The story begins with Twyla stating that she and Roberta were sent to St. Bonny’s orphanage because Twyla’s mother (Mary) “danced all night” and Roberta’s mother was sick. They do not get along when they are first introduced. Twyla has been raised by Mary to have prejudices towards individuals of Roberta’s race, but when Twyla tells Big Bozo (the shelter’s administrator), Bozo rejects her coldly. The girls eventually bond over their ability to comprehend each other without having to ask questions. Twyla can’t recall anything she learns, and Roberta hasn’t learned to read, thus the fact that they both get Fs “all the time” brings them closer. They are also forced together by the fact that they are not true orphans and are therefore excluded from the rest of the kids at St. Bonny’s. 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, the situation became awkward because Roberta’s mother just looked at them and took Roberta by her hand and left the area without a word. However, Mary simply ignores them and walks away. The way Roberta’s mother acted toward Twyla and her mother reminded me of how King talks about the injustices his people experience through his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’. He mentions how racial discrimination will pass on to their children because of what their parents teach them about the prejudices against different races. Whatever behavior the kid learns in a very young age it will mostly like become part of his character so, if the parents teach them to be ignorant to people from other races then this injustice will be a never ending thing.
After four months together both of them finally leave the shelter and eventually they lose touch. After few years they again cross paths in different situations. Each meeting was different, once it was a casual heart-to-heart talk and the other arguing about the incidents that happened back in the shelter. In the end, their conversation is left on an unresolved note about Maggie. Because Roberta and Twyla are of different races, racism plays a significant role in this novel. They don’t think much of it while they’re little, but their mothers teach them what discrimination is. They grow to resent each other for who they are as they get older, and they find it difficult to sympathize with other races when they are ignored. They begin to realize who they are in connection to each other in the final encounter they have with each other (with Maggie as the conduit). Morrison also invites her readers to consider race and their internalized clues for which characters are white race.
Sources:
Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.” 1983, https://osu.instructure.com/courses/106813/files/33418722?module_item_id=6554301
King, Martin Luther. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Harper San Francisco, 1993.
LitCharts. (n.d.). Recitatif summary. LitCharts. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
The orchestration of your context presentation is very simply, and easily put in reviewing your cover of the story, Recitatif. I drew a comparison within the story, as well as within your presentation, a theme that started and ended in similar ways. When Twyla and Roberta are first introduced, they do not particularly like one another all that much. The environments in which they came from played a huge role in this disliking. However, through time and bonding with one another, they create this friendship bond that changed this for them. While at the end of the story when they are reunited, the interaction between the two girls is back to where it started. As you mentioned, this is very similar in what the King expressed within his ‘Letters from Birmingham Jail’. Racial discrimination is taught so evidently in this type of situation. It is an awful sight to see because at one time, these two girls were close with one another, regardless of what the others skin color was or what ethnicity they belonged to. This story ties a lot of the big issues we’ve read about in the previous weeks, and brings home a very important point.
You did a great job with your post, orientation, and explanation of things.
Your presentation was very well-explained and the story was clearly described, which made it easy for readers to understand the story of Twyla and Roberta and their conflicts. Morrison’s great skill lies in narrating from the perspective of Twyla, one of the leading actresses, so we can see more of Twyla’s inner life. We can clearly understand the process of her acquaintance with Roberta when she was a child and her psychological activities when they met in adulthood. Roberta’s image is more of a contrast to Twyla’s. It is clear that Twyla is more racially conscious and has a sense of resistance, which Twyla does not have. Morrison reflects this contradiction through the different memories of Maggie between the two girls. While reading this book, readers could think more about the meaning behind the different performances of the two girls.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your presentation. I felt as though it was incredibly easy to follow, and it helped identify some key points that I had missed during my first reading of Recitatif. For example, I had never analyzed how Roberta’s mother treated Twyla and her mom upon their meeting. This only solidified the theories I had about which race the girls both were. I also liked how you tied in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to further discuss how behaviors of parents are passed down to their kids. This idea helped me understand why Roberta acted the way she did towards Twyla as they grew up and their lives changed.
I found this post gave a good overview of the story and racial implications as such. I like how you said Roberta and Twyla were of different races and didn’t mention which one they were from. As was the readers intention, I had quite difficulty discerning which race each was. Even after reading the story, my mind jumped back and forth. I think this story did a great job of breaking down barriers on how we make assumptions of other individual’s races. I really liked the ending where they found where they were in connection to each other, like you talked about. During the story Roberta and Twyla would go in sync and out of sync with each other constantly, and in the end they finally put it all together with Maggie.
This context presentation simply summarized Toni Morrison’s Recitatif to a great extent. I like how you tied in the connection with MLK Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, I think it is important to note how Roberta and Tywla’s mothers acted the way they did. This goes to show how both woman already had their own biased opinion about the other’s race. Even with the races being unidentified, this concept is still noticeable to the reader. With saying this, I also think it is essential to note how a parent’s view can influence their child’s. Towards the beginning of the story, Twyla already had some set views about Roberta just by meeting her and seeing her physical appearance. Even at young ages, children are being conditioned to believe certain biases about specific groups of people.
