Introduction
Race, inequality, discrimination, and prejudice are the issues that have been significantly addressed recently but will probably remain a part of humans’ nature forever. Since these negative concepts bring too much violence and sufferings into this world, empathetic people try to help those who face unfair treatment. For example, one way humans fight against violence and racial inequality is art. For centuries, many great writers have used the power of their words to draw public attention to the fact that one cannot discriminate against a person based on their skin color. By highlighting the terrifying consequences and effects of prejudice, authors manage to make many readers more aware, tolerant, and considerate. In her 1983 short story “Recitatif,” Toni Morrison deals with issues such as inequality and contradictions between different social classes, shame, and race in a rather interesting way.
Summary of the Short Story
Before talking about the way problems like racial inequality are highlighted in the novel, it is essential to provide a summary of the literary work. To begin with, this is a story about two girls becoming women and facing various challenges throughout their lives. The two girls, Twyla and Roberta, have to share a room in a shelter because their mothers cannot fulfill their parenting duties properly (Morrison 1). At first, the girls do not like each other but then become closer because other kids in the orphanage reject them (Morrison 2). The readers learn about Roberta’s and Twyla’s life in the shelter: the eight-year-old girls have to act like adults and cannot understand their true attitudes towards their mothers.
After leaving the orphanage, the girls meet several more times and see each other growing, becoming adults, forming their opinions, and recalling the days at the shelter. Each of their meetings ends with either a quarrel due to differing views or an unexpected discovery about their past life in the orphanage (Morrison 12, 15). Roberta and Twyla have different opinions about racial integration, and their memories about a disabled woman Maggie from the shelter also vary (Morrison). Despite these facts, the women manage to save their strange friendship and carry it through the years.
Race Perceptions in the Short Story
In her literary work, Morrison deals with racial discrimination and tensions in a rather interesting way. First of all, the readers are aware from the very beginning of the story that the two girls are of different nationalities. However, the actual races of Roberta and Twyla, as well as disabled Maggie from the shelter, are not revealed, which also has a symbolic meaning discussed further. Additionally, it has a specific aim: the author wants the audience to find various contradictory clues about the two girl’s races, thus illuminating the readers’ own prejudices and assumptions (Androne 135). Morrison also manages to demonstrate different attitudes towards racial integration through participation in the protests and tensions between classes.
The Girl’s Races Are Not Revealed
As mentioned above, the races of Twyla and Roberta are not revealed by the author, although the readers are aware that one of the girls is white, and the other is black. This decision has a specific meaning and aim, which can be understood through the attitudes the girls develop towards one another and how readers perceive them. First of all, at the beginning of the story, Twyla says that her mother would always tell her that people “from a whole other race,” like Roberta, “never washed their hair” and “smelled funny” (Morrison 1). Therefore, Twyla has specific prejudices against Roberta, which almost immediately disappear as soon as the girls realize that their situations are rather similar, and they can understand each other without words.
Consequently, the author highlights the absurdness of racial discrimination and inequality. What is more, “by refusing to clarify which character is black and which is white, Morrison removes the extraneousness of the visual explanation for racial tension and reminds readers that racism exists even in the absence of racial signifiers” (Morgan 696). The author also wants the audience to become more aware. If people are kind, nice, welcoming, and supportive towards each other, does the color of their skin actually matter? The girls’ example should make the readers question themselves about who they would prefer to become close with if there was no difference between skin color (Seshadri-Crooks 145). Would their choices be based entirely on other people’s personality traits and behaviors? If so, why do races mean so much in the first place?
Maggie as a Symbolic Character
Maggie is a very interesting and mysterious character whose image chases both girls throughout the years. One significant fact about Maggie is that her race is also unrevealed, and Roberta and Twyla perceive her differently. Marrison mentions that the old woman was “sandy-colored” (2), but after many years, Roberta suddenly calls her “a black lady,” which surprises Twyla (16). This ambiguity is needed to highlight that race is basically an arbitrary social construct (Kumamoto Stanley 72). The reason it exists is that people’s minds are filled with racial prejudices and beliefs. What is more, Morrison needs this character to demonstrate the shame that the girls carry through the years (Sklar 140). They did not dare to protect the disabled woman from the wicked orphans, and Roberta even enjoyed watching the older girls beating and kicking Maggie.
