The idea of communicating is a key symbol in the story of ‘Recitatif’ by Toni Morrison. It plays a huge role in Twyla and Roberta’s relationship, as their lack of the ability to stay in touch throughout the years also leads to their separation in society. The two young girls became so close at St. Bonny’s as children because they discovered how to understand each other without communicating. However, this no longer serves effective when they become adults because they each end up living very different lives. One of the key elements throughout the story is their bond that they share of having absent mothers. Whenever they would run into each other as adults, Twyla would always ask Roberta how her mother was doing, and Roberta never gave her a clear answer. Once they finally reunite 20 years later, they begin communicating on opposite sides through their signs that they each made for the protest going on which no one else could understand. Twyla’s sign reads ‘Is your mother well?’ and Roberta leaves the protest.
Another example of how lack of communication is presented in ‘Recitatif’ is through Maggie. Maggie worked in the kitchen at St. Bonny’s and was mute and also possibly deaf, therefore she was physically unable to communicate with anyone. This goes further in the story than just the character itself. Many of the girls there would bully her which reflected on their own insecurities and feeling vulnerable all the time, in which they reciprocated that by preying on someone weaker than them. This story remains relevant throughout the rest of Twyla and Roberta’s encounters in their adult lives, as they cannot seem to remember what race Maggie was. They also cannot remember whether they joined the other girls in the incident out in the garden at St. Bonny’s where Maggie was physically assaulted by the school girls. Along with asking about each girl’s mothers, Twyla and Roberta also consistently pondered the question of what really happened to Maggie all those years ago.
Lastly, Morrison chooses her wording very carefully throughout the story so as to not reveal too much about Twyla and Roberta, including their race. She makes it very clear in the beginning that they are not the same race, but does not elaborate who is black and who is white. Her wording and context clues throughout the story lead the audience to decide for themselves what they think. It also reflects on the idea of racial stereotypes in a segregated society which is why the author does not communicate that clearly to the reader.
Kirkwood, Donna. “Understanding the Power of Parent Involvement.” NAEYC. 11 April 2016. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/understanding-power-parent-involvement.
Moore, Ayra. “The Effects of Lack of Communication in a Relationship.” OurEverydayLife. 19 September 2021. https://oureverydaylife.com/effects-lack-communication-relationship-25435.html.
What I learned is that this reading not only presents the change in communication over time between the two characters but also the idea of single stories being applied to the narrative. This reading takes on observations of racial aspects especially with Twyla’s characterization of Roberta. I have read this before and think that it is a good example of power dynamics and personal opinions regarding the end of the story. It has made me reconsider traits that are automatically used to denote others.
The author not mentioning the race of each girl gave it an ultimately deeper meaning and made me think more and took out any kind of bias. It is interesting how the idea of single stories came into play and that each person had a different understanding. I find it interesting that the fact that putting together context clues and reactions of other people towards other gives us an ability to pick out which race somebody may be determined to be.
Obviously all reading is generally supposed to make the reader think or to entertain them, but these days, most readers already have an idea of what is going to happen in the end because of common tropes, cliches, and sometimes too descriptive word choices. With this story, it seems like Morrison purposefully took that away so that reader is forced to fill in the puzzle their self which then in turns reveals certain thoughts and stereotypes that might have not known they had.
I really enjoyed this reading and how it made me try to decipher the characters, leading to how they were treated and what race this would make them. The theme of communication is very big in this story and is symbolized through Maggie throughout the story. Although Maggie couldn’t speak, she told a story through the way she was treated. Roberta and Twyla had a great story of their own as well. Seeing them grow apart and the narrative change between the two really showed how class, race and who you surround yourself with gives you that power or authority.
After reading this story, I had a newly found appreciation for the way Morrison tells her stories. The lack of information provided about certain things like the races of the main characters almost seemed trivial with the amount of details she puts into everything else, it really makes you feel like the character. She beautiful displays the environment and the characteristics of each character which allows for you to infer about other parts of the character, but at the same time you find that it doesn’t even really matter for the story to be told well and the point of the story still is brought upon you.
After reading, I can learn that by looking at different ways people communicate can often come off a number of ways. Whether it is not enough information being given or even too much to make the reader believe or think in a certain way. By giving certain context, like in this reading, you can really see yourself as the character and it almost makes me put myself into their shoes. It can make you realize different things about the character, like how rough it was for Maggie. It really made me feel bad for her just by how communication was brought out in the reading. I think it is a really good example to reflect on how communication really is important on understanding a number of different things, especially among people.
I really enjoyed this story and the way it was written. I now have a new appreciation for the lack of detailed information the story written provided to the reader. Morrison told her story without providing the race of the characters or giving tons of background. I think this was exceptionally smart and gave the audience a way to guess for themselves. In a way, this all taught us a lesson on social cues and implicit bias we hold while reading literature. The way she portrayed the environment and the characteristics of each character gave the reader a way to infer other parts of the characters which was a very interesting concept. Overall, I believe the communication and writing style given by Morrison made this story better than if we had known more about each character.
I think the way that Morrison told the story without giving much detail about the characters backgrounds or races really goes to show how we often will assume things about people if we know these details. This story allows the reader to get a better understanding of aspects about the characters that we normally do not get. We get to know these aspects through the way the characters communicate. Overall, Morrison did a great job with the communication in this story and it allowed us to learn and better understand the characters.
In this story we don’t know the race of Twyla and Roberta, we only know the one is black and the other white. Even though that shoudn’t actually matters, it does. Morrison does a good job that was masking that fact within her story and that actually is the reason that making Us analyze and think critical about who is who. I think that Morisson did that based on society’s need to categorize people. So based on thoughts and stereotypes each one have is fill in the puzzle.
