1) Please read the following "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison.
2) Take notes. Read slowly, and try to visualize the characters. When you read, how do you view Twyla? Roberta? Most importantly, explain why. If major changes occur, please take immediate note of the direct quotation(s) that shifted your thinking? How does our discussion of "The Danger of the Single Story" impact your reading of this story?
3) Discuss your reading of the text (using the aforementioned questions above) in a blog response here. Use direct evidence from the text. As before, engage with each other. Take note of how others in the class read the story.
"Recitatif" by Toni Morrison
In the beginning of the story I viewed Twyla as an innocent child, due to her being only eight years old, but overtime I my view of her changed. I watched her struggle, due to her having a sick mother who left her at a home for children (most of them orphans), failing classes and mostly spending her time alone until she becomes friends with Roberta. As she got older and the story continued my view of her changed, as did my view of Roberta. Twyla was no longer this young child, who was left alone struggling through life but a young woman who was struggling while it seemed as though Roberta was living a good life. Twyla was working in a restaurant while Roberta was a patron. She became a young woman in a restaurant “smoking a cigarette with two guys smothered in head and facial hair. Her own hair was so big and wild I could hardly see her face...She had on a powder-blue halter and shorts outfit and earrings the size of bracelets. Talk about lipstick and eyebrow pencil. She made the big girls look like nuns” (6). Even after this my image of both of them changed again. One of the biggest parts of the story that shifted my point of view was on page 12 when Roberta said, “‘Maggie didn't fall,’ she said. ‘Yes, she did. You remember.’ ‘No, Twyla. They knocked her down. Those girls pushed her down and tore her clothes. In the orchard’”. This was the part that really made me question the danger of the single story because in this story we rely on only the perspective of the narrator, Twyla, so we don’t know if the girls actually knocked down Maggie or if as Twyla remembers it correctly and she just fell. If the story was how Roberta describes it becomes completely different, still bad, but even worse. Even after this the story develops further, getting continuously worse as Roberta tells Twyla more. We often don’t question stories we get from people and it changes our view of the people in the story even if we don’t know it’s true. This similar to the cycle of rumors spreading, it could be said that one person did something horrible and everyone comes to believe that thing and it completely changes everyone’s view of that person. It is a single story spread across mass groups of people. The story bring up racism in an interesting way, talking about it as a feud between two old friends. The further developed story including when Roberta tells Twyla that she is “the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot.’” (16) Often we look at racism as an object, as a singular monster, but we see it in a different way in this story. In the memories that Twyla left blocked from her mind, that we’re left unsure of, we’re unsure of her intentions. Though we're told to always assume the good in people, you’re left questioning whether or not you should here.
ReplyDeleteYou covered a really good point I saw too. I think the ideas portrayed in the story are often seen as black-and-white descriptions, but the text offered a good example of how views can change. Ultimately, I think the author was intending to prevent judgement, but I'm too not sure whether we should assume positively or negatively about people -- it seems a bit like human nature to do so.
DeleteI really like how you connected this to the idea of rumor spreading, when reading the text I hadn't thought of it that way but it really does exemplify the shift in ideas and views about people.
DeleteThroughout the entire story, my thinking was shifted several times. Towards the beginning of the story, Twyla and Roberta, while obviously very different, quickly realized that they only had each other in the shelter; the big girls were mean and unwelcoming, and they were also the only two who were not orphaned. At the start of the story, I found Twyla and Roberta to be largely naive and innocent, with Twyla obviously having a more difficult relationship with her mother. It was obvious she took this anger out on other people, at one point stating, “the wrong food is always with the wrong people,” when referring to Roberta and her mother.
ReplyDeleteWhen the two girls meet again, however, their demeanors are incredibly different. Roberta is said to have, “made the big girls look like nuns,”. In contrast to her childhood, Roberta has now essentially become the very thing she used to hate, and the reader's’ perception of her undoubtedly changes from that of respect to distaste for her coldness towards Twyla. While Twyla appears as the innocent victim in this particular story, it is the complete opposite in the final look into their lives. Instead of respecting Roberta and her views, Twyla essentially goes mad and takes all her anger out through nonsensical signs and the like. This telling of Twyla’s actions makes for a whole new perception of her character, transforming from the innocent victim to the mad perpetrator.
When thinking of this story in terms of Adichie’s TED Talk, the most prominent similarity is undoubtedly the retellings of Maggie’s story. Originally, we see her as a deaf and mute woman who falls of her own accord, later on we see her getting pushed by the big girls, and eventually it is Twyla and Roberta themselves who carry out the horrid action of pushing innocent old Maggie. With each change in the story, we ask more and more questions about what actually happened. What is the real story? In this case, the danger of the single story has to do with ignoring all the possibilities of what may have happened. It has to do with failing to understand Twyla and Roberta’s true character, motives, and inner turmoils. It has to do with failing to understand the real meaning of the story as a whole.
I agree with you that both pieces helped highlight the importance of not judging a story solely on limited information, but I too was stuck with the idea of "the real story" as you put it. I feel like we can't truly get an unbiased encapsulating view of things as human nature is built upon subjective interpretation of tangible things. Smaller aspects like our views of people can be bettered through education, but I feel that can only go so far, not fully resolve this issue.
DeleteI really like how you bring up the point about Roberta becoming "the very thing she used to hate," and how the reader changes their view of her. It goes to show how many stories are necessary to truly understand a person or a character, and that even then, humanity is never consistent or predictable.
DeleteI totally agree with you about my opinions on Roberta and Twyla. It was really hard for me to form and opinion about either of them until I completed the story because it took so many unexpected twists and turns.
