Toni Morrison often talked about breed incompatibility.
The story is kind of an enigma, as Smith writes in the introduction, as Morrison never explicitly reveals any of the characters’ racial identities. Instead, the reader is left to decipher it from an array of racial allusions that ultimately prove ambiguous: Is Roberta a black name or a white one? Does Twyla’s childhood love of Spam, Salisbury Steak, and Jell-O indicate that she’s Black or White? When Roberta plans to see Jimi Hendrix and Twila has never heard of her, who can we assume is black and who can we assume is white?
Still, like most readers of “Recitatif,” I wasn’t hungry to know who the other was, Twyla or Roberta. Oh, I wanted to straighten it out immediately. Warmly sympathetic to a certain place To turn cold into another. To feel for someone and dismiss someone,” writes Smith. “But this is what Morrison will not knowingly and lawfully allow me to do so, Why is it worth asking yourself.”
By obscuring Twyla and Roberta’s racial identities, Morrison challenges the reader’s impulse to classify people neatly and forces them to consider other markers: disability, gender, class.
Rich Richardson, professor of African American literature at Cornell University (where Morrison earned his master’s degree), said, “The short story is “one of myriad manifestations of Morrison’s genius as a writer.”
“In this story, her emphasis on the plight of two girls – Twyla and Roberta – prompts readers to consider their physical conditions and forms of neglect, no matter what, and to identify, question, and challenge Inspire for such a system,” Richardson wrote in an email to CNN. “‘Recitatif’ reminds us of what people share, the common denominator that connects us to others, regardless of our differences.”
Morrison’s “racitatif” treats race with complexity and subtle signatures in his novels and questions other oppressive systems that affect his characters and their actions, Richardson said.
“It’s important that the story includes an exploration of politically charged moments, such as the tensions related to busing, while emphasizing the similarities in their characters and what connects them,” she said. “It’s a story that highlights class, reminding us how much it matters as a variable in shaping human experiences, regardless of race.”
Because although “Recitatif” was written decades ago, the topics it deals with and the questions it poses are as relevant as ever.
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