Black People and James Baldwin Essay

In Toni Morrisons Recitatif, the twaddle is active ii missys, Twyla and Roberta. They grow up in an orphanage because their captures could non care for them. Morrison makes it agnise the girls come from different ethnic backgrounds besides never states which one is dreary or dust coat. At one point in the story Twyla comments, We looked uniform salt and pepper. I grew frustrated with the story and had to read it several times. I could never determine who was abusive and white and the lesson I learned should book been it doesnt really matter.The story begins with Twylas mother dropping her impinge on at the orphanage. She meets Roberta and they become best friends. The bond they share occurs because they were not considered real orphans. They were abandoned kids unlike the other children whose parents had died. One of the last times the girls specify each other was the day of a visitation. On that night, Twylas mother was wearing those tight green slacks that do her b utt tie down out. M any(prenominal) people produce labeled blacks as having macror butts.She could have been black, she could have been a heavy white woman with a large butt, or a Hispanic woman like me. But I automatically stereotyped and went with Twyla has to be black. During the visitation Robertas mother had brought jaundiced legs. Twyla notices Roberta does not eat the chicken legs. I always thought black people liked chicken more than white people which direction Roberta was white since she did not eat the chicken. Or maybe she just wasnt hungry. Shortly after that visitation Robertas mother came to take her home, sledding the girls devastated.They see each other several times throughout the years. At their first meeting, Roberta was rude and distant because she was high. Roberta tells Twyla she is on the way to see Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was an notorious black guitarist. I thought at this point Roberta has to be black. provided Hendrixs band was interracial with a di verse audience. Roberta could have been white due to the diverse audience. I am a huge Hendrix strike out and I am not black so why would I think Roberta is. Twelve years later they meet again at a grocery store.Roberta married a rich man and was extremely friendly to Twyla. Twyla cannot hold back her emotions and asks Roberta about the last time they cut each other. Roberta shrugs it off, Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days blackwhite. You know how everything was. I can relate to this. In 1980, the Cuban Mariel Boat Lifts came oer acquire thousands of Cubans. I am Cuban but I was born here. Kids I had known since kindergarten treated me as if I just come over on the boats. It had a lasting effect on me and matured me beyond my years.The third time they meet is at the school where their children attend. Roberta and other mothers were picketing because they did not want their kids to be segregated. This led to a fight severing any last chance of a friendship for them as it would not be resolved until Twyla and Roberta meet for a final time. As the story ends I do not get a sense of closure. The question of which girl is white or black remains unanswered. It opened my eyes and made me question how prejudice I really am.I try to not stereotype as a result of what I went through as a child but I found myself doing just that. I can understand why Morrison wrote the way she. I am not sure what her goal was overall but to me it seemed as if she were teaching me about prejudices. Recitatif challenged me to not judge either girl by their race but accept them for who they are. In the end, what difference did it really make about the girls races? The story is about how their friendship develops and then deteriorates. Nothing more nothing less.