DeleteLooking back at the reading, I found another quote that I feel truly resonates and connects itself to the danger of a single story. It is the last line of the story, when Roberta says, "'What the hell happened to Maggie?" While it may seem to be there in order to leave an open ended finish to the story, I feel as though Morrison placed this line where it is to give the reader the idea that, no matter how many different reworkings of Maggie's story are given, we will never know which single story is 'correct'. We will never truly understand what happened to her, because Twyla and Roberta's ideas are isolated and 'single' stories.
DeleteThroughout this story, you follow the characters through different times in their lives and see their changes when they finally come back together. In the beginning of the story when they are at St. Bonnys, both Twyla and Roberta seem to be young and naive. Twyla believes what her parents believe and assumes that all people of the opposite race from her “never washed their hair and they smelled funny” (1). From what was described of Roberta, I thought that she was quiet and innocent because she never asked any further questions. For example, when Roberta asks Twyla what her mother does and then doesn’t ask any other questions, Roberta “nodded her head and [Twyla] liked the way she understood things so fast” (1). However, as they get older and are picked up from St. Bonny’s, they go on their separate ways and 8 years later they see each other again. This time, Twyla who I thought was privileged at first, is working a mediocre job as a waitress and sees Roberta “sitting in a booth smoking a cigarette with two guys smothered in head and facial hair. Her own hair was so big and wild I could hardly see her face” (6). The original very innocent view that I had of Roberta changed drastically as now she dressed very boldly and hung out with two intimidating looking men. After a few more years, Roberta is married to a wealthy man while Twyla is living comfortably in the same area. Although, Robert and Twyla have both changed drastically from when they were younger, the biggest shift is when Roberta accuses Twyla and says “ You're the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground” (16). A friendship between young kids leads to a big fight because of the ways in which the kids grow up and regret their past decisions. The Danger of A Single Story impacts this story in the way in which a story can be told. Roberta accuses Twyla of kicking a mute black girl, yet Twyla remembers a different thing. These two extremely different viewpoints can cause two very different types of emotions. It is sometimes very hard to see which story is right because there are so many different views to one story. This just shows how hard it is sometimes to know what is right and what you should believe in.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting how you brought up how they “never washed their hair and they smelled funny” and how "[Twyla] liked the way she understood things so fast” because in my first read through I didn't think about how this was her looking down on another race, instead I looked at it simply as Twyla being a mean child as many children can be due to their lack of understanding of social situations. Looking back now this is great foreshadowing for the events to come.
DeleteI completely agree with all your points, Michelle. While the two girls started out as young and naive, they transformed into two completely different people. I too feel as though the story took a complete turn whenever a different viewpoint of what happened to Maggie is brought up
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DeleteAs the others have mentioned, the story progresses through a lot of change offering insight about the situation of Maggie from different perspectives, recollections, and times. The initial part of the story served to establish a solid sense of compassion towards Twyla and Roberta being the protagonists whose hardship in foster care made life difficult. The gradual progression to learning about their wrongdoings and repression of mistakes definitely changed this idea. The predisposition I had towards viewing them positively created an interesting read with the sharply contrasting view seen at the end. Much like was described in Adichie's TED talk, I think that though it may be human nature, building a story of someone off of initial impressions or limited knowledge leads to wrong conclusions. Additionally, I think an aspect both pieces highlighted was the idea of interpreting reality the way that is easiest for us. In Adichie's case, her roommate viewed her with pity as she's most comfortable seeing her as such while in this story, the character's viewed their past with avoidance and excuses. The internal conflict the characters experienced was shown well through the use of a progressively evolving lens.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that the beginning of the story is meant to make us sympathetic towards the characters but as the story continues our views on them become more complicated. We them as good early on because that is how the story is framed, though their motives and morality become less clear as time progresses and I found myself wondering which character I was supposed to like less or have more sympathy towards
DeleteIt interesting how you bring about the element of human nature and how it quite often leads individuals to make a quick judgement. I concur with the idea that we often interpret reality in the easiest way for us, and that this applies to both works.
DeleteI agree Audrey that I felt like the line between who was in the right and wrong were so blurred - the mixed emotions didn't represent what we felt because it wasn't so "black and white" like it was to Roberta. After all, we followed the story through the lens Twyla.
DeleteAt the end of the story, we still do not know if the explanation of Maggie’s identity and past which Twyla and Roberta have agreed on is the truth. To assume so would be to accept the “single story.” Twyla and Roberta seek to agree on a single story of Maggie and their intentions towards her to resolve their differences and move forward. However, it still leaves them asking, “What the hell happened to Maggie?" (20). Throughout the story, their varying accounts of experiences with her reflect the conflict felt in their relationship and their “single stories” of one another. Twyla feels that Roberta had “messed up [her] past somehow” after implying that Maggie was pushed rather than simply falling (13). She doubts that she would forget something like that, but Roberta has a convincing case that she “blocked it,” making Twyla appear and feel naive (12). As tensions between them heighten Maggie’s story is brought up once more, but this time it is used by Roberta to target Twyla as “the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground” (16). At first it seems that Roberta made Maggie black to provide justification for her actions and Twyla views this as an attack. It is only later that she discovers that Roberta “really did think she was black” and that she “didn't make that up” (19). As the subject that is repeatedly discussed in Twyla and Roberta’s limited interactions, Maggie is the platform for their “single stories” of one another, culminating in an open ended finish to her own "single story.” Morrison’s manipulation of the “single story” poses the question to the reader of whether people can ever be fully understood, and their thoughts and actions predicted, devoid of the unexpected.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about the questions being posed like the ones you say the author is asking, but I believe you're completely right. We really are left wondering whether people can ever be fully understood, and if their thoughts and actions predicted.
