Donna Peters                                                                                      September 19, 2014

Professor Rachel Corona                                                                     

English 102

Reading Response to the story “Ractatif”

Question: From the clue provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters Twyla and Roberta? Why do you think Toni Morrison presented this the way she did?

            The clues provided by the writer at the outset of the story provides a clear view that Twyla was of black descend and Roberta white. Later in the story I experienced extreme difficulties distinguishing the difference between both girls, their race and background. However, close to the middle and closing of the story the narrator subtly revealed the character’s identities, Twyla is indeed black and Roberta white. I’m convince that Toni Morrison presented the story in this format to spark her reader’s interest and to also stimulate their analytic skills.

            This story proven to be one of the most suspense and interesting story that I've read. From start to finish I was captivated and intrigue by the manner in which Toni Morrison introduce the race, class and background of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta. She skillfully narrated their pieces in such a format that it was somewhat clear to me in paragraph 2 that Twyla was black and Roberta white. In lines 13-15 paragraph 2 ,Twyla mention that her mother often told her that “they never wash their hair and often smell funny, Roberta sure did smell funny”. Actually, the premier portion of this statement was quite strange to me, but the second portion is familiar. among African Americans about Caucasian. This statement lead me to their true identity initially. But, as I read along, I was left in suspense and confusions trying to distinction between both them both. Until, somewhere between the middle and ending of the story the peculiarity between them both was confirmed.  Notice line 142 when they dine at the café , Twyla asked Roberta why she didn't pay much attention to her when at Howard Johnson’s. Roberta’s excuse was, “Oh Twyla you know how it was: black-white… Back then this would not be a normal excuse from an African American woman for not conversing with a white individual in the public, but on the reverse. 

The Narrator Toni Morrison was very particular, in presenting the story in this format. No doubt to attract the reader’s interest and to also stimulate their analytical skills.

The Tell Tale Heart

Donna Peters                                                                                      

Professor Rachel Corona                                                                     

English 102

            The tell-tale Heart is a ghastly story which characterized an unknown narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man.

            What character does the narrator say prove his sanity is subtly portrayed throughout the story. The narrator started off by admitting to having a disease, but insisted that he was not mad. He verbalize his action in such clear, cunning and precise manner for which he stated a madmen would not be able to detail. To him his disease caused him to feel and experience some form of nervousness, but nothing resembles madness. The narrator admits or confess to horrible crime with a rational precision of killing the old man, but never admit to being psychotic. Nevertheless, his behaviors reflected that of a person with mental issues, when he made mentioned of hearing all thing in heaven and in earth and many things in hell. This does suggest hallucination and dilution to a vast magnitude.

The narrator insisted from the beginning that he was not crazy, by verbalizing clearly his action in such accuracy that a mad man would not be able to do, a midst the fact he sometime felt nervous. He admit that he has a disease, but it did not make him insane. His disease has sharpened his senses, ‘not dull or destroyed it”. Above all, He pointed to the fact that he was quite healthy by showing no sign of aggression and calmly tell the whole story in such accuracy and detail.  All he did the design of the story from beginning to the end points out the level of madness of the narrator. His pattern of behavior throughout the story depict a mental illness, as he disclosed a deep psychological confusion. His behavior reflect a form of paranormal motivation when he stated that “object there was none, passion there was none, I loved that old man…” Yet in spite of this affection he says that the idea of murder “haunted me day and night”.  This process of thinking is also evident to convict him of madness, when confessed to the killing due to hearing the still beating heart of the old man’s corpse. The evidence of him describing that he didn't have any contention with the old man, but with his eye, hence, he compared it to a vulture’s eye and refers to it an “evil eye.” This was motivating factor that drove him make kill the old man. He said, “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man and thus rid myself of the eye forever”. The description of how he outlined the plot to carefully and cautiously execute his plan is evident of a sociopaths behavior.

"Hill Like White Elephant"

Donna Peters

Prof. Raquel Corona

Question 1. 
Point of view include what character see. Notice each"look" What does each person in the story look at, and what each person seem to understand or feel? Is there anything in the story that non of these people would be able to see or know? How do the different kind of observation add to the effect of the story.

The story spoke of three characters an American man, his girlfriend and a woman who was the bar tender. However, there were two main characters that engage in an interesting discussion outside a bar as they await a train to Madrid. Both individuals had different view point obtaining a solution to their problem. Hence, a conflict ensued. The problem's solution was long in views; they had a difficult decision to make.