After reading the story, I thought Morrison did a good job telling the story in a way for readers to understand clearly about the two characters. The way she was able to not give too much about the two, while making it clear the story was about two girls and their communication with eachother, it was not needed to know their race. This gave readers a chance to sit and reflect on the story after giving room to think about their backgrounds or anything else. Overall, the communication between them was well done and the rest of the story had interesting components you don’t usually see.
I did not realize until reading this context presentation that Morrison did not mention which character was black and which was white. I find this very interesting because I think many readers probably assumed one way or the other based off of different stereotypes. I agree that communication, or lack thereof, is a major theme throughout this story because much of what happens throughout the story is affected by Roberta and Twyla’s communication skills with one another. As children they were able to get along very well even though they did not share many similarities, but as adults this was not entirely the case. There were instances of disputes and just plain rudeness throughout the story when they ran into each other over the years. However, by the end of the story they were finally on the same page about different things they previously disagreed on that happened at St. Bonny’s, like Maggie’s race and if they actually took part in kicking her or not, because they were able to effectively communicate with one another.
Morrison not mentioning the race of each girl gave it a strong interest and made you wonder, but their races were not a necessity to point out. You could clearly understand the communication between the two girls without knowing their races. It was interesting that Morrison had us try to figure out each girls race based on stereotypes. It became a puzzle pointing pieces and facts together.
Morrison did a great job not mentioning both Twyla’s and Roberta’s race as it makes the reader think critically and interpret who is who based on their stereotypes. It highlighted that the significance here shouldn’t focus on the individuals’ race but on how they communicated together. It also got rid of any biases or ideas associated with the individuals if they knew their races.
I really like that you examined how communication was used throughout the story. Not only were there examples of those unable to speak their truths, but the communication between Roberta and Twyla was very interesting throughout the whole thing. I remember in the beginning of the story Twyla commented on how she liked that Roberta didn’t ask questions. Then, throughout the rest of the story they encounter one another in spontaneous scenarios, with brief interactions, and shifting attitudes. This goes to show all the different ways there are to communicate and share our stories, while also touching on the tragedy of those who are silenced.
I really liked this reading particularly because it made me really decipher the race and personally of reach character. I agree with you about how communication is a vital part of any relationship. I also found it interesting that you felt that Maggie told her story while still being mute. I never really thought about her in this way. just thought she was more of a side character. Lastly, you mention that communication changes as you grow and drift but I’m curious to know whether or not you like communication better when it stays steady or changes throughout the relationship.
I generally like to think I “interpret” all literature I read, however, Toni Morrison truly made me think on why I make my own assumptions. Morrison rarely explicitly details the roots or reasons of her experiences and why they are (arguably because she herself is unaware), which then forces the reader to use their own understandings of their surroundings to decipher the story. I think this is extremely powerful and draws into the concept of “otherness,” as there seem to be dynamics for each and ever relationship – yet are simply social constructs made by man.
Recitaf made me rethink how relationships work and how everything happens for a reason. Toni Morrison is a fantastic writer and she really does a great job engaging the reader. I really thought it was smart how you were able to connect a lack of communication with their relationship being halted for 20 years, and the effect that a lack of communication has. The way she is able to connect her stories with current racial issues is also really great, and I really loved the way you were able to connect them towards the end too.
I enjoyed reading this story very much because it made me think more in depth about each of the characters. This reading focuses on racial observations, particularly in Twyla’s portrayal of Roberta. I also thought it was intriguing that you believed Maggie expressed her narrative despite her silence. I think that overall, Toni Morrison did a great job and the story is featured in unique elements that you don’t often see.
Drawing the conclusion from the story that communication is key is a great observation. Not only do the main characters provide a good example of the consequences of poor communication throughout the story but also the side character “Maggie.” When overcoming tough topics like racial inequality and segregation during that time, it is extremely important to have good communication. Progress can be made when we hear each others side of the story and are while to put ourselves in others shoes. The key to good communication isn’t just someone who can speak well; the audience also has to be willing to listen.
After reading this story, I appreciation the way Morrison tells her stories. I really liked the lack of information of the appearance of the characters which makes me want to imagine how they look. We could only get to know about their personality traits as they communicate. I believe the goal of this story is to teach us a lesson that race shouldn’t be overthink and how we are all the same at the end of the day. This also further confirmed that communication is extremely important.
I didn’t realize until after I completed the survey that subconsciously assigned race to each character. It shows while we may not be racist toward another race, we do have a bias and an understanding about how different cultures influence characteristics in a certain race. Maggie is reflective of blacks as a whole in that their voices are silenced and maybe have a socioeconomic disability which doesn’t allow them to advance.
Morrison choosing the way she phrased her story so precisely is a really important aspect that should be taken into consideration more often. Because Morrison wrote the story in such a way where you can’t pinpoint the ethnicity of a person, the reader sees the character as simply another character or person. They are just another human being, completely equal to the reader. The reader doesn’t see them in a predisposed light or bias. There isn’t a single story construct that the reader has stored in the back of their subconscious. This allows the reader to see the problem and the character as separate entities, instead of associating or assigning blame due to one factor of something that defines the character. The very last sentence of the context presentation reads, “It also reflects on the idea of racial stereotypes in a segregated society which is why the author does not communicate that clearly to the reader. (hopkins.963)”. Those racial stereotypes only exist because society refuses to see past that one single part that defined/still defines that person. So, what does this say about our society? About the people who constantly judge people for being ethnically different? Why can’t society see another person and see them as just that, another human being?