Deletei really like how you connected the story to the danger of the single story. it was really effective and made a lot of sense
DeleteEmma, I really liked how you brought out the sort of mystery, or cliffhanger, in the story. As you said, we never really do find out Maggie's identity. I like how you connected this to the idea of the single story.
DeleteThe short story “Recitatif”, by Toni Morrison focuses on the relationship between two girls named Twyla and Roberta, who grew up in a shelter together. The first half of the story talks about the experiences of the girls, specifically Twyla, while they try to make the best of a less than ideal situation in the shelter. The girls quickly became like sisters, and when they leave each other, it was really hard on both girls. About half way through, the story makes a quick jump to many years after the girls left the shelter, and they see each other for the first time. This is when I really noticed a turning point in the behavior of Twyla and Roberta. The way that I saw it was, when they were younger, Twyla put up a guard as a tough girl, and nothing really bothered her, but in reality, she was really nervous. She put on a brave face, but in reality, what young kid would not be scared when they are taken away from their mother and everything that they know? Roberta was oblivious to Twyla’s act, even though they spent so much time together. Then, when Roberta and Twyla start to see each other more often, every single time they meet, they have a different opinion of each other. The first time, Roberta was stone cold, but after that, she embraced Twyla as if they were long lost sisters. The reader is in Twyla’s shoes, so as she was experiencing this change in behavior from Roberta, I experienced her confusion as to why she was acting that way. I think the first person writing technique really inserted the reader into the story more than I originally realized. It was only looking back to see that I felt that was, because she as the writer felt that way. As we find out at the end, a lot of it is because they had different ideas of what really happened in their past at the shelter. I think that their single stories are so conflicting because there are many parts that are the same for both girls, but because the minute details do not line up, they feel the need to defend themselves to someone they once called their “sister”. Each of them have their own single story about their past, and also about each other.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned writing technique to analyze how you felt as a reader, because you were really inserted into the story.
DeleteWhile I read “Recitatif” my feelings towards Twyla and Roberta changed throughout the course of the story. When the girls still lived at the orphanage I felt pity for both of them. Roberta still could not read despite being eight years old and when Twyla’s mother came to visit she acted like a child and embarrassed Twyla in front of the other girls. Not only were they outcasts because they liked in an orphanage but they were also outcasts amongst the other girls at the orphanage for not being “true” orphans as they still had living parents. This caused them to be mercilessly picked on by the older girls while they were there and form a close bond with each other.
ReplyDeleteWhen the girls are older and they see each other years later, I sympathized more with Twyla than Roberta after Roberta’s less-than-friendly attitude towards her after seeing her in a fast food restaurant. To me, it seemed that Roberta was turning into one of the girls that had bullied her when she was younger. Later in the story when Twyla begins to harass Roberta by making personally-targeted posters that “got crazier every day” and had nothing to do with the actual school redistricting protest. This made me realize that Twyla too was becoming the bully just like Roberta had.
As Kristy said, the danger of the single story can be applied to Maggie’s character. Readers can only see into Twyla’s perspective on the matter, so until the end of the story readers can’t be sure if Twyla really had participated in pushing her over and beating her up like Roberta claimed, or if that was not true. Until the end of the story when it is revealed that neither of the girls did participate in hurting Maggie, but both of them wanted to, readers have to base their opinions off of the single story from Twyla’s perspective.
From Twyla’s point of view, the people she interacts with are made up of concepts or observations she has formed around them, needing physical reassurance to form beliefs about others. Those she observes are never described by their personalities but rather, “All kinds of kids were in there, black ones, white ones, even two Koreans. The food was good, though. At least I thought so. Roberta hated it and left whole pieces of things on her plate: Spam, Salisbury steak-even jello with fruit cocktail in it, and she didn't care if I ate what she wouldn't.” Roberta is defined by how she eats food, others defined by their race, Maggie defined by her muteness, Twyla's mother by the fact that she danced.
ReplyDeleteTwyla's superficial view of others makes her difficult to define early on, makes Roberta nearly impossible to understand. Roberta is the way she eats her food and the effect it has on Twyla.
There is little context for time when this story begins in the orphanage, isolating their youth from any other part of the story and making this time continuously significant. The rest of the story takes place over decades, short moments within extended periods of time.
For some time, Roberta exists only as a negative entity in Twyla’s point of view. But its is only when she says, “I used to curl your hair," that you gain an understanding of her character, and then of either of the woman. Roberta cannot move beyond the single story. Both women find themselves at a loss when they cannot understand one another beyond their past selves.
Roberta says Twyla doesn’t change, but it is as if to one another, they remained the same through time. Each woman is a solitary story to the other, defined by the brief significance of their time together. The only basis off which they understand each other is when they were children. Roberta holds on to this past; ‘the present doesn’t matter because I used to curl your hair.’ Neither of them exist as individuals to interpret because they are both remnants of the past to one another. They each use their shared youth to try to understand their actions, their confusion at the changes in one another, the only thing that connects them being the one thing that divides them.
“Actually my sign didn't make sense without Roberta's.” They are parallels of one another. Twyla, who appeared to be defined by her own changes, is often defined by the presence of Roberta, just as Roberta is defined by Twyla’s view of her at a given moment. They were both easier to understand as children, and it seems that's the way the characters feel as well. How they understand one another changes the way we view them, whether they have actually changed or not. Maggie’s story exists to demonstrate how the past is not easily understood or defined, just as neither of the women should have been simplified by one another.
This short story works closely with “The Dangers of a Single Story.” The single story Twyla and Roberta use of their brief time together in childhood influences their futures and how their individuality is deemed by the viewer. They do not become individuals to us, but interpretations of the one story they each hold on to.
