Twyla And Roberta Stereotypes

Never before has race been so prevalent. Never before has race been so controversial. Yet, what is never realized is that the problems we see today have always been prevalent. Toni Morrison wrote her story decades before the spotlight was shone on Ferguson, or Charleston, or Baltimore. She showed her readers all the problems with the stereotypes that have internalized themselves in the mind of each and every person. And showed this revelation through the story of two girls named Twyla and Roberta. The races of Twyla and Roberta are not for certain, but if asked after reading, an individual most likely has assigned a certain race to each of the girls by the end of the story. This was Morrison’s intent when she wrote Recitatif. After reading,
At the very beginning of Twyla and Roberta’s interactions, Roberta’s mom gives a very large clue to her race when she refuses to shake the hand of Twyla’s mother. “Roberta’s mother looked at me and then looked at Mary too. She didn’t say anything, just grabbed Roberta… and stepped out of line” (Morrison 5). Roberta’s mother saw the race of Twyla and her mother and had such a dislike for them that she walked away instead of shaking Twyla’s mother’s hand. Then, when Roberta and Twyla meet again at the diner, Roberta has an attitude of distaste for Twyla herself. Rather than responding to Twyla, all she says is a lot of “Sure. Hey. Wow” and “private laughter” that makes her seem tired and disgusted by Twyla’s presence (Morrison 8). It seems that Roberta has picked up an air of authority over Twyla because of her race that many people would have had during the time. This air of authority can also be seen when Twyla and Roberta disagree over Maggie’s race (Morrison 17). Maggie was quite disabled and was looked down upon by Roberta. Perhaps Roberta sees Maggie as black because she could not imagine a person like Maggie could share the same skin tone as
The second time Twyla and Roberta meet after St. Bonny’s, the biggest subject of their conversation they share is Roberta’s new found wealth. After being married, Roberta now has moved to “Annandale, a neighborhood full of doctors and IBM executives” (Morrison 10). Roberta has 2 servants, a chauffeur, and her wealth is so apparent that Twyla notes everything about her seemed, “Lovely and summery and rich” (Morrison 9-11). This level of affluence was gained through Roberta’s marriage to a man that was no doubt white. Being that rich in those days was next to impossible for a person of color, as were biracial couples. Thus, Roberta’s husband was no doubt white, making Roberta white as