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Michael Maticka
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
13 November 2014
Literary Analysis of Recitatif
As a teenage Caucasian male reading from an aging female characters viewpoint, my
response to Toni Morrisons short story Recitatif may differ from others. Throughout the story,
Morrison gives away hints to the reader in order for them to perceive the characters race.
Through the underlying messages, the race of each girl can be determined, but may also differ
from reader to reader. Based on the information given in the story, readers can form their own
opinions about each character. By only dropping clues to determine the race of the two main
characters and using barely any racial or gender related language throughout Recitatif,
Morrison involves the reader by allowing them to define what is factual in the short story.
Initially, when beginning to read Recitatif, the races of the girls was still unknown. As
readers, we only knew that Roberta and Twylas friendship started out with similar bias
backgrounds. In David Goldstein-Shirleys critical essay, he states, Despite harboring
maternally-taught prejudices against Robertas race, Twyla quickly grows to like Roberta, partly
because they share the shame of incompetent rather than dead mothers. However as the story
progresses, I became familiar with the language that Toni Morrison uses to describe each of the
girls. Morrison indirectly suggests the races of the girls, for example, She was sitting in a booth
smoking a cigarette with two guys smothered in head and facial hair. Her own hair was so big
and wild I could hardly see her face, (Morrison 4). The story is told from Twylas perspective, a
character that may be African American or white. Twyla tells this story as though the reader
already knows most of the details from her life and she leaves out some very important

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information, such as her physical attributes. Through hints delivered in the writing, readers can
come to their own conclusions. Readers of different genders and races have different experiences
with Recitatif, and as Goldstein-Shirley announces in his essay that the story presents a very
particular reader. the basic written tale squarely addresses the issue of its probable audience
while raising an issue for some or most of its readers regarding the extent to which they can or
will identify with the texts writer while pursuing their own act of reading.
Although Morrison does not come out and directly say that this piece is going to get the
reader thinking about their attitude towards race, it happens almost unconsciously. GoldsteinShirleys essay also states, The clues Morrison leaves are subtle and ambiguous, yet they led
these respondents to extrapolate from them based on their own experiences. Confirmation bias
can be used in Recitatif; this method allows readers to prioritize information given to help
prove their point of view. For example, when Twyla and Robertas mothers meet for the first
time, Robertas mom literally and figuratively looks down upon Twyla and her mom. Twyla
explains, She didnt say anything, just grabbed Roberta with her Bible-free hand and stepped
tout of line, walking quickly to the rear of it, (Morrison 3). This ambiguous act can be used in
defense of either race and does not lead the reader to a conclusion on either girls race. However
I took this scenario to mean that Robertas mother was caucasian because she was looking down
to the African American Twyla and her mother. The critical essay also proves that, by not stating
specifics, Morrison does a great job of providing the reader with essential tools to begin
reflecting on their attitude towards race. It states, These collective tactics eliminating explicit
racial labels, bracketing gender to focus exclusively on race, using a framed narrative which
artistically represents an African American storytelling tradition in order to train the reader to

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become a competent hearer, and staging within the text the extra-textual debate about
desegregation.
Additionally, I began to look at Toni Morrison as a writer. Morrison makes it evident in
Recitatif that there is a racial divide, not only in society, but also between Twyla and Roberta.
I believe that Morrisons race also factors into the telling of this story as she is an African
American female. As a white male reading this short story, I find it difficult that Morrison would
deny the success of a black woman and enable a strong white female lead. Morrison uses racial
codes in her stories to deconstruct racist attitudes. Goldstein-Shirley expresses in his essay, By
coupling people and language, Morrison makes clear that her deconstruction of racial codes in
the language of her works, most self-consciously in Recitatif is, to her, akin to deconstructing
racism. In addition, I looked over her past works and it became evident that she tends to write
stories that express a strong African American female character. The Bluest Eye, Morrisons first
novel, explored a young black girl who believed that her life would be more satisfying if only
she had blue eyes. Song of Solomon also follows an African American lead character. These
details have told me that Twyla would also be a black character. In accordance with Morrisons
other novels, I believe that she would continue to formulate stories depicting black lead
characters.
From my response to Toni Morrisons short story Recitatif may differ from other
readers, however through hints in the story, I believe that my ideas have been justified.
Morrisons sly writing techniques have baffled readers, but this was done on purpose. Each
reader formulates their own conclusion about the two main characters. Through Recitatif
readers have the chance to reflect on their own attitudes about race and gender and they may
form their own opinions.