I like your idea of how Roberta and Twyla can't seem to move on from the past, trying desperately to hold onto their innocence in hopes that they can understand each other's changes. Also, how our views towards them shifts as their views of each other shifts. They control the story as well as our perception of their relationship.
DeleteAs many others have said, at the beginning of “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, I saw Roberta and Twyla as innocent children. For me however, this changed on page 4 when Twyla’s mother greets her and her reaction was “ I could have killed her. Already I heard the big girls in the orchard the next time saying, "Twyyyyyla, baby!". This line shocked me because you would not expect such violent thinking from an 8-year-old, or at least I wouldn’t. This is when my thinking shifted from seeing an innocent girl in a shelter to gaining an understanding of the toll her mother has taken on her. By struggling to deal with this, she has evolved into an angry girl who, as Kristy mentioned, took out her rage on others and resonated in her thoughts. This made me think back to the TED talk because if you had just focused on her perspective, she is just an innocent child who is struggling in a shelter. But, if you extend your view to those around her, you see the more negative side of her anger and outbursts. When the girls meet later, I was surprised by Roberta’s actions. My view again shifted and I felt more sympathy for Twyla who had a tough job and life, while Roberta was thriving and would not even give her the time of day. The next shock was on page 16 when Roberta says “Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you're not. You're the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot." This accusation really got me thinking of the single story again. As Kristy said, you can’t exactly find what really happened when you are focused on one telling of a story. Both Roberta and Twyla had different memories of the same situation which just goes to show how a shift in perspective can change an entire story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your points Kathleen. I agree that they started off as innocent young girls but then they all changed throughout their lives.
DeleteThis perspective can be shown through the quote, "Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was." By reflecting on her actions, she makes the excuse that society and the actions of society were different back then. This applies to the single story where you can judge someone based on their actions but may not know all the circumstances and pressure they are under.
DeleteI was captivated by “Recitatif” because it narrows in on one relationship to show how people change as they go their separate ways. Roberta and Twyla started off as best friends by default, both being only eight years old, scared of the older girls, failing school, and having living mothers who "dumped" them. They found comfort in their similarities. The first shift in their relationship was when Roberta first left St. Bonny’s, leaving Twyla with nothing but a faint memory of her, “Little by little she faded. Her wet socks with the pink scalloped tops and her big serious-looking eyes-that's all I could catch when I tried to bring her to mind.” Roberta’s views shifted when she was introduced to racism in America, altering her perception of African Americans. This change was reflected eight years later when Twyla sees Roberta in the diner that she worked at. Roberta seemed distant and uninterested in Twyla during this encounter, so Twyla later confronts her about this twelve years later, "Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was." But Twyla didn’t know how it was. She never viewed the world in that way. When they were at St. Bonny’s together, they were equals and became friends because of what they had in common. It wasn’t until Roberta reached the world outside of the shelter where she saw that whites were viewed as the “superior” race. Her new view of society was reflected in her attitude towards Twyla. These hints of disconnect between the two women is most evident during the protest. Twyla drives by the school her son is being sent to as part of the integration movement and sees Roberta protesting outside of it. This event marks a pivotal point in their relationship. When Twyla asks Roberta what her problem is with this change, she responds, "It's not about us, Twyla. Me and you. It's about our kids," clarifying that it’s nothing personal, when it is absolutely personal. Roberta even tries to reassure Twyla by reminding her about how she use to curl her hair, resurfacing a happy memory that they shared. This could symbolize how innocent they were as children, having no borders between them. Twyla rejects Roberta’s attempt saying that she “hated your hands in my hair,” spoiling the happy memories that they once had, ending their relationship. All that remains is their differing beliefs and hatred towards each other. The single story is evident in “Recitatif” because the girl that Twyla remembered fondly was damaged by the effects society had on her.
ReplyDeleteI found it really interesting how you chose to focus on the world's influence on Roberta and compare it to the world's influence on Twyla. Their experiences shape their perspectives and their "single story" and are the root cause of their conflict.
DeleteTalking about Twyla's memory of Roberta fading I think this is interesting, because she also misremembers other events like Maggie falling and it's interesting to look at how memories of even her best friend faded quickly.
DeleteIn Toni Morrison’s Recitatif, it seemed everyone had constructed a single story about the world around them, however, the reader was not allowed the same easy way out. While characters get entrenched in overly simplistic views of each other, the author denyes the reader information about the main characters that would carry stereotypes, or when she does turns them on their head. Morrison draws special attention to Twyla’s underdeveloped view of certain people in her characterization of her mother, who is nothing more to her than a simple woman who “... just likes to dance all night.” This also applies to Maggie, a cook a St. Bonny’s Orphanage, who Twyla only sees as a mute old woman and having “legs like parentheses,” despite the amount or moral strife she would cause Twyla later in life. Conversely, Morrison takes care to omit many pieces of information about Twyla and Roberta that would facilitate the creation of a single story, such as their races. Morrison does mention one is white and one is african american, but at no point in the story is it clear which one is which. Additionally, stereotypical assumptions about either character are proven wrong; Twyla goes from a “dumped” child of a mother who parties too much to a housewife in the idyllic traditional small-town american local family. Similar Roberta goes from the stereotypical hippie; a girl with big hair, on her way to a Jimi Hendrix concert, to a refined and dignified mascot of the upper class. This forces the reader to adopt a more complex and changing view of the main characters, without relying on a single story. The way I thought of this text was like a worksheet, thats lets you practice developing a holistic and unbiased view of a person you can then go put to work in the real world, with real people.
