Race And Stereotypes In Recitatif By Toni Morrison

I am so glad that I chose Toni Morrison’s short story “Recitatif.” Any time that I teach a story I feel that I have a much better understanding and appreciation for the author and the craftsmanship that has gone into writing the story. I love that Morrison wrote a story to open a dialogue and make the reader face some stereotypes that they might have and not even know it. The themes of race and stereotypes are such pivotal ideas in the story. Morrison intentionally does not tell the reader which girl is white and which girl is black. This sets the stage for a scavenger hunt of sorts. The reader being naturally curious spends the whole story looking for clues to the racial identity of Roberta and Twyla. Morrison drops what appear to be bread crumbs for the reader to
The girl’s names can be the first thing that readers look at to try and find out the race of each girl. One name is more traditional, Roberta, while the other is more modern, Twyla. Does one name sound more like a certain race? There are people that will say the names are a good indicator of the girl’s races, but I offer the idea that both names are equally black and white. Neither name is more one race than the other one. This is exactly what Toni Morrison was trying to express. If you call Roberta a white name because it sounds white, then you are stereotyping. If you call Twyla a black name, the same is true. I also like that she uses integration as one of the points. There were many white people that fought for integration because they