Recitatif

Recitative is the story of two women, Twyla and Roberta, who met in an orphanage when

they were eight years old and whom we will meet at five different times in their lives, based on

their encounters. Morrison immediately sets the scene: "Being dragged out of bed early in the

morning was one thing, but being stranded in a strange place with a girl of an entirely different

race was quite another." The first is white, and the second is black. Moreover, Toni Morrison's

entire strategy prompts the reader to consider the skin pigment of the two protagonists. The

author uses a system of signs to create a character that appears to provide the answer based on

specific characteristics we associate with one race or another. However, as soon as we believe

we have discovered it, Morrison produces a new description that combines these codes and

throws us back into uncertainty. Toni Morrison's work vigorously challenges the position of

African Americans in American society.

Similarities are what draw them together. Both orphans suffer from the absence of a

familial figure: one's mother is a dancer, and the other is ill. Collectively, they are envious of the

orphans who have not been abandoned. In a segregated America, only one individual is black,

and the other is Caucasian. We are unable to solve the mystery despite our efforts. Curiosity

causes itchiness, which, when rubbed, irritates. Almost to the point of humiliation, every effort is

made to make us curious. While we seek even the slightest clue – a name, gesture, or word –

Toni Morrison, who lurks in the story's shadows, forces us to confront our prejudices. In

contrast, she encourages us to contemplate what serves the struggle and what does not. In just

fifty pages, the Nobel Prize robs him of his passions: women's rights, racial issues, violence, and

poverty. She criticizes the construction of a narrative, which is always the result of a malleable

memory, regardless of its size, through the mature characters' recollection of a tragic event. The
short novel depicts an era in which segregation is prevalent. Twyla and Roberta experience it

decades apart—children, then adults. However, our racial indicators have vanished, and we will

never know who is white or black. While Toni Morrison has endeavored to study languages in

their skin tones, there is no evidence that she does not root either Twyla or Roberta in these

black/white partitions that she has thus far been so well-versed in updating. At the same time, the

world continues to speak of them. Not until this protest, in which they both participate and which

brings the "racial" cause into action, both in opposing parties, do these lines become unclear.

Consequently, we will not know. Never.

Along with the often tricky recall of facts, there is a sense of twofold rootedness linked to

difference: on the one hand, the anguish of slavery, and on the other, the Afro-American culture

that Morrison endeavored to convey throughout the narrative. These two origins may initially

appear discordant. We fought against slavery by maintaining that differences in skin color were

insignificant, and we also defended the uniqueness of a culture in which skin color is the

determining factor.

Twyla and Roberta encounter each other for the second time at the novel's beginning.

Roberta attends a concert by Jimi Hendrix, the emblematic musician of the 1960s ethnic

integration in the United States. Hendrix creates rock, considered white music, but in his

distinctive style profoundly rooted in African American culture, blacks, and whites venerate him.

According to the author, this culture will persist when stigmatizing racial norms are eliminated

from society, as in Recitative. Nothing else matters. Morrison resolves this apparent
contradiction throughout his body of work by arguing that this artificial categorization imposed

for the wrong reasons, such as profiteering, sad mania, and indifference, has also proven to be a

source of wealth for those who were its victims, from whom they drew the strength to create a

culture that resonates globally.

The narrative focuses primarily on childhood and growth. The story's first half is set in

the shelter where Twyla and Roberta spent their early years, while the second half is set when

they are adults. Maggie, a mature woman, is portrayed as a child due to her attire and

helplessness in the world of children. The absence of their parents, however, compels the

children to lead responsible lives and act as adults. They mature and assume greater

responsibilities than children their age. This is demonstrated by the behavior of gar females who

wear makeup and torment young children. Twyla and Roberta must behave as adults because

their mother cannot care for them and neglects her responsibilities. The mother of Twyla lacked

the maturity to support herself. Twyla associates her with adolescent culture. These facts

demonstrate that the distinction between childhood and adulthood is neither concrete nor

predicated on chronological age. They are not mutually exclusive. However, they are in a state of

flux and depend on the diverse methods and circumstances of individuals' lives.