ReplyDeleteWhile the focus of this text was clearly on the subject of assumptions and single stories, I also liked how Morrison was able to tie all the encounters between Twyla and Roberta together so well, particularly with the lines “ The wrong food is always with the wrong people. Maybe that's why I got into waitress work later-to match up the right people with the right food.” This eases the reader into the transition two paragraphs later to Twyla working years later at a restaurant. Additionally, this thread continues throughout the entire text ,even before the concept of the motif is introduced. In the first section, Twyla is with her neglectful mother, and they must eat the crushed jelly beans that had been dropped on the ground for lunch. Later on, when Twyla is working at the diner, the sun is just coming up and shining a light on how dingy the place really is when she has her cold reunion with Roberta. Fittingly, the third encounter opens with a line about cooking. During this section Roberta and Twyla have a much friendlier interaction, just as Twyla finds a box of Klondike bars, a favorite of her father in law, in the gourmet grocery store. In the fourth, the first sign Twyla makes in response to Roberta’s; “AND SO DO CHILDREN****”, ends up as a cutting board to gut fish. During their final encounter, the two finally seem to make amends with each other, and possibly their horrible, or just cruel, treatment of Maggie. This fits the food, at a cozy diner on a snowy Christmas eve when Twyla had dropped in “Just for a cup of coffee and twenty minutes of peace before [she] went home and tried to finish everything before Christmas Eve.”The characters of Twyla and Roberta are constantly changing throughout the text, sometimes they are the right people for each other, sometimes not, but it was always interesting how Morrison made food to match.
The idea of the food motif is interesting. Twyla's point of view observes this a lot and it does seem to tie together the interactions of the women and their understanding of one another. I wonder if this symbol has an even deeper meaning to the text.
DeleteThe evils of the single story come into play in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” with Twyla and Roberta. Initially the protagonists were always beside one another, trapped in the invisible bubble of St. Bonny’s. However, after Roberta moves out to go home , Twyla immediately is unable to recollect the fond memories of their childhood back to mind. One aspect of her past that Twyla is able to remember is the fact that Maggie, the kitchen woman, fell down on time. A few years later, Twyla meets Roberta for the second time and they decide to have coffee. The two reminisce about their past and later Twyla brings up the day Maggie fell down and the gar girls laughed. Roberta later states that the mean girls “knocked her down. Those girls pushed her down and tore her clothes”(12). Further discrepancies about the story arise when the characters meet once again and disagree about Maggie’s ethnicity. Later another story pops up, stating that both Roberta and Twyla were the ones to kick her. This all ties to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s "The Danger of a Single Story" as the reader’s impulse is to adhere to the story presented by Twyla and assume Maggie was only hurt by the older girls. As a result, when Roberta brings up her version of the story, the reader is left in a deadlock, not knowing what the truth is. The author of the short story ends the piece stating “What the hell happened to Maggie”, suggesting that the truth can’t be captured in only one or two perspectives. Instead, it demonstrates the need to gain a full understanding of a situation to make judgements on it.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the short story, my perspectives on Twyla and Roberta constantly changed. Initially, both individuals were just innocent kids dumped in an orphanage, and I had a great empathy for them. However, once Roberta leaves St.Bony’s, she is able to see the world and all of its issues, including racism, and her antiracism beliefs are reflected when she states,"Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was." As a result, I grew respect for Roberta and I slightly dislike Twyla for not understanding her beliefs, and my opinion on the characters remained fairly the same for the rest of the story
I really liked your take on how more than one or two perspectives are needed to reach conclusions and make judgements, I could not agree more. Far too often false assumptions are made by only hearing part of the story. Often, crucial perspectives are left out and thus wrong assumptions are constantly made.
DeleteToni Morrison’s “Recitatif” focuses on the concept of race and racism, and how the main characters, Roberta and Twyla, struggle with their beliefs throughout their lives. We know that one of the girls is black and one of the girls is white, which ultimately causes tension between them over the course of the short story. When the two girls are introduced Twyla recalls, “the minute I walked in and the Big Bozo introduced us, I got sick to my stomach. It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the morning-it was something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race.” From a young age, the two girls already view each other negatively based on the other’s skin color. I find it difficult to imagine how someone as young as eight could already feel “sick to their stomach” based on someone else’s race. Regardless, because of their innocence, the two still become friends. However, I saw change as the two became older and (especially Roberta) began to see bigger differences between each other based on race. When looking back on the time Roberta practically ignored Twyla at a restaurant, Roberta recalls, "oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was." This shows how because of race, Roberta assumed the two of them were so different that they couldn’t even be seen together. They lost the innocence that once brought them so close together.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it seems like one of the most important elements of the story is that Morrison never specifies whether it is Roberta or Twyla who is black. I think many people assume that Twyla is black, just as I did at first. The reason behind this could be the fact that she is the main character in a story written by a black author. However, I believe it is mostly because of racial prejudices that we get from a single story of blacks being of a lower economic status than whites. Morrison uses the ambiguity of their races to emphasize how quickly we jump to conclusions and make assumptions about people based on stereotypes. I found it interesting going back and rereading the story, but picturing Roberta as black instead of Twyla, and seeing how the motivations behind the character’s actions changed.
Grace, your second paragraph was really eye-opening. The way you talk about the implicit bias of the reader is very insightful, as well as recognizing the role that the author plays in this trying to pinpoint a race to a character.
