Toni Morrison Short Story - Recitatif

Is That Racist?

A not so silent part of society at the time, racism is overwhelmingly present in Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif”. The story is a chronological recollection of the memory of a friendship plagued by many factors, but wholly influenced by race. Although racially ambiguous to the reader, the main characters Twyla and Roberta deal with an increasingly strained friendship until the two eventually reconcile at an older age. Through the use of first person narration and inactive characters, Morrison presents the issue of race and racism in a controlled, but effective perspective.

Twyla’s first person narration is the only view of events we see and in turn becomes our own view. From the beginning of the story when Twyla and Roberta meet we get the sense that there is already a great divide between them, “It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the morning-it was something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race” (139). We never find out what race Twyla or Roberta is, but this initial introduction shows that at least Twyla is uncomfortable being around Roberta.

Is it really important that we know which race is which? Many people, myself included, read this over many times looking for clues that would indicate white or black. However, the only conclusion I reach is that it is unimportant whether or not we know. The fact that the friendship is interracial is enough to convey the theme. In fact, by not specifying either race it makes the story stronger. It is no longer a story about a white girl and a black girl, but a story about two girls living in a racist time. This ambiguity is another tool used by Morrison to emphasize the role that race plays in our lives and also to point out that it doesn’t really matter.

The first person narration, in addition to limiting our scope, limits our ability to make judgments about the characters based on race. We like to think that race does not impact our perception, but it would be a lie to say that we are not at least aware of the stereotypes and stigmas attached to it. The characters are able to develop freely instead of under our own view of them.

Although we don’t know the races of the main characters, we do learn the races of the other characters which shape our understanding of the group dynamics at play. Especially at the orphanage at the beginning, “All kinds of kids were in there, black ones, white ones, even two Koreans” (139). Twyla’s observation seems superfluous, but it demonstrates that she recognizes other races. Not as a racist, but as a narrator. This foreshadows how she will observe races as she gets older.

The events are not unfolding as she goes; she is recalling them from years past. This forces the reader to place a lot of trust in the narrator. Morrison uses this recollection narration to point out that race relation and