Different Attitudes Towards Racial Tensions
Further, it is vital to mention that Twyla and Roberta have different opinions regarding racial integration and tensions. Roberta notices every shift in prevailing attitudes towards racism and, to some extent, mirrors the situation, basing her behavior on the state of society (Morrison 13). For example, when Roberta spots the opposition between black and white people, she starts treating her friend Twyla indifferently and coldly (Morrison 13). On the contrary, Twyla does not pay much attention to the situation and prefers seeing it in a positive way. While Roberta remembers strong oppressions, Twyla recalls that “blacks were very friendly with whites in those days” (Morrison 13). Therefore, despite the prejudices her mother tried to instill in Twyla, she grew up with a positive attitude.
Participation in the Protests
As mentioned above, there are several times when the two characters accidentally run across each other. One such time is during a race-integration busing protest; in the 1970s, there was a practice of using busing as a specific integration method to achieve inclusiveness and relative racial balance (Davis 440). However, many black and white people were against this practice and organized protests. Twyla sees Roberta taking part in one of them, holding a “Mothers Have Rights Too” sign (Morrison 14). This is when the two women reveal their opposing views again. Roberta insists that the government takes away the children’s freedom, while Twyla sees the picketing women “swarming all over the place like they own it” and making decisions for her kid (Morrison 15). Even in this situation, the readers cannot understand the races of the two characters, but the question is: do the nationalities really matter? Roberta and Twyla are not defined by their skin colors – they are just concerned mothers who want the best for their children.
Contradictions Between Different Social Classes
Another reason why there was a misunderstanding between Roberta and Twyla is that they are from different social classes. Twyla is a working-class person who feels less entitled and does not consider herself politically influential. She is not rich, spends almost the last money on ice cream bars, and feels ashamed and miserable sitting with Roberta at a café. At the same time, Roberta is a member of the upper class. She can afford having chauffeured limousine and servants (Morrison 11). Thus, it is possible to say that the different views of the two women are also due to their social classes.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that Morrison’s “Recitatif” is one of the primary short stories highlighting the various aspects of racial discrimination and inequality, as well as contradictions between different social classes. Morrison does that quite masterly because she does not specify the races of Roberta, Twyla, and Maggie. Instead, the author confuses the readers by providing contradictory prompts and making them reveal their own assumptions. Therefore, “Recitatif” proves that the causes of racial prejudices may be different, but the discrimination itself is absurd.
Works Cited
Androne, Helane Adams. “Revised Memories and Colliding Identities: Absence and Presence in Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’ and Viramontes’s ‘Tears on My Pillow.’” Melus, vol. 32, no. 2, 2007, pp. 133–150.
Davis, Tomeka. “Glazer Was Wrong on Busing, but Americans Did Not Listen When He Changed His Mind.” City & Community, vol. 18, no. 2, 2019, pp. 439-445.
Kumamoto Stanley, Sandra. “Maggie in Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’: The Africanist Presence and Disability Studies.” Melus, vol. 36, no. 2, 2011, pp. 71–88.
Morgan, Danielle Fuentes. “Song as Shadow and Substance in Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’ and Stew’s Passing Strange.” College Literature, vol 47, no. 4, 2020, pp. 696–720
Morrison, Toni. Recitatif. PDF download, 1983. Web.
Seshadri-Crooks, Kalpana. “What’s in a Name?: Love and Knowledge Beyond Identity in ‘Recitatif.’” Desiring Whiteness, Routledge, 2000, pp. 142–167.
Sklar, Howard. “‘What the Hell Happened to Maggie?’: Stereotype, Sympathy, and Disability in Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif.’” Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, 2011, pp. 137–154.