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ReplyDeleteAs I read “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, I was unable to identify the race of each of the two girls. However, I believe that Toni Morrison did this carefully, to show how easily single stories can alter one's perception. Morrison describes the pair as “salt and pepper” indicating that one is black and one is white. The first interaction regarding race is when Twyla and Roberta are introduced in St. Bonny’s. When Twyla sees Roberta she is disappointed and “sickened” to be sharing a room with someone from the opposite race. Referring to people of Roberta’s race, Twyla states that “they never wash their hair and they smelled funny”. Unfortunately, because of many stereotypes in society focused on the hair of African American women, I found myself labeling Roberta as black. However, as I continued to read the story, I found myself envisioning Twyla as black and Roberta as white. In the future, we see Roberta as a wealthy women with a chauffeur and Twyla as part of the working class. Upon seeing Roberta’s economic status, Twyla thinks “everything is so easy for them. They think they own the world.”. Sadly, once again, I found myself falling into the pit of one-sided stereotypes. I based my judgments on the story we are told of poor blacks and wealthy whites. Of course, I made this assumption with no ill-intent, it was simply the story that society has echoed and repeated to me. I think it was extremely clever that Morrison never truly revealed the race of the girls. In doing so, she showed how all races can be plagued by stereotypes. I also believed it showed how race truly is a social construct, not being entirely certain of the races of the girls did not affect my understanding of the story. I was still easily able to see the struggles of both characters and follow them through their lives. I could also still clearly see that race and economic status affected both of their lives tremendously, it did not matter who was black and who was white.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way in which you shared your thought process as you were reading. It was really clear through your writing how you were influenced by the idea of a "single story". This stuck out to me when you said, "Unfortunately, because of many stereotypes in society focused on the hair of African American women, I found myself labeling Roberta as black. However, as I continued to read the story, I found myself envisioning Twyla as black and Roberta as white."
DeleteThe first time reading “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, I misinterpreted the beginning. It was until I had finished the story and chose to reread the beginning that I realized the true vulnerability and innocence of Twyla and Roberta. I liked how the story introduced the characters as young children and then shared more information about them as they grew older and met again. Before reading the story a second time I thought Twyla comments such as “Big Bozo” and “they never washed their hair and they smelled funny. Roberta sure did.” made her sound judgemental. After understanding her age and background I grew to realize that these comments were a result of the way she grew up as well as the fact that she is young. However my thoughts about Twyla continued when her mom walked in the room and she said, ‘I could have killed her. Already I heard the big girls in the orchard the next time saying, "Twyyyyyla, baby!"’ Like Kathleen mentioned in her blog post, I was taken aback by her aggressive tone. It is very evident how Twyla’s mother Mary influenced her daughter. She says, “nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren't real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky. We were dumped. Even the New York City Puerto Ricans and the upstate Indians ignored us.” I think Twyla’s use of the word dumped- rather than a similar but less powerful word- speaks volumes about how she and Roberta feel about their circumstances. Although one may argue that they should be grateful for having a parent at all- in comparison to the fellow orphans- it is obvious that Twyla feels angry. Consequently, she releases her emotions onto other people such as Roberta.
ReplyDeleteAs Twyla and Roberta grow older, we see how their past relationship hinders their current state of mind. Roberta says, “Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you're not. You're the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot.” This quote was very ironic considering we can clearly see how not only Twyla, but also Roberta has evolved as a character. Their evolutions reminded me of the importance of not falling into the trap of a “single story”. Each and every person has multiple dimensions to them that cannot be told through a single story.
I had to do the same thing Paige and reread the beginning after finishing the piece. It made a lot more sense after doing so, now having a better understanding of the characters and how their future experiences were influenced by their childhood behavior.
DeleteI didn't really think about how Mary influenced how Twyla thought. Until I read this post, I just thought her purpose was to show how lonely and uncared for Twyla was. That's a good point!
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ReplyDeleteToni Morrison's essay, "Recitatif' is about two girls, Twyla and Roberta, who grow up in an orphanage because their mothers could not properly care for them. The underlying theme in "Recitatif" deals with racism. An interesting twist is the mystery of the girls' race. Leaving clues, but never stating whether Twyla or Roberta was black or white, Morrison makes it clear that the girls come from different ethnic backgrounds. At one point in the essay Twyla comments, “that we looked like salt and pepper”. While race is definitely involved in the story, there is so much ambiguity as it concerns the characters within the story that never truly gets resolved. Morrison never truly states that Twyla is black and Roberta is white, all the reader has to go off of are subtle mentions such as “Everything is so easy for them. They think they own the world” along the busing protests. Of course we could go off of names, but that would not be a very stable argument since this is still fiction. Another ambiguity is the question of Maggie’s race. It is funny that Twyla would assume that she was something other than black because she was not dark. Perhaps the author wrote this part in so that we would be aware of how assumptions are commonly made based on skin color. Due to the fact that the story is told in the first person, it seems natural for the reader to associate Twyla with himself/herself. Recitatif proves to be a noteworthy experiment. "toying" with the readers emotions and effectively noting stereotypical races and their characteristics. Morrison never states the race of the girls for a purpose: to make the reader form his/her own opinion.
I think this connects back to the TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story” because through this story Morrison forces us to challenge some of the implicit biases and assumptions we might have. In the end, why does it really matter who was what race? And was this really an integral part of the story? Morrison definitely makes us question how the single story idea plays into our envisioning of Twyla and Roberta throughout the short story.
Nadia, I like how you highlighted that knowing the race of the two girls isn't important, because the story isn't crafted by the races they have. I agree it doesn't matter what races they are, and it's interesting how the author leaves this open to interpretation.
DeleteI like your comments about how because the story is told in the first person, it's natural for the reader to associate Twyla with themselves. I think this creates a larger shock factor for when Roberta adds onto the story, telling her that Maggie hadn't simply fallen but was actually kicked down. You're left feeling uncomfortable because many people may have been sympathizing for Twyla and associating themselves with her so you're left feeling guilty and almost responsible depending on your level of connection to Twyla.
