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Foreshadowing
Genre
Explanation and Analysis:
"Recitatif" is a short story by Toni Morrison, narrated in the first person by Twyla, one of the story's characters. While not a formal member of the Black Arts Movement, Morrison's work overlapped with that of its members, and she is remembered as one of the most important figures in the African American literary tradition. Her works, including "Recitatif," deal with similar themes and settings as works written by those formally affiliated with the movement.
"Recitatif" does not make heavy-handed points about racial inequality in the U.S. during the 1950s and 1960s, but instead intentionally withholds the racial identity of Roberta and Twyla, refusing to give over the "answer" to the reader. Both parties are culpable, and fiercely interrelated. In that sense, it can be understood as a Black rendering of deconstructionist principles which cast doubt on accepted fundamental conventions, ideals, and beliefs by destabilizing a normative core. Without knowing who is "right" or "wrong" in the story, readers are forced to grapple with the weight and impact of each character's actions on a personal scale. Twyla and Roberta appear as human, complex, and flawed people, each responsible for their own conduct and profoundly affected by the society they live in. The intentional withholding of the characters' races subtly motions toward an understanding that race itself is constructed, while still understanding that it is a construct which dictates and shapes the lives of these characters. Zadie Smith later picks up Black deconstruction in her similar (though more abstract) short story, "Kelso Deconstructed."
Related Themes:
