Week 16 Analysis

This week I will be doing a close reading of Toni Morrison story "Recitatif". The section of the story that intrigued me the most was "“Listen to me. I really did think she was black. I didn’t make that up. I really thought so. But now I can’t be sure. I just remember her as old, so old. And because she couldn’t talk—well, you know, I thought she was crazy. She’d been brought up in an institution like my mother was and like I thought I would be too. And you were right. We didn’t kick her. It was the gar girls. Only them. But, well, I wanted to. I really wanted them to hurt her. I said we did it, too. You and me, but that’s not true. And I don’t want you to carry that around. It was just that I wanted to do it so bad that day—wanting to is doing it ”(p. 1187). I like this part because this is the end of the story were both character come together to reconclie the past between both of them. This conversation is between Roberta and Twyla and they are talking about the past misunderstanding. Were Roberta thought see saw Twyla with the gar girls and they were harassing the older lady named Maggie. So Roberta saw this as racial discrimination because she thought Maggie was black. Yet Twyla said she did not do anything she just happened to be there when this happened. This was there first misunderstanding that led to other misunderstandings as they encounter each multiple times through there adulthood. At first before they explained this issue I thought there first misunderstand when there parents met. The thesis I see in this story is misunderstandings that are left unresolved can lead to other problems and more misunderstandings.