The opening scene of "Recitatif," a short story set in an orphanage, creates a motif of

isolation and social exclusion that persists throughout the work. Children are brought to the

orphanage because their parents are deceased or unable to care for them. Twyla alleges she and

her friend Roberta were "dumped" and stigmatized since their mother is still alive and they are

not orphans. As a result, Roberta and Twyla face exclusion from society as well as the institution

of social misfits. St. Bonny's senior girls are known as pit-out pit girls. These females would

threaten Twyla and Roberta. Toni Morison's study demonstrates how abandoned or alienated
members of society are perceived as "tough" and dangerous. They are, nevertheless, fragile and

sensitive.

At St. Bonny, children are more than simply outcasts. A disabled, elderly lady working in

the kitchen may be more isolated and unwanted than children. The youngsters bully her, and she

is unable to respond because she is deaf and maybe dead. She plays a vital role in the story when

Roberta and Twyla fight for her. Roberta claims that they kick her and the other girls. Twyla, on

the other hand, is adamantly opposed. Despite her change of heart, Roberts is still concerned

about Maggie's destiny. Roberta was more than a St. Bonny student; she belonged to a socially

excluded and underprivileged group. Maggie's isolation from society continues to make her feel

accountable and guilty. The central theme of the story is societal marginalization. It is an

example of racism and segregation. Robert and Twyla have differing opinions on school busing

and integration as adults. Although Roberta's objection is prompted mainly by her children being

bused to schools outside the area, she indirectly favors segregation. The central theme of the

short story "Recitatif" is disability. Despite the fact that Maggie is the novel's main disabled

character, she looks to be a supporting character. However, she becomes a significant character

at the end of the tale. Maggie appeared to be at greater risk than the other children at the shelter.

She has an odd personality, and everyone perceives her differently.

Twyla feels her tongue has been removed, while some children assume she is deaf. They

try to test her listening abilities by calling her names. Even though she does not respond, her

reaction is unpredictable. Twyla is devastated and humiliated that Maggie listened to her.

Maggie is not considered human because of her subjectivity, interior sentiments, infirmity, and

frailty.
 The youngsters at the shelter/orphanage also blame Maggie for her vulnerability and

defenselessness. They express their weakness and rejection by causing pain and anguish to

someone weaker. Seeing someone in pain and vulnerable motivates them to wreak even more

cruelty on them. This is the outcome of society's exile and the children's misery.

Maggie, on the other hand, is not the novel's only fragile or handicapped character.

Twyla, the story's narrator, asserts in the first sentence that they are brought to St. Bonny because

Mary, her mother, danced all night and Roberta's mother is ill. Roberta is unable to care for her

mother due to her mother's mental/physical problems. Like Mary's obsession with dancing all

night, her disease is depicted as a disability that prevents her from caring for her child. Maggie's

walking manner is compared to that of her mother by Twyla. This suggests that anything about

their movement is socially unacceptable or incorrect. This is a racist phrase in American history,

and black people are criticized for dancing or any other sort of movement connected with black

culture.

"Recitatif" is derived from French and means "recitative." It is a musical oratorio form

that oscillates between speech and melody. Operas utilize recitatives for narrative and dialogic

interludes. Additionally, it is the tone and cadence of a particular language. These definitions

allude to the episodic nature of the narrative. It concentrates on the five sections of the novel that

do not pertain to the everyday lives of Twyla and Roberta, the two primary characters. The

story's segments give the lives of the two individuals' cadence. Because the entire story is told in

Twyla's voice, it could be titled "Recitatif of Twyla."

precise language and narrative virtuosity is no secret, so suffice it to say that in Recitative, the

author demonstrates complete mastery of her craft. This essential writing reveals our most

profound flaws and prejudices in "race"-related matters.

What the hell happened to Maggie? Memory and History of Race in ... - GRIN.

https://www.grin.com/document/415673

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