This presentation was very well put together. You were able to bridge different concepts into your peice which plays a big role for readers to get a deeper understanding on this story. Twyla and roberta are different races. The readers arent told but there are many instances in the story that imply that these two children came from very different backgrounds. I was pleased with the comparrison that you drew to King’s letter. It was displayed perfectly how the beiefe of the parents can spread down to the kids. The interaction with mothers could have played a role in the long disconnect that twyla and roberta had. It was also shown early pn in the story when readers learned that twyla alreaddy had preconcived notions about roberta when they first met. This shows that the ideologies that many racists show have been taught froma very young age.
Your context presentation was well outlined and put together in an easy-to-understand format. I enjoyed the fact that you were able to understand the concepts and clues given within the story, such as race and background differences. I personally had trouble in determining what race the characters were but you seemed to be spot-on. I think that this story did an excellent job in outlining how we all make stereotypes and judgements, which we need to be cognizant of. I appreciate you incorporating class concepts and connecting them to the story, such as the MLK letter you mentioned. The story definitely ties in with racial topics in history and in todays’ day. To me, this story is likely a story that many people have faced within their lives or witnessed and is something that they can learn from. It teaches us how racial discrimination affects our society.
First, I just wanted to start by saying great job on the well thought-out post. I really enjoyed reading how you compared the injustices from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to how Roberta’s mother interacted with Twyla and Mary. However, I do not entirely agree with your supporting statement. While in the orphanage, Twyla and Roberta became very close friends. As apart from race, they shared many other similarities that nobody else shared with the two. At first race was an obvious factor but was quickly looked past. I do agree that on some occasions the parents beliefs of race do get past down to their children just from environmental aspects of being around one another almost constantly. I do think that if this does happen it is not until later in life. Children are so pure and usually do no think anything of things like this until they are able to fully comprehend what is actually going on. I enjoyed reading what you wrote!
Your presentation was very clear and concise and really helps understand the dynamic and story between Roberta and Twyla. I also applaud you on the connection you make between “Letter of Birmingham Jail” to how Roberta’s mother interacted with Twyla and Mary. Similarly, the way you analyzed the story to decipher the races of Twyla and Roberta was very well done. I think this also goes to show how as they grew up their race played a part in them growing apart and how they became conscious of their life decisions and their past.
I agree with many others that Twyla had a preconceived view of Roberta in which she did not necessarily see her in the best of light and vice versa. Because they were only children when they met and unable to really formulate these opinions on their own, it is their mother’s/family present in their lives to blame for having such views of racial discrimination. I also think that because Twyla and Roberta were able to form a friendship during their time in the orphanage, their mothers roles played a significant part in their falling out later in life.
Overall I think you write a very great presentation. The difference in races is hidden by the writer in order to illustrate the racial discrimination and conflict of people on the race problem in a subtle background. You include much detail to guide the reader through the development of the story on the first conflict between people that hold different identities and emphasizes the influence on biased ideas from parents to children. It is certain that Twyla and Roberta reach a reconciliation of mutual understanding at the end after several meets and conflicts do they realize being different means viewing people and things from various angles that affect the power of speaking out and being heard equally. Also, I like the way you connect this novel with Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter, those race problems although eased and improved, the subtle influence of stereotypical ideas on the vulnerable group is continuous and developing through conflicts and conversations.
This analysis is clear and well organized. I really enjoy the way you explain those basic concepts and the way you put them together. Great job on analyzing the theme behind the simple story, the problem about how racial discrimination will pass to the next generation is worth everybody considers deeply. It reminds us to restrict what we said and what we did for building a justice world. I appreciate that you mentioned, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” composed by Dr. Martin Luther King. Doing so not only declared the major problem of Mary and Roberta’s mother but also held us review last week’s content, helping us getting close to the big puzzle about why injustice continues to exist.
Great overview of the text! It really helps give the plot and layout of the novel. I specifically like how you added the point about how whatever you learn at a young age becomes your character. This relate back to Jay Smooth’s TedTalk about when you address racial issues you have to take away the personal aspect. Sometimes it is what people are taught and there are relationships like the one you outline from the book that can help unteach that.
This is great analysis of the text, really nice job! I think you did a really nice job of explaining how these two individuals were at first basically raised to not get along and why this was. This text did a great job of showing that race really should not mean much when it comes to bonding and getting along with another person. Although these two girls are of different races, they are both in extremely similar situations. This is something that I think these girls at first have trouble understanding and then are later able to realize their similarities regardless of their different races. This text does a great job of showing that a bond can be formed from just about anything and that when people are able to put race aside this world is a better place. Another thing I really liked about this analysis was how you were able to relate this text back to MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, I thought this was a very good and accurate representation of exactly what MLK was referring to in his letter. Once again nice job!
Overall the analysis is very detailed and simple at the same time. I really like how you introduced Twyla and Roberta in the first paragraph, this is a good example of introduction. Although both of the girl were sent to the same school they did not get along at first. This is because they were both raised in the two different environments. Over time they started to create a bond that seemed to be unbreakable. Race should not have an affect on a friendship, and this article shows us why.
You did a good job restating the story on Twyla & Roberta. You made it clear that they are orphans that have things in common. These things being, not having “dead parents”, bad grades, bullying, and being racist. They didnt like each other based on each others skin tone. They connected through their similarities. You explained it very well.
Great job on this analasis. It was a awesome summary and goes very ink depth on the novel. You can relate what you talked about young age and character to the Ted talk by jay smooth. Your text made it clear race should mean nothing when getting to know someone.