It appears that the man and his girlfriend had a family matter that was they were pregnant. They man advised was that she should have an abortion. His dispute was that the abortion was just a simple procedure and nothing major,but the girl did not see it in his light. She appeared afraid perhaps looking at the perspective of the child she might abort. As a result, she was not willing to go with the procedure, despite the successful ratio among those she knew had done it in the pass. It appeared they were really in love with each other, but the pregnancy has some what place a constrain on the relationship; for this reason having the abortion would restore things to normal the man disputed. Nevertheless, the decision was hers.

The conflict ensued as they waited, drinking and viewing the scenery around them; As they sat down at the table the girl looked across the hill at the dry side of the valley. The hill and dry valley could be compared to their present situation with no real solution in view. It was a real difficult decisions for her to make has she struggled to fulfilled the man's wished or to follow her gut feelings. On the man part  the pregnancy was to him like a white elephant. The fact is there was too much at stake and none was able to see the future. Just the present situation as it present itself.

Toni Morrison

The Story Recitatif by Toni Morrison did not really indicate which girl is black and which is white. It gives us examples like “salt and pepper” but, did not tell us which one of the girl is salt or pepper. Another example is “they don’t wash their hair and smell funny” I thought Roberta was black and Twyla white. I was confuse trying to figure out which girl belong to which race. I think the author did not for a reason, she did not what to be racist. I think which the clues that she provided it was up to use to figure it out.

Roberta mother seems like religious woman but, I guess due to the fact because she was sick and, cannot take care of her daughter so, she decides to send her to the orphanage. I think Roberta is form a religious background because her mother attends church and carry her bible around. As for Twyla her mother is a dancer, it can be any kind of a dancer. It doesn’t specified in the story. I am assuming came from a poor white family and her mother dance to earn a living but, cannot afford to take care of her.

Toni Morrison leave us the reader to decide the ethnicity of the girls because every readers thinks different. Some us will think Roberta is black because of the big hair and smell bad.

Sonny Blues

Rodrigo Colindres

EN102

Prof Raquel Corona

            When reading “Sonny Blues”, I was able to empathize with the Sonny’s older brother (narrator), due to the fact that I have three younger brothers of my own. Growing up one of them always seemed to find himself in the middle of trouble. He ended up having to one of those juvenile detention centers for a year. When he returned although I was ecstatic to have him back, I found myself, not knowing how to approach him sometimes. I just wanted what was best for him, but I didn’t know how to communicate this to him without him getting defensive. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t trust him, but I also wanted to keep an eye out for him. All in all I just didn’t want anything like that to happen to him again. Especially me being his older brother, it felt like my duty, one that I had already failed to some degree in my mind when he had to go away to begin with. So when the narrator speaks about wanting to check in on his brother to make sure he staying clean I understood in a way. Also when Sonny got out he thought about how he would react to his freedom. I did the same, I hoped my brother would learn from his experience at the juvenile center and come out with a different perspective. When the narrator speaks about Sonny going back to his music, I could tell he was a little hesitant because he thought that could lead to his brother using again. Him hanging out with his previous acquaintances going back to past environments; he couldn’t help but be afraid in the least bit. This too was a feeling I was familiar with. When my brother came back, I didn’t want him hanging out with his with his previous cohorts, fearful that he may be tempted to behave how he had before leaving. I felt almost as if I started crowding him with because of how worried I was about him. As time went by I started to see my brothers progress, despite a few hiccups here and there. All in all, I think its only natural to worry about those you care about especially a sibling. It’s just genuine urgency for them to be ok in life.

Reading Response "Sonny Blues"

Having a younger brother or a younger sibling is sometimes a pain, but at the same time that's the one person that will always be in your life one way or in another. In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, I felt a strong connection with the narrator. The short story “Sonny’s Blues” is mostly about the obligation of a older brother taking care of his younger brother.There are many events in the story that an older brother or sister goes through while growing up with their younger siblings. I can relate with the narrator because I myself have a troublesome younger brother. Everything he does is my fault and somehow I'm responsible for his mistakes. It makes you feel guilty and you start to question yourself, what could I have done better?

