Reading Response #4 Recitatif

From the reading I understood that Twyla and Roberta come from a different background and race. It all indicates that one of the girls is white and the other is African American. Throughout the story there were some clues that made me think that Twyla was the white girl. For example when they first met Twyla remembered some of the things that her mother had told her about Roberta’s race and she didn't want to be roommates with her. Roberta didn't know how to read, while Twyla did and we have to keep in mind that this was written during the civil rights and back then it was very rare to see a black girl who knew how to read. Later on when the moms visited them, Twyla’s mom (Mary) had all the features to be a white irresponsible mother. While Roberta’s mother seemed to be black because she’s described as being big and religious and did not want to shake Mary’s hand because of her bad influence. Later on when they saw each other again at the bussing controversy, Roberta accuses Twyla of kicking Maggie (the lunch lady) because she was black. Even though this was not true, it made me ask myself why would anyone accuse someone of being racist against someone of their same race?But as I kept reading there were a lot of other clues that made me think that Roberta was the white girl, but Morrison never really specifies which girl is which.

I think Toni Morrison presents this story in the way she does in order to play with the reader’s mind into figuring out which girl is which race. And to show that at the end of the day race does not matter because we’re all humans and our actions determine who we are. Just like it happened with the two friends, when they were still children they did not pay attention to any of these things and got along without any sing of racism against each other, but when they grew up their races kept them apart. And it was at the end that they realized that they were letting race keep them apart and being the friends they once we. And instead of focusing on their differences they brought up what had made them friends the first time they met, which were their mothers.