Being in the theme of racism, the story 'Recitatif', was written by Toni Morrison and was first published in 1983. It was an anthology written by African American women that entitled it Confirmation. 'Recitatif' was an anthology story edited by Amiri Baraka & his wife Amina Baraka. The author as mention before was Toni Morrison original name was Chloe Anthony Wofford, she was born on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. She was the first African American woman that won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Morrison was raised and grew up in the American Midwest, with a family that gave her love and appreciation for black culture. She was the four child of George Wofford and Ramah Willis Wofford. Toni parents have to move from Ohio South to escape from racism and to find good opportunities in the North. Morrison's father work as a shipyard welder and have three jobs to support his family. Ramah, which was the mother of Toni, was a church woman that sang in the choir. All the family was proud of their achievements and stayed in the north.
Going to Morrison's life, Toni entered to Howard University in Washington D.C. in 1949 with the financial aid of her parents. Howard University was the most famous black college in that year. Being in this university, Morrison joined a repertory company where she made a tour to the south. Going to this tour she realized the terrible lives that black people were leaving. When Chloe enters to this university, people were having trouble pronouncing her name, so she decided to change it to Toni. Toni was a shortened version of her middle name so she changed in order for the people to pronounce it well. Morrison graduated in 1953 from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Toni Morrison continued studying in the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In this university she receives a master's degree in the year 1955. After she finished school Morrison was an instructor of English at Texas Southern University, at Houston. Toni decided to teach in Howard University in the English department since 1955 to 1957.
In 1957, she met Harold Morrison who was a Jamaican architect and married him in 1958. Toni and Harold had two children named Harold Ford and Slade Kevin. She continued teaching in order to take care of her family and to give what they need. She got separated from her husband when she was pregnant of her second child. After, six years of marriage with Harold Morrison, she got divorced in 1964. Being alone she decided to join a writer group that will appreciated literature as she did. After her divorce, she left her job at the university and returned to her parent's house in Lorain. She then obtained a job at Radom House in Syracuse, New York as an associate editor. In Random House she writes her first story called 'The Blue Eyes' that appeared in 1970. This book receives big critical acclaims for being the first book, but it was not to successful. This book was about a victimized adolescent black girl that was obsessed with white beauty and blue eyes. In 1971 to 1972 she was an associate professor in English at the State University of New York. Even though she was a professor of English she continued in the Random House and she decided to make her second novel called 'Sula', which was published in 1973.
The book 'Sula', which Morrison wrote, was about friendship among two black women. This book was selected by the Book-of-the-Month-Club and was published in the Redbook magazine. This book was nominated in for the 1975 National Book Award in fiction. In 1977 she then wrote her next novel called 'Song of Solomon'. This novel make her win two more awards called National Book Critics Circle Award and American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award. She was a good writer that everyone was proud of so, she continues writing and in 1987 she published 'Beloved', which was a novel that illustrates horrifying lives of slaves. With this novel she won many awards including New York State Governor's Arts Award, First recipient of the Washington College Literary award, National Book Award nomination, and National Book Critics Circle Award nomination. After writing many novels in 1993, Chloe won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In that year she was the first African American women that won that type of prize. With that in mind, she then explains how she feel towards this by saying, 'What is most wonderful for me, personally, is to know that the Prize at last has been awarded to an African-American. Winning as an American is very special-but winning as a Black American is a knockout.' 'Toni Morrison' Toni Morrison. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/nobel%20prize%20winners/morrison.htm>.
After that she continues growing on her work and became a successful women with her novels.
Being a successful novelist Morrison wrote 'Recitatif' in 1983. This story was one of the few stories ever published in her career. I feel Mrs. Morrison went to this conclusion of writing this story because she was a black woman that maybe had passed through this. I feel she is expressing her feelings of how most black people feel about it and what kids feel. Writing 'Recitatif' may get to her that she is expressing how most kids feel in being with white people. With this in mind 'Recitatif' is narrated as a first person and is a story of two girls that meet in an orphanage and became friends. They were eight years old and one was white and the other was black. This story tells the conflicts between this two girls friendship. Both girls had their parents, but they couldn't take care of them so each mother left them in the orphanage. In the story 'Recitatif' Morrison explores all the relationship between this two characters and their different racial. Being a great author Morrison made a great decision on not telling which girl was white and which was black. Their names of this two girls where named Roberta and Twyla. This two girls where having distinctive culture. Whether one is African American and the other is American culture. In this story, Morrison uses characterization and description that underscores the process in the reader. Using criticism and other similar issues. In the story Morrison also narrates a particular day when both girls are watching to the older girls dance. Going with this story the characters were all girls, which they were in an orphanage with this female staff. They both arrive to the orphanage because they were only having mother not father. With that in mind Morrison made this to not give the gender of each girls and decided to make a conflict between them in other to eliminate a gender with racial prejudice in the story.