DeleteBeginning this story, I was overjoyed that Twyla and Roberta had found each other. Both abandoned by their mothers, it was comforting to believe that they had become best friends, due to the bond they shared, growing up like sisters. As Kristy mentioned, “the big girls were mean and unwelcoming, and they were also the only two who were not orphaned”, I thought this was an important detail to highlight, as it foreshadows that their closeness in childhood would not prevail into adulthood.
ReplyDeleteMy view of Twyla changed minimally. In most stories, I feel like readers create a deeper connection with the narrator, as the story is in their point of view. While reading, it felt like Twyla and I were a team and I was always on her side. This goes to show how “a single story” can instantaneously affect the reader’s perspective on the story. Kristy also highlighted how Twlya “transformed from the innocent victim to the mad perpetrator”. The same story from Roberta’s perspective would’ve likely been a different tale. However, it was hard to relate to Roberta during the restaurant scene. Obviously, time had passed since the girls had seen each other, but her snarky comments and distasteful attitude were her own doing. Twyla thinks to herself that “(Roberta) made the big girls look like nuns”. This demonstrates the loss of connection the old friends feel, as something that once brought them together, now tore them apart. From this section of the story on, my liking for Roberta continued to decline. Multiple times she changes the history of Maggie from, “Maggie fell down there once” to “they knocked her down and tore her clothes” to “You’re the same little state kid who kicked a poor black lady when she was down on the ground” and finally admitting, “I can’t remember if she was black, just old, but we didn’t kick her”. Personally, I think this shows Roberta’s shallow personality and interest in her own agenda, disregarding the emotions of Twyla.
It is unclear if readers will ever find out Maggie’s real story. The Zebra Storyteller reiterates how the author, as well as storytellers, have the power to manipulate the story for their own liking. We constantly see through media and daily life how versions of one story can quickly grow far from the truth. Twyla and Roberta shared millions of stories throughout their childhood, but race and society manipulated their friendship. It is important to stay true to one’s beliefs and take into account bias when reading and analyzing different stories.
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Deleteess, I really liked your point about how readers often sympathize the most with the narrator, even when they are incorrect. Had the story been from Roberta's point of view and we had watched her grow up rather then Twyla, I likely would have been on 'her side' the whole way through. Its interesting to think about how easily controlled our faith can be as a reader just based simply upon who's doing the 'talking to us'
DeleteLike many others stated, you feel sympathy for Twyla and Roberta when they are eight year olds living in a shelter with an authoritarian “mother” figure who is in charge of the shelter, recognized as “Big Bozo”. The story follows the perspective Twyla which starts off with a simple statement, “People want to put their arms around you when you tell them you were in a shelter, but it really wasn't bad” (1). This could be largely ignored throughout the rest of the story as we hear gloomy stories of the constant cheerless “Big Bozo”, the uninviting older girls, and harassment for having a parent that was still alive. Twyla again reassures us though, “It really wasn't bad, St. Bonny's. The big girls on the second floor pushed us around now and then. But that was all” (20). When I re-read the story and reevaluated the incident with Maggie, these two quotes could be argued as the reason why Twyla forgave herself easily.
ReplyDeleteBut before that, I wanted to also point out an important quote, “We watched and never tried to help her and never called for help. Maggie was my dancing mother” (17). Dancing is a reoccurring thing mentioned every time Roberta and Twyla meet. This brings up the single side stories that the way they both looked at the situation with Maggie was completely different to a point where they don’t even know what actually happened. Roberta was more severely impacted and felt guilt ever since the incident at St. Bonny’s. I feel as if Twyla was more callous than Roberta; Even at a young age at the shelter, when her mother visited she would say out of anger. ”All I could think of was that she really needed to be killed” (5). The grudges that Twyla held toward her mother were most likely the same emotion she felt towards Maggie.
The single side story here represents the different views from two very different friends that grew up in a shelter. Through Twyla’s point of view, we see hate towards a mother that left her at a shelter and embarrassed her. Maggie only acted as a constant reminder to Twyla of that mother, so she felt less sympathetic and was less willing to help when Maggie was knocked down. However, through Roberta’s point of view, she had no clear reason to dislike Maggie, therefore the guilt affected her more than Twyla.
I really like your point about Twyla's and Roberta's different points of view. The way people feel affect how they look at a situation, Roberta's sympathy and Twyla's indifference, completely change how both of them looked at the situation.
DeleteWilla, I like your whole perspective on this piece, narrowing in on how Twyla justifies her actions by placing the blame on her dancing mother. It's an interesting thought. It's also interesting how Twyla only refers to her mother as "dancing" as oppose to "alcoholic" or "drug addict." She was only eight years old when she was sent to the shelter so it makes sense that this is how she labels her mother, but even when she is older she still refers to her mother as "dancing." It gives her mother more innocence that way.
DeleteLike Kristy and Elissa mentioned, my views on Roberta and Twyla were constantly alternating. At the beginning of the story, when Twyla was a child, she was shown to be slightly ignorant. For example, there was a mention of a discriminatory term on page four, as well as her dismissing Maggie as a "dummy." At one point, she even commented how "even the New York City Puerto Ricans and Upstate Indians ignored us." Of course, Twyla's ignorance could have been on account of her age then. However, there seemed to be no progression in the way Twyla thought as she got older. As Kristy highlighted, Twyla was unable to accept other peoples' views. Instead of quietly opposing Roberta, or perhaps discussing the school situation with her, she presented her with signs that "got crazier each day." Overall, she acted as a rather unreliable narrator. She left the story without closure and was unsure of events that happened in her own life, such as Maggie’s race. Though Roberta was not completely open-minded, she did eventually mature. Towards the start of the story, she acted similarly to Twyla, teasing and tormenting Maggie. However, as she aged, she began to act more rationally. This can be seen at the protest, where she continually ignored Twyla's harsh oppositions.
