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Abel, Elizabeth. “Black Writing, White Reading: Race and the Politics of Feminist Interpretation.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 19, no. 3, 1993, pp. 470–98, https://doi.org/10.1086/448683.

Benjamin, Shanna Greene. “The Space That Race Creates: An Interstitial Analysis of Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif.’” Studies in American Fiction, vol. 40, no. 1, 2013, pp. 87–106, https://doi.org/10.1353/saf.2013.0004.

“Biography of Toni Morrison.” Toni Morrison, 2009, pp. 7–14.

Course Hero. “Recitatif Context.” Course Hero. 2016, www.coursehero.com/lit/Recitatif/context/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

History.com Editors. “Civil Rights Movement: Timeline, Key Events & Leaders | HISTORY.” History.com, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.” Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women, edited by Amiri Baraka and Amina Baraka, 1983. Chandler Unified School District, https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/1073/Morrison_recitatifessay.doc.pdf. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Smith, Zadie. “The Genius of Toni Morrison’s Only Short Story.” The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/toni-morrison-recitatif-short-story-zadie-smith. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Toni Morrison.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toni-Morrison. Accessed 29 January 2024.

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Image by Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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The story takes place in the United States, beginning in the 1950s (Course Hero). World War II had ended and this was the time when discrimination and racial segregation were rampant. However, the civil rights movement led to significant changes in which there was less disparity between blacks and whites and a push for equal rights for all people, regardless of their race.

During the 1960s, the youth culture movement was popular and Jimi Hendrix became a popular icon of this time (Abel 474). We can see the significance of this historical event through Roberta’s personality and interests when meeting Twyla for the first time outside of the orphanage. Racial strife was still widespread but was doing better than before. This was why the two women had different reactions upon seeing each other again.

It was in 1954 that the Supreme Court ruled the Brown vs. Board of Education wherein racial segregation of schools was made illegal. However, it was only in 1971 that the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education was ruled, integrating more black children into public schools through busing. This explains Twyla and Roberta’s third encounter with one another after being separated from the orphanage. Many mothers were protesting in front of the school against the changes in the system, resulting in the schools shutting down for months (Benjamin 88).

Overall, the setting of the story took place at a time wherein many social changes were happening. We get to see the impacts of these historical events through the characters’ personal lives.

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Morrison’s short story is said to be an experiment focused on the reader’s perception on which of the two main characters in the story is black or white (Smith). It alludes to its title, “Recitatif,” a noun that can mean two things:

1. A “musical declamation” that is “usual in the narrative and dialogue parts of opera and oratorio” and “sung in the rhythm of ordinary speech with many words on the same note” or

2. The “tone or rhythm peculiar to any language.”

In an analysis by Smith, the speech of the two characters in the story is ordinary as it lacks clear signs that would have confirmed the characters’ racial identity. On the other hand, the second definition of “Recitatif” suggests that our attempt at characterizing the characters is unique to our own perceptions on race.

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1. Though racism is a main theme in the story, Twyla and Roberta’s races were never explicitly stated. How is this significant to the story? How does this impact your interpretation of the characters?

2. Compared to the earlier works discussed in class, "Recitatif" is authored by an African-American woman. What do you think is the unique perspective that Morrison brings to the bildungsroman genre?

3. “Recitatif” is a noun that pertains to two definitions: (1) a “musical declamation usual in the narrative and dialogue parts of opera and oratorio and sung in the rhythm of ordinary speech with many words on the same note”; or (2) the “tone or rhythm peculiar to any language.” What do you think is the significance behind the author titling her story “Recitatif”? Provide supporting details or scenes.

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Writer’s Name: Toni Morrison, also known as Chloe Anthony Wofford

Born: February 18, 1931, Lorain, Ohio

Died: August 5, 2019, Bronx, New York

Major Contributions: African-American Literature

Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1987), Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012)

Morrison was an African-American writer, who was inspired by the lived experiences of the African-American folk within the community (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). She expressed her writing by connecting it to social issues, injustice, and relationship complexity that African Americans experience in their interactions with white people. Her background and experiences are the reasons why she wrote the short story titled “Recitatif.” She also received a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1987 for her book titled Beloved.

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The short story, Recitatif, follows the lifelong connection between two women—Twyla and Roberta. They first met at St. Bonaventure when they were eight years old; a shelter for mixed-race children became their home where they faced shared experiences that formed an unbreakable bond of friendship. The narrative is mainly from Twyla's perspective as she narrates her encounters with Roberta from childhood to adulthood.

Throughout the story, perceptions about race and identity shift in both characters' minds as memories surrounding their racial background influence them differently over time. Interestingly enough, author Toni Morrison intentionally seems to have kept these details ambiguous so readers must formulate assumptions independently while exploring complex themes related to life shaped by our social outlooks such as belief or prejudice based on characteristics like skin color. Twyla and Roberta's relationship involves intimacy but still some distance because oftentimes differences arise primarily concerning class disparities along with societal expectations which might come into play during personal struggles too. The overall theme explores perception gaps we face when trying to understand ourselves better after facing unexpected childhood situations alongside how it affects us throughout life if not taken care of properly.

Recitatif doesn't offer any straightforward conclusions due to its nuanced subject matter involving factors influencing anyone's day-to-day existence ultimately leaving behind lingering thoughts/questions around relationships' complexities influenced heavily by society itself rather than individual choices alone.

To read the story in full, visit this site: https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/1073/Morrison_recitatifessay.doc.pdf