  Through out the story "Sonny's Blues", the narrator has many flash backs that I can relate to. One event that I can relate to is when the narrator's mother tells the narrator  to watch his younger brother. At that moment his mom is asking him to be his brother's keeper . I can really relate to this because my mother and father is always telling me stories about what happens between siblings and the conflicts which brings consequences. Another event in the story that I can relate to is the strong arguments between the two brothers and how it reaches to the point where Sonny says, "consider me dead." I say this because there comes a point where my brother talks and as an older sister I have to say open your eyes, life isn't that easy. When Sonny leaves Harlem to go to the army, a few years goes by and his brother decides to write him a letter and they work everything out. At the end of the day, me and my brother can argue and fight, but by the time we go to sleep I'm right next to him laughing and joking around.

Edwin Reyes
EN 102 - C6A
Prof. Raquel Corona

Recitatif Response By Edwin Reyes

1. From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta? Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?

    In the literary work "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison, is presented to us the story of two girls who shared an experience of four months together at a orphanage at the age of eight (both). From the clues the author has given us, we can clearly conclude that there's racial inequality, as well as a class background difference. Although Twyla (the narrator) and Roberta were at the orphanage, they were not orphans. They were "abandoned." At orphanage, they would always get F's, Roberta because didn't pay attention and Twyla because would always forget what she read. During that time that they were living in, at that point of time likely around early 40's or so, there were lots of facts that categorized the class background of people. Back on time, my estimation is the 40's, not all the people knew how to read. And on most of the cases the non-reader was a black person. In the past,  the majority of readers were white people who had money and access to education. The narrator, through a passage of the story states that she knows how to read and Roberta doesn't. They'd fail their classes because Twyla "couldn't remember what she read," and Roberta because "couldn't read at all." But I find it hard to tell who's black and who's white. This is an information that the other kids from the orphanage knew because "they would sometimes tell them looked like salt and pepper," but that's something we don't specifically know. We only know that one of them was white and the other one black. When the mothers of Roberta and Twyla went to visit them at the orphanage, "Roberta's mom read the bible and brought food for her," but Twyla's mom didn't bring anything so they ate the mashed jelly beans off the easter gift Twyla had prepared. For me it's hard to tell who's black or who's white because I thought about it too much. I at first thought Twyla was white because she was able to read and Roberta wasn't. Then I thought Roberta was white because her mom had food and read the bible. Then I thought that Roberta was black because the narrator at one point of the story describes her hair as "big and wild" and that strongly sounds like the description of an afro. There's a lot of evidence that they're not the same color of skin, but I found not specific facts telling us who's black and who's white. I think Toni Morrison presents the story like that to us because she wants to allow our minds to decide who's black and who's white.

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

From the clues provided from the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta? Why do you think Morrison presents this the way she does?


At first, I was torn trying to figure out the races of both of these girls. It became a little game to see when it would be revealed. My first clue to figuring out each girl’s race was the introduction of their names. I immediately assumed that Twyla was the little black girl, and then Roberta stumped me. As far as my thought process went, Roberta wasn’t the name of a little white girl. I knew they were black and white because the narrator mentioned that they were these two little “salt and pepper” girls. The food situation at first seemed like a clue, but I chalked it up to Twyla’s mom being neglectful, and Roberta having a mom who was sick. It was funny that Twyla ate everything, Spam and jello with fruit cocktail, while Roberta didn’t even touch it. Another confounding clue was the fact that the narrator revealed that Roberta couldn’t read and write. This led me to thinking that maybe I had them all mixed up. The girls meeting in the Howard Johnson didn’t help me too much. The scene at the Food Emporium did help me a little though. The luxuries that Roberta had that Twyla seemed slightly jealous of made me believe that Roberta was white. My suspicions were confirmed toward the end, where Roberta was picketing against integration. A black mother would not have been against integration, the way that Roberta was. I think Toni Morrison sets up the story in this manner to show how our way of thinking, about skin color, amongst other things, change as we grow older. When the girls were younger, they played together happily. Yet as they grew older and drifted apart, race and wealth, and jealousy starts to emerge.

Recitatif by Toni Morrison RR

Melicia Bharioo
EN 102
Pro: Raquel Corona

Reading Response 1:

From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class background of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta? Why do you think Toni Morrison present this in the way she does? 



The short story Recitatif by Toni Morrison, tells a story of a two young girls, Twyla and Roberta who met at St. Bonny's, a shelter home. They were both "