The characters that Mrs. Morrison used in this story were Twyla Benson, Roberta Fisk, James Benson, Joseph Benson, Maggie, and Mrs. Itkin (Big Bozo). Twyla is the main character and the story narrator. She was in the orphanage because her mother decided to have her life to dance all night and couldn't take care of her. She got involved in the racial integration of schools and get a conflict with Roberta, which was a friend that she met in the orphanage. Tony married James Benson, which is a native of Newburgh. A town where the story takes place. She had a son named Joseph Benson. Another character is Roberta Fisk, which she was the main conflict of the story. She was the friend of Twyla Benson, like I said she meets her in the orphanage. The mother left her in the orphanage because she was sick to take care of her. They have a connection where they feel sympathy to one another. They have a conflict where it is symbolized through their own difference memories of Maggie. Maggie was an ambiguous woman that works in the orphanage. The last character is Mrs. Itkin, which was a woman that takes care of Twyla and Roberta in the St. Bonny's shelter. These characters where part of 'Recitatif' were Morrison wrote in 1983.
I choose this story 'Recitatif' by Toni Morrison because I feel it was a good story to read and because it is about racism. Racism has being a big part in our communities were most black people are discriminated by other people. I feel this story was great and it was a great work that Toni Morrison made. Especially when all her work was most of colored people. Another thing why I choose this story is because you can now see how some people are great and how most of them accepted no matter what colored they are. It let me know that when you want a friendship you take it a true friendship no matter what other may think. Which in this case it was a great friendship that Twyla and Roberta were having the orphanage when they were little too they grow up. Even though I feel it was sad for them to be left in an orphanage when they do have a mother. Although what makes it sad was that the two girls were left in there because their mother couldn't take care of them. It also was a great choice to make this story in order for you to think who the girl was.it was a great choice of the author to make you think which girl is black and which was white. This story made me thought on how true friendship is it made me think that no matter what color you are a friendship it is taken from the heart not from the appearance. That what made me thought that Tony Morrison choose this story to make you realized what friendship is. It also describes how racism was back then by describing Twyla life. By that I feel that Tony Morrison write this story because he wants to show that friendship has nothing to do with race.
In this story 'Recitatif' Morrison has a quote 'The minute I walked in and the Big Bozo introduced us, I got sick to my stomach. 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.' With this phrase the author is telling us the moment that these girls were meet, which become to a conclusion of becoming friends. This story was obviously taken place when segregation and racism was happening. I feel that this two girls were affected because of their races and how people were looking at them. Even though, they were thought different about each race being black or white at first they didn't want one another and I know this because of this quote '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'. Otherwise, with that quote it says it didn't like it they still become friends and they stick together. I really like this story because it represents how a white girl and a black girl didn't care about each other race. They are stick together with their friendship not their race.
In the story 'Recitatif' it took place in St. Bonaventure, which is the shelter were the two girls were. It also describes the plot in which all the story started. In this story it all starts with the exposition, which it tells how Twyla and Roberta meet. Also, it tells their race in this part of, but it doesn't describe who is which. In this part of the story it tells you how this two girls of age eight become friends. Feeling that they were stick together in the orphanage. It also comes to the point of the falling action were the both girl returned to school and they meet Maggie a girl that didn't experience solidarity. Maggie is also a symbol of the story which represents the outsider and it is being treated by Twyla and Roberta. In all the story it has a foreshadowing were both tells their life they are having. They are going back and forth with their life. With the climax in the story it was that they lost their friendship when they had a discussion about picketing and they started to yell to each other and violent push. At the end they were encountered again in a diner where they have a conversation and apologized and tell what really happened with Maggie. Which at the end they both were crying and share an emotional stress they had past.
To end with, having this story as the theme of racism made it an awesome story. I feel Morrison did a great work telling how a white girl and a black girl met and become friends. Toni Morrison write this in the 1983 were all the segregation was happening and was a great work to all the community. 'Recitatif' was a great work from her and was a great story to read. I really enjoy reading it and I will recommend it to other people to read it. Being a black women she wrote this when segregation was going on and how was back then.