over the race of Maggie after 20 years when they live together in the shelter,
even though both of them had a strong awareness of race and racism when they were
children. Moreover, St. Bonny’s is an institute where all types of races exist; even then,
the children face racial discrimination and are at their forefronts. Morrison offers
contradictory clues about Twyla and Roberta’s race that, most of the time, confuses the
readers. Through this, the readers illuminate their own prejudices and assumptions
about race. Toni Morison shows Twyla and Roberta’s clash over the integration of
schools as a vague scene. This fact reveals her amazing skill as a writer. The two
women show the socio-economic gulf between them. Roberta lives in a place where
executives and doctors are her neighbors while Twyla lives in a poor neighborhood in
Newburgh. However, these facts do not reveal anything about the races of these
women. Twyla and Roberta argue and fight over the issue of busing and integration. It
is ambiguous what their final opinion about racial integration is. Moreover, the race is
not made obvious through their support or opposition for the integration as Roberta
mainly protests because her children are being abused at different schools out of her
neighborhood. The arbitrariness of the racial identity is emphasized when Twyla and
Roberta assert that “I wonder what made me think you were different.” Apparently, the
assortment sounds like racial prejudice as both women appear to have negative views
about each other’s race. However, the thought that the other is “different” is not
advocated by anyone. The sense of racial ambiguity and the fact that both women say
this sentence in succession points out towards another contradictory meaning.
Considering the sentence out of context, it can be taken as a gesture of racial
reconciliation. In reality, we are the same, but I don’t know what made you think that
we are different. As the differences between the two women are racial and significant,
it also deals with arbitrary economic and social circumstances. Even though racism and
discrimination is the real part of the world in which live, everyone regardless of
assumption and stereotype should be given even opportunities and values as other
people.
SYMBOLS
Abstract ideas and concepts in a literary text are represented by objects, characters, and
figures. The following are the symbols in the short story “Recitatif” by Toni Morison.
DANCE
The symbol of the dance is introduced in the story when the narrator narrates the first
sentence of the story: “My mother danced all night, and Roberta’s was sick.” The
illness of Roberta’s mother is parallel to that of Mary’s dancing. Certainly, the dancing
habit of Mary prevents her from performing her duties as a mother. It is possible that
the phrase “dancing all night” is used to hide the important detail of Mary’s life. Mary
could be a sex worker who dances at the bar, or there could be any other reason that
prevents her from taking care of Twyla.
Throughout the story, the act of dancing is linked with some sort of abnormality. The
sexuality and rebelliousness of gar girls are shown by the fact they listen to the radio
and dance in the orchard to the music. Moreover, explaining her reason for escaping
St. Bonny, Roberta says that she had to escape as she cannot dance in the orchard.
Therefore, the act of dancing symbolizes the future that Twyla and Roberta want to
escape from.
The first part of the story is set in the 1950s and 1960s. During that time, many popular
forms of dances common among people were linked with immorality and sexuality.
This association also started when Africa-American traditional forms of dances were
demonized, and white culture viewed it as hypersexual, wild, and un-Christian.
moreover, with the character of Maggie, a more metaphorical form of dace is
associated. Maggie walks in an unusual way because of her bow legs. Twyla makes an
explicit link between her mother dancing and the way Maggie walks. She says that
“Maggie was my dancing mother… rocking, dancing, and swaying as she walked.”
Twyla, once again, associates dancing with abnormality and disability. In other words,
one can say that dancing shows their inability to function according to the set rules of
society.
THE ORCHARD
The short story “Recitatif ” contains a lot of symbolic settings. The setting includes the
bedroom of Roberta and Twyla, Howards Johnson’s chapel, the Newburg dinner, and
the gourmet market. The most important setting of the story is the orchard at St.
Bonny’s. While talking about the gar girls and their habit of hanging and dancing at
the orchard, Twyla first introduces the orchard. Twyla would frequently dream about
the orchard. She describes the orchard as 2-4 acres and contains apple trees. However,
the trees were “empty and crooked like beggar women when I first came to St. Bonny’s
but fat with flowers when I left.” The description that Twyla gives about the apple trees
is clearly connected between Maggie and trees as Maggie is also crooked because of
her disability. The site of the orchard is also important as the gar girls abuse Maggie
by kicking her. Therefore the symbol of the orchard is Edenic (the garden of Eden). It
is the place where the innocence of childhood paves the way for “sins: of vanity,
cruelty, sexuality, and adolescence.
THE KLONDIKE BARS
The Klondike bars that Twyla bus at the gourmet market after deciding upon it too
much represent her character as an adult woman and her circumstances after marriage.
