Prejudice And Discrimination In Upon Twyla And Roberta

Most of us are well aware of the unrighteousness of prejudice and discrimination. However, many still consistently judge and make presumptions without possessing adequate evidence nor the relevant facts but rather base it on their own logic and experience; this failure to acknowledge those preconceived ideas are also a form of prejudice and discrimination and an act of social violence. It is difficult for one to distinguish the difference between a simple misconception and prejudice, and often do not realize its impact on one’s life and, furthermore, the whole society.
As an Asian woman living in America, an ethnic minority, I always thought I had a better stance on understanding the impacts of prejudice and I prided myself on having a fairly
The author gives the reader subtle hints of their racial and social class differences but does not clarify who is Black or who is White. This, in turn, challenges the reader’s knowledge by inducing personal perspective into the story. And although their friendship strengthened due to their common adversaries, the “real orphans with beautiful dead parents” (Recitatif page 1) and “the gar girls” (Recitatif page 4), their undeniable differences drew a line between them. In addition, their differences are imposed strongly for the first time through their mothers: “Roberta’s mother looked down at me and then looked down at Mary. She didn’t say anything, just grabbed Roberta with her Bible-free hand and stepped out of line” (Recitatif page 2). From this incident, the author forces the reader to interpret Roberta’s mother’s reason for her behavior in one of two ways: either to assume that Mary is Black, or to assume that Mary is beneath her in social class. These types of implications that lead to conflicting inferences are implied in every encounter throughout the story. Another crucial point in the story takes place during the period of “racial strife,” the era subsequent to the racial freedom movement which outlawed discrimination based on race and color (Loevy 1997). Twyla spots Roberta in front of both of their son’s school, protesting against segregation for her kids, which aggravates Twyla. Twyla doesn’t understand Roberta’s actions and her demeanor towards the minority; in her eyes, Roberta is one with all the advantages - which is on account of her high social class and also possibly an inference on her racial class. As a result of this incident, whether they meant it or not, they were forced to admit that they