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the dangers of the Single Story, I noticed a key detail that the author integrated in the story. After reading, I noted how she used racial stereotypes to shift our ideas of who was black and who was white. Evidently, this highlights the issues surrounding the Single Story. Some readers rely on stereotypes to determine Twyla and Roberta’s races, neglecting the fact that these characteristics can apply to anyone. The character, Maggie, can also relate to the Single Story. Clearly, both girls had dim views on Maggie without even knowing her, thinking her to be “crazy” because “she’d been brought up in an institution like my (Roberta’s) mother was and like I thought I’d be too.” To them, the only aspect that defined her was her disability. As Twyla mentioned, she “didn’t know if she was nice or not” as she refused to even speak to her. Nothing could persuade her into treating Maggie like an actual person.
-Jill
DeleteI agree that Twyla never really changed throughout the story, she was never able to develop empathy for others or accept their views. This usually changes in kids as the grow up but she remains relatively stagnant. But I would disagree that Roberta had truly matured either from the way she acted in the diner to how she and the other ladies treated Twyla by the car. She also lied about Maggie. I think both of their early development was stunted because of their upbringing.
DeleteThroughout the short story “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, my viewpoint of Twyla and Roberta constantly shifted. I felt sympathy towards both girls from the beginning having to grow up with harsh home conditions. Although they said and did some questionable things, when the mother characters were introduced it reminded me that these girls were so young and that they were simply products of their environment. An excerpt from the text that shifted my thinking was a quote Twyla said about her mother, “All I could think of is that she really needed to be killed…” This struck me because another quote that Twyla repeated was “...beautiful dead parents in the sky,” referring to the other orphans parents who had passed. Twyla sees the concept of death very different than most eight year olds. She doesn’t see it as a positive or negative thing, more just an idea she is familiar with.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Twyla and Roberta can relate to the idea of “The Danger of a Single Story” because of how the two girls first saw each other at the beginning. There was a sense of judgement between them based on the color of each other's skin. As the story goes on the two girls go through their lives and run into each other at different points throughout. This interested me to see the growth of the two characters and when they reconnected, talked about some regrets they had in the past. Even though their lives were very different at that point, they still reflected on when they were at St. Bonny’s and felt grief of what took place.
I think it is very interesting how you highlighted Twyla's perspective of death by saying, "Twyla sees the concept of death very different than most eight year olds. She doesn’t see it as a positive or negative thing, more just an idea she is familiar with." I didn't pick up on this when she was reading but I completely agree.
DeleteGoing off of what Kristy and Anna said my thoughts on the two characters were anything but static. I saw the two children having to face adversity at such a young age and assumed they would mature well because they were forced to be their own support systems growing up, “Two little girls who knew what nobody else in the world knew”. But I realized just how wrong I was when their childlike bickering over takes the story, “Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you're not. You're the same little state kid who kicked a poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot." The two girls whose friendship used to be all they had now stood on opposite ends of a battlefield. It is one of the hardest things to see your best friend and not know who they are anymore. Neither of the two girls had the maturity or emotional stability to handle it because they never had anyone to teach them. Coming from broken homes how were they expected to learn empathy or how to be a good friend, it was naive of me to believe they could overcome their traumatic childhood. It was evident both Twyla and Roberta have tried to replace the family they never got with a picture perfect one and that’s why they become so defensive about their children's schooling. It’s about more than just education or even race for them it’s about trying overcome their past demons. After finishing the story I don’t think the two women ever really grew up.
ReplyDeleteI think it would have been very interesting to see Roberta’s perspective of the shelter, Twyla, and their relationship. The danger of a single story is evident in this piece even to the narrator herself, she struggles with realizing everything might not have been the way she remembers. Could she have been racist or cruel? No one wants to envision themselves in such a light. I think Roberta would have painted the story in a very different way and it would have been able to give us a more unbiased view on the characters.
“Oh! What a tangled web we weave when we first we practice to deceive.”
ReplyDelete(Marmion, Sir Walter Scott) I am not suggesting that Toni Morrison was being deceptive, per say, but she certainly left the reader in the dark about the particulars of her characters in Recitatif. Interestingly, I found this to be somewhat liberating, and not as perplexing as others might conclude. Twyla and Roberta were described as “salt and pepper”, which must be considered against the social landscape of that time, but it is significant that Morrison conjoins Twyla and Roberta at St. Bonny’s. She points out that the girls were both “eight years old,” “got F’s,” albeit for different reasons, “were dumped,” and so were “ignored.” Regardless of their different races, they were both pushed around by the “big girls” and they were both “scared of them.” I found these similarities helped to highlight the commonality of the human experience.
Of course, Morrison is suggestive about who-was-what-race throughout here story and the reader can conjecture, but I found myself running against the grain on such things as preconceived notions that are associated with hair that is “so big” or a life that is “(e)asy for them.” In fact, I was skeptical and convinced myself that Morrison was playing with the reader and would ultimately reveal a twist or two. Of course, there was no definitive point in the story where the reader can conclusively assign a race or color to the two main characters. In fact, in the end, there is no resolution on the matter, and Morrison’s point is well made – what is the difference? What does race have to do with Roberta standing on the picket line? All “MOTHERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO.” This realization emancipates the reader to think and feel about the characters outside of the confines of pre-constructed images. Accordingly, there is no single story that threads through Morrison’s tale, which helps Morrison weave a richer, more thoughtful piece – a “tangled web.” In so doing, Morrison has respected the reader and provided each the opportunity to explore the consequences of their own leanings. Morrison’s ambiguity forces the reader to examine the details more closely and to view these amorphous details through a kaleidoscopic lens.
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