Michael Mathews

Dr. Jennings

English 3060

26 July 2018

Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif”, exemplifies the biases that readers use to

racialize others through context, more specifically literary context. It is never explicitly stated

throughout the story, but one of the main characters, Twyla or Roberta, is black and the other is

white. This is an assumption the reader makes early on. Through the context of the story, the

reader implicitly makes judgments about which character is of which race. This is due to

stereotypes and inadvertent micro-aggressions of racism and classism that Toni Morrison plays

off the biases that have become formalities of society. People purposefully or inadvertently relate

race to class, intertwining racism and classism. Throughout, Morrison plays with the readers’

biases by flipping back and forth between characters, the cultural stereotypes, and racism that

have been embedded in society. Morrison exploits the readers’ cultural stereotypes and aspects

of implicit racism and classism through the interactions, actions and descriptive language of the

main characters, Twyla and Roberta, while they are very young children.

The story opens and automatically announces why the two girls, Roberta and Twyla,

ended up together: “My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick. That’s why we were

taken to St. Bonny’s,” (Norton 201). Automatically, some readers may assume that Twyla’s

mother was a dancer of some sort and Roberta’s mother was ill health wise or mentally. Often

times in the black community people denounce mental illness. Some people believe that you can

pray mental illness away or self medicate, instead of getting the proper help. Black people did

not always have the options for proper healthcare. It seems that mental illness is more publicly
discussed in the white community. White people seem to seek help more often and be more

comfortable with accepting mental illness. Often times on television and otherwise when a

person is depicted with metal illness they are white. Some may connect abandonment of children

to black people, thus this would assume that Twyla was black from the very beginning. During

the timeframe that the story is set in, the 1950’s, many children were raised by their grandparents

or other family members. Black parents were not always able to raise their children for differing

reasons. Often, Black children came from one parent households that were headed by their

mothers: “Historically, African American children have been less likely to live in a two-parent

household. Since emancipation and up until 1960, the percentage had been roughly stable at

about 70%, continually below the steady 90% level recorded for white children (Ruggles, 1994).

The cultural relativism camp maintains that these household structures are not by themselves

necessarily problematic. Stack (1974, p. 122) contended that, ‘[C]ensus statistics on female-

headed households … do not accurately reveal patterns of residence or domestic organization,’”

(Dunlap, Golub, and Johnson).

Life was not easy for black people during the 1950’s, “African Americans had been

fighting against racial discrimination for decades; during the 1950s, however, the struggle

against racism and segregation entered the mainstream of American life,” (History.com). The

1950’s gave birth to the civil rights movement in the ways that it is known and commonly

accounted for today. St. Bonny’s is the orphanage that brings the girls together: “There were four

to a room, and when Roberta and me came, there was a shortage of state kids, so we were the

only ones assigned to 406 and could go from bed to bed if we wanted to,” (Norton 201). The

girls were at St. Bonny’s for only four short months, but inadvertently became best friends

during that time. The development of each character, Twyla and Roberta, as well as their
friendship throughout the story unveils struggles that each had with their own personal

development.

Twyla continues to narrates the story from the beginning and continues to do so. When

she got to St. Bonny’s Big Bozo introduced her to Roberta. Twyla’s mother, Mary, once told her

that “… they never washed their hair and smelled funny,” (Norton 201). This stereotype can be

attributed to white or black people. A white person that may be considered “trailer trash” may be

seen with these attributes. A “dirty” black person could be seen this way as well. Not washing

one’s hair and smelling funny is seen as a dirty low class person’s lifestyle. Here, Morrison

attempts to play with the readers’ automatic implicit reaction to racialize each of the characters

through description. Stereotypes and micro-aggressions are inadvertently associated with one’s

everyday interactions. From this situation, Morrison allows the reader to identify and associate

race with each of the characters; she is also making a statement about class. In some instances,

people also attempt to associate race with class, when the two are not directly related:

“Numerous African American families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty,

especially in the inner city,” (Dunlap, Golub, and Johnson). Some may agree that implicit racism

is activated unintentionally, but others may think there is no such phenomena: “There is no such

thing as “unintentional” [or implicit] racism, because racism is always for the sole purpose of

sustaining the power of whiteness,” (Ziyad).

