Jennifer Ames

English: Rhetoric 101

Mr. Newman
13 November 2014
Gender and Race in Recitatif
Toni Morrison is an African-American novelist who has won a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize.
Recitatif is a short story that Morrison wrote about two female characters that grew up in a life
that was nothing but struggle from the beginning. The audience can come to find both characters
as rounded by the changes they encounter as their life progresses. Toni Morrison, in Recitatif,
incorporates gender and race as two big social issues that she addresses as stereotypical roles for
each character, and how the absence of mother figures ties closely together with gender.
While Reading Recitatif the readers meet two characters named Twyla and Roberta.
They are introduced when they are put into an all-girl orphanage called St. Bonaventure. Twyla
is narrating the story, and it starts off that Twyla, and Roberta dont like each other because its
strange to each of the girls to be with someone of the different race. Morrison never comes out
and says which girl is white, and which girl is black. But you can imply that one girl is white and
one is black because Twyla states that, for that moment it didnt matter that we looked like
salt and pepper standing there and thats what the other kids called us sometimes(page 1).
Looking a critical essay written by David Goldstein-Shirley, he agrees that race is discrete
throughout the short story because writes, Using clever ambiguous racial codes in its
descriptions of the main characters (page 3). A reason behind Morrisons decision to keep the
races secretive maybe is so that the audience sees the characters for who they are and not by their
race. Being an African-American female, and the time period this was written in, Morrison

knows how hard it is to be accepted for who you are by society. Also, in Recitatif another key
point brought up and stood out was typical stereotypes between white and black people. In the
story is says that when the mothers visited their children at the orphanage Roberta looked down
at Twyla and her mother Mary. She didnt say a word to them and grabbed Roberta with her
Bible-free and stepped away from them. Right there you can imply that Roberta is white
because looking at racial roles in society, white people look down at black people like theyre
high and mighty above them. This shows Twyla and Roberta the tension between their two races.
Not only is there stereotypical roles about race in Recitatif but there is also
stereotypical roles for gender brought up by Morrison in her short story. Like stated in
Goldsteins critical essay one point he brings up is that Twyla states, Strife came to us that
fall I couldnt figure it out from one day to the next. I knew I was supposed to feel something
strong, but I didnt know what, and James wasnt any help (page 4). With that said it can be
implied that Twyla is relying on her husband to telling her how to feel about something. Then,
Roberta told Twyla that she has a traditional marriage where the husband makes all the money
and she spends it. But when Twyla asks Roberta what he does for a living her response was,
Computers and stuff. What do I know (page 4)?
Both characters are showing stereotypical traits that females are associated with. In Twylas case
she is expecting her husband to explain to her whats going on around her and tell her exactly
how to feel about it. Independent women are supposed to make decisions for themselves. In
Robertas case all she cares about is that her husband is making the money and she gets to spend
it. She doesnt know/care how hes making it. Women are powerful people who can pay their
own bills, buys their own things, and does not allow a man to affect their stability or self-

confidence. In both characters situation they dont fit that description because they struggle to
know what independence is.
Lastly, the biggest impact in the story is the absence of mother figures in the girls life.
This is tied closely together to gender because as kids Twyla and Roberta never had a mother
they could look up to and take away life lessons from. Morrison has a common theme throughout
her story that she leaves it up to her audience to put context clues together to figure what the
message is shes trying to convey. Twyla mother likes to dance all night, and Robertas mother
is sick. Without structure it puts a lot more responsibility on the girls to grow up and figure
out right from wrong on their own. This is tied to gender because without their mothers in their
life, this could be why both characters have such traditional marriages and expect their husbands
to support them. Their mothers never taught them how to support themselves because their
mothers were never able to do that for the girls.
Summing it up, Morrison incorporates so many different feelings throughout her short
story that no one could be for sure on exactly why. Recitatif is a well written short story that
makes the audience pay attention to detail in order to receive the message its sent out to tell.
Toni Morrison, in Recitatif, incorporates gender and race as two big social issues that she
addresses as stereotypical roles for each character, and how the absence of mother figures ties
closely together with gender.