It also signifies the difference between Roberta and Twyla. Twyla visits the gourmet
market out of curiosity. While walking in the market, she cannot justify spending her
husband’s salary on anything except for buying Klondike bars as her son and fatherin-law both love it. This small incident shows the responsible, restrained, and modest
personality of Twyla and also shows how much her life revolves around the desires of
others. However, Twyla feels guilty after buying them. When Roberts suggests having
a coffee, Twyla instantly thinks about the bars that will melt in the car. Twyla again
thinks about the Klondike bars when the conversation in the coffee bar gets sour. She
wonders that she is too childish to think about the instance when Roberta snubs her in
Howards Johnson’s. This confirms the link between the Klondike bars and the selfesteem and delicacy of Twyla’s maturity.
PROTEST SIGNS/PLACARDS
Roberta and others start protesting when the schools in Newburg are made to integrate
through busing. Roberts is holding a placard that reads, “MOTHERS HAVE RIGHTS
TOO!”. Twyla accidentally drives past the protest and sees Roberta holding the
placards. After having an argument with Roberta, Twyla decides to join the counterprotest as hold the placard that reads, “AND SO DO CHILDREN.” This placard is
followed by a series of other placards that make no context to the ladies but are directed
to the shared experience of Roberta and Twyla. In the story, these protest signs play an
important role as it symbolizes Twyla’s and Roberta’s transformation from powerless
and vulnerable children to an adult woman who can speak for them on public platforms.
However, the statement of Roberta and her identification with motherhood appears to
be unconvincing and emphasizes her assimilation with influence, wealth, and
responsibility. The placards, at the same time, also show Roberta and Twyla’s
obscurity to the world around them. Twyla repeatedly says while reflecting on her
friendship with Roberta that she does not ask questions and appreciates it. Instead of
asking questions and interrogation from each other, the two kids simply accept each
other’s life as it is. Therefore, the cryptic signs that Twyla makes are only addressed to
Roberta and very significant. The placard “AND SO DO CHILDREN” could be
interpreted in a way that Roberta is the stepmother of four kinds and is not technically
a mother. In response to this, Roberta creates a placard that reads that “HOW WOULD
YOU KNOW?” and “IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?.” Even though these placards have
nothing to do with the ongoing protest, the question is a motif with which Roberta and
Twyla end their conversation each time when they meet as adults. Roberta’s placards
show her responsibility and maturity as an adult, while Twyla’s signs show the unstable
childhood of both women.
TWYLA
She is the narrator of “Recitatif.” She is the main character of the story, along with
Roberta. When the story opens, she is eight years old. She has been brought to St.
Bonny’s Orphanage because her mother dances all night. Mary has abandoned her
daughter and taught her biases towards the people of Roberts’s race. The race of both
characters remains ambiguous throughout the story. Even though over the course of
Twyla’s friendship with Roberta, the racial prejudices appear to diminish, they
resurface when two meet after a long time as adults. Though Twyla could not perform
well at school, she is better than Roberta as she can read. At St. Bonny’s, Twyla is
afraid of girls as the pick on her and Roberta. She is affectionate towards Roberta and
curious about Maggie. When her mother, Mary, comes to visit her at an orphanage, she
has strange emotions as she is excited to see her but simultaneously ashamed at her
behavior. In her late teens, Twyla started working at Howard Johnson. She becomes
more responsible and weary. She marries a man whom she describes as wonderful to
Roberta and privately calls him as comfortable as a house slipper.” Twyla appears to
be alarmed by the incursion of wealth and development in Newburg. She is anxious
and stressed because of her financial conditions. She also appears to be upset with the
“racial strife” that starts at Newburg due to bussing, even though she does not have any
personal opinion about the matter. When Roberta claims that both of them kicked
Maggie, she feels resentful. However, at the end of the story, she realizes that her anger
and helplessness towards her mother ignites her desire to kick Maggie.
ROBERTA
Besides Twyla, Roberta is another main character of the story. Roberta is the roommate
of Twyla at St, Bonny’s orphanage. Both of the girls are eight years old. One of the
girls in white, and while the other is black, however, it is ambiguous which race belongs
to which race. Roberta’s mother is such; that is why she is unable to look after her. At
the end of the story, Roberta reveals that her mother was in an institution that claims
her illness to be mental rather than physical. Even though Roberta appears to be raised
up in a less neglectful way than Twyla, she is unable to read. Roberta leaves St. Bonny
before Twyla; however, she returns back to it twice, and for the second time, she runs
away. In the second part of the story, when the story is shifted eight-year ahead in time,
Roberta and Twyla meet at Howards Johnson’s. Roberta has to wear a glamorous and
sexy outfit with lots of makeup. Two men are accompanying her, and they are heading
to meet Hendrix. In this part of the story, Roberta appears to be part of the 1960’s
rebellious youth culture. She taunts Twyla for not knowing Hendrix. She also embraced
the self-indulgent command of “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll.” In the final section of the
story, Roberta has undergone a transformation. She has married a rich man when Twyla
meets her at the gourmet market. She is associated with luxury. However, she also
becomes a passionate opponent of forced integration. The personality of Roberta
appears to be less stable than that of Twyla. She also has insecurity about her identity.
However, it is also suggested that Roberta is more self-centered than serious and
responsible Twyla. That is why the readers are surprised to see that she cared about
Maggie’s and is obsessed with her fate
MAGGIE
In the short story “Recitatif”, Maggie is a minor character; however, she takes the
central and mysterious significance in the story. She has been referred to as the “kitchen
woman” by the children at St. Bonny orphanage. She is old bow-legged and “sandycolored.” Maggie is unable to talk, and some children claim that her tongue was cut.
However, Twyla assumes that she is deaf as well. She, along with Roberta, tries to test
her listening ability by calling her “Dummy1″ and Bow Legs,” to which she does not
react. However, Twyla is certain that she can listen to them and is guilty about it. Due
to her helplessness and vulnerability, children at St. Bunny feel angry towards her.
However, she later realizes the similarity between the unusual way of Maggie’s walk
and her mother dancing all night. Roberta and Twyla also want to hurt Maggie because
she resembles and represents their mothers and their vulnerability. Maggie has become
a point of contention between Roberta and Twyla when Roberta asserts that they also,
along with other girls, Kicked Maggie at the orchard. Roberta also asserts that Maggie
is black. However, Twyla does not agree with it. Later, Roberta confesses that they did
not kick her with other girls, but they want to kick her. The racial ambiguity of Maggie
in the story mirrors the complicated relationship of a woman with race. They resist
being identified as oppressive and bigoted while at the same time, they want to distance
themselves from the pitiful and helpless existence of Maggie.
BIG BOZO
She is the woman in charge of St. Bonny. The real name of Big Bozo is Mrs. Itkin. Her
official title is not mentioned in the story. She assigns Roberta and Twyla to be
roommates. When Twyla objects that her mother would disdain this, she rudely
dismisses her. The children at the orphanage appear to dislike Big Bozo. Twyla notices
that the only time she smiles was when Twyla’s mother and Roberta’s mother come to
visit them. Roberta, after twenty years when she meets Twyla at the gourmet market,
discloses that Big Bozo was a friend when the gar girls kicked Maggie at the orchard.
Twyla also raised a placard at the protest that those mothers who protest against
integration are “Bozos.” Roberta replies to this that they are not. Big Bozo represents
harsh and loveless authoritarianism that is endured by the children as for not being
raised by their own parents. The story also suggests that some parents can be more
unpleasant.
MARY
Marry is the mother of Twyla. She is introduced at the beginning of the story when
Twyla describes her arrival at St. Bonny because her mother danced all night.
Throughout the story, Twyla uses this simple phrase to explain why Mary is unable to
take care of her. However, the true meaning of this phrase is ambiguous. She could be
suffering from any disease, or she could be a sex worker. That is why she does not
want to have any child. The name of Mary is ironic. She is completely opposite to the
self-sacrificing and morally perfect figure. Instead is a careless mother who abandoned
Twyla. Twyla mentions that her mother’s idea of super was a can of Yoo-Hoo and
popcorn. Whenever she comes to meet Twyla, she jiggles throughout the church
service. Instead of calling her mother “Mom” or something like that, Twyla calls her
by first name “Mary.” This indicates a skewed nature of the relationship between the
two. Even at the age of eight, Twyla appears to be more responsible than her mother.
Twyla has mixed feelings about her mother. She is excited when she comes to meet
her. However, she is also embarrassed at the same time because of the weird and crazy
behavior of her mother. At the end of the story, Twyla repeats the phrase that even
though she has become a mother, Mary has not stopped dancing
ROBERTA’S MOTHER
The real name of Roberta’s mother is never mentioned in the story. Moreover, the detail
about the character is also not clearly mentioned. Roberta describes her as sick.
However, her illness is not mentioned. It is unclear whether she is suffering from
mental illness or physical. Twyla describes her as bigger than any man when she comes
to meet Roberta. She is wearing a cross and carrying the Bible. Roberta’s mother,
unlike Mary, is serious and religious. At the end of the story, Roberts discloses that her
mother was raised in an “institution,” which claims that her illness is mental rather than
physical
THE GAR GIRLS
At the beginning of the story, Twyla and Robert are picked on by some older teenage
girls. Both of them called these girls as gar girls based on the misunderstanding of
Roberta of the “gargoyles.” The gar girls listen to the radio and dance in the orchard.
They wear makeup and smoke cigarettes. Roberta and Twyla are afraid of them and
think of them as touchy and mean. However, Twyla notices that they are scared
runaways who have fought off their uncles. They are the paradox of vulnerability and
toughness. They represent how children who faced abuse and neglect are considered
threatening. They also kick Maggie in the orchard, thereby representing an abuse that
Roberta and Twyla are trying to escape from
JOSEPH BENSON
He is the only son of Twyla and James. He does not mind being bused or integrated
into another school. He prefers to study at home while the schools are closed and watch
TV. He hangs the placard of Twyla in his room reading, “HOW WOULD YOU
KNOW?
