Recitatif

Part 1

Twyla and Roberta, the two main characters in Toni Morrison's short story, "Recitatif," meet at the Saint Bonaventure orphanage (St. Bonny's) as 8-year-old girls. When Twyla first arrives at the shelter and sees Roberta, who is another race (the reader is not told which girl is white and which girl is black), Twyla immediately tells the staff, "My mother won't like you putting me in here" (243). Twyla's mother has warned Twyla about people who are of Roberta's race. Despite this rocky beginning, Twyla and Roberta soon become close friends, especially as they are the only girls sharing their room. They discover their similarities, such as both of their mothers are still alive, compared to the other girls, whose parents are dead. Twyla and Roberta both do poorly in school, especially Roberta, who can't read. And they both must deal with the bullying from the mean, older girls at the shelter. When both of their mothers happen to visit them on the same day, both of the girls eagerly anticipate their arrival. However, when Roberta's mother snubs Twyla's mother, refusing to shake hands with her, Twyla's mother, Mary, loudly says, "That bitch!" (247). This ends any hope that their mothers will get along. Twyla notices that while Roberta brings chicken legs and ham sandwiches for their lunch, Mary has not brought any lunch for Twyla and her to share.

Eventually, Roberta leaves the shelter, promising Twyla that she will write her, despite Roberta’s inability to read or write.

Part 2

Years have passed and Twyla and Roberta are now teenagers. Twyla works as a waitress at a Howard Johnson's diner. Roberta is part of a group of bus passengers who show up at the diner. Roberta is almost unrecognizable, with her heavy make-up, revealing clothing, and big hair. She sits at a booth between two guys. Twyla states, "I walked over to the booth, smiling and wondering if [Roberta] would remember me. Or even if she wanted to remember me" (249). Twyla is eager to talk but Roberta does not recognize her at first. When she finally does recognize Twyla, Roberta remains aloof, mocking Twyla for not knowing who Jimi Hendrix is. Twyla is uncomfortable as Roberta shows off in front of the guys. After awkwardly inquiring about each other's mothers, Twyla, self-conscious, walks away.

Part 3

Twelve years later, Twyla is now married to James Benson, and they have a son, Joseph: "James is as comfortable as a house slipper. He liked my cooking and I liked his big loud family" (250). They live in Newburgh, where many of James's family members live. The town of Newburgh has become run down, with many people forced to rely on welfare, but people are starting to move back into the neighborhood, many of them rich from working at IBM. In the new Food Emporium, which targets the richer neighbors, Twyla runs into Roberta, who has transformed herself again: "Diamonds on her hand, a smart white summer dress" (251). Roberta is also married; her husband is a widower with four kids. Unlike last time, Twyla and Roberta talk easily now. However, when they recall what happened to Maggie, a kitchen staff worker from the orphanage, they have differing recollections. Roberta recalls the time that the mean girls attacked Maggie: "Those girls pushed her down and tore her clothes. In the orchard" (254). But Twyla remembers the incident differently, thinking that Maggie simply fell. She is disturbed by Roberta's different recollection about that night.

When Twyla asks Roberta about her behavior at their last meeting, Roberta says, "Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black-white. You know how everything was" (255). Twyla does not remember racial tensions but rather the opposite: "You got to see everything at Howard Johnson's and blacks were very friendly with whites in those days" (255).Before leaving, they again inquire about each other's mothers, after promising to keep in touch, although Twyla doubts that she will.

Part 4

That fall, there are protests in town over the bussing of children in order to desegregate schools. Twyla's son, Joseph, is one of the students assigned to be transferred to another school. Twyla admits to not understanding why the issue is so controversial:"I thought it was a good thing until I heard it was a bad thing. I mean I didn't know" (256). After she drives Joseph to the school, she sees people carrying signs protesting the bussing, including Roberta, who carries a sign that says, "MOTHERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO!" (256). Twyla pulls over and they argue over the issue of bussing; Roberta doesn't want to send her child across town for school, while Twyla now defends the need to do so. Neither can persuade the other of their position. Suddenly, the other protesters surround Twyla's car and begin to rock. Roberta refuses to help. Roberta tells Twyla that Twyla was the one who attacked Maggie in the orchard. Twyla calls her a liar, driving off in anger.

The next day, Twyla returns to the protest with her own sign. She joins the counter-protestors, but eventually even the counter-protesters are baffled by Twyla's involvement, since her signs are directed toward Roberta, making no sense to anyone else. One sign reads, "IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?" (259). Both Roberta and Twyla soon stop going to the protests.

The school doesn’t open until October due to the bussing controversy. Twyla searches but is unable to find Roberta even after Joseph graduates high school.

Part 5

Roberta's son, Joseph, is now at college. At the last minute, Roberta decides to buy a Christmas tree for the holidays. She stops for coffee at a diner near the upscale Newburgh Hotel and sees Roberta. Roberta is in an evening gown and a fur coat, accompanied by another couple. All in Roberta’sparty seem a little drunk. Roberta has a strong desire to talk to Twyla, so she tells the couple to wait for her outside. Roberta then tells Twyla that they didn't attack Maggie, reversing what she said at their last meeting. Instead, she confides that she really did want to hurt Maggie, even though neither of them actually did. Roberta feels guilty and gets upset at her desire to hurt Maggie; Twyla tries to alleviate her guilt, reminding Roberta that they were both helpless little girls at the time. They don't know anything else to say to each other after sharing this, except to talk about their mothers, briefly: "Did I tell you my mother, she never did stop dancing" (261). Roberta replies that her mother never got better. In the final lines of the story, Roberta cries out, "What the hell happened to Maggie?" (261).