As the story continues, Twyla begins to describe herself and Roberta: “We were eight

years old and got F's all the time. Me because I couldn't remember what I read or what the

teacher said. And Roberta because she couldn't read at all and didn't even listen to the teacher,”

(Norton 201). After slavery, as time progress, many black students were still behind their white

counterparts. The issues in segregated education created a wide “gap” and an educational void.
In this instance, one may assume that Twyla is now the white girl, and Roberta is black because

she can not read. During the time that the story was set in, it was also more likely for black

people to be lower class citizens. The repercussions of slavery and post slavery were and are

continuously impacting people’s lives: In the years following Reconstruction, the South

reestablished many of the provisions of the black codes in the form of the so-called "Jim Crow

laws." These remained firmly in place for almost a century, but were finally abolished with the

passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” (History.com). Twyla begins to reminisce on her

dining experiences with her mother: “The food was good, though. At least I thought so. Roberta

hated it…Mary’s idea of supper was popcorn and a can of Yoo-Hoo. Hot mashed potatoes and

two weenies was like Thanksgiving for me,” (Norton 202). Roberta was described as not eating

the food that was given to the girls, but Twyla seems to be grateful for their current level of

dining. Having a mother that was out dancing, one can imagine the life Twyla lived before she

went to the orphanage. Once again, here, the readers’ opinion of who is black and who is white

may shift based on the reference of the reactions to the meal that each girl had.

As the story continues and the girls’ mothers meet. Mary is explained to be very

simpleminded and constantly grinning while she is in the presence of Roberta’s mother. Making

the connection between Mary always dancing and being very simpleminded one could conclude

that she may be on drugs. For black communities during this time, drugs ran ramped throughout.

The descriptions of Mary not catching on fast, and still grinning after she had met Roberta’s

mother, makes it seem as if she is not all there mentally.

There is a term called double consciousness that W.E. B. DuBois coined in 1903. This

term explains the idea of someone’s life being separated into many different facets. For each girl,

Twyla and Roberta, their lives were defined by many different experiences, instances and a
multitude of other things that were in their control and beyond it: “always looking at one’s self

through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in

amused contempt and pity,” (DuBois). This idea of double consciousness is what Morrison uses

to illustrate the relationship between the girls. As time continues to progress the eight-year-old

girls that met grow into women, and their perceptions and views of each other change drastically.

Being aware of the way one is viewed by other people or by the world often plays into and fuels

insecurity. The girls were not completely comfortable with themselves. It is made clear in the

beginning of the text the girls were outcast because of the way other people viewed them: “…

nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren’t real orphans with beautiful dead parents

in the sky,” (Norton 201). As the story the interactions that the women have with each other

show that they are still insecure with the lives that they lead.

There are many interactions that can be associated with stereotypes of white and black

people both throughout. Many instances in the story the descriptions are what make the reader

flip flop back and forth between which character they think is white, and which is black. The

girls struggle with their own identity throughout in the story, especially early on. This does not

help the reader figure out which is character is of what race. There is also subtle commentary on

class and socioeconomic status. There are certain stereotypes that can be associated with race,

but more than anything is associated with poor or lower class people. She illuminates the idea of

double consciousness throughout her work in the details of the interactions that Twyla and

Roberta have with one another. Morrison toys with the readers inadvertent and purposeful

attributions to race and class through the descriptions, interactions, and actions of each of the

characters. She does this to expose and comment on the societal and cultural implicit racism that

has become a huge part of American society.

 Works Cited

DuBouisopedia. Double Consciousness, 2013,

http://scua.library.umass.edu/duboisopedia/doku.php?id=about:double_consciousness.

Accessed 22 July 2018.

History.com. Black Codes, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-codes.

Accessed 22 July 2018.

History.com. The 1950’s, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/1950s. Accessed 22 July 2018.

“The Severely-Distressed African American Family in the Crack Era: Empowerment is not

Enough.” PMC, 9 Oct. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2565489/.

Accessed 22 July 2018.

Ziyad, Hari. “The myth of “unintentional” or “implicit” racism.” Black Youth Project.

http://blackyouthproject.com/myth-unintentional-implicit-racism/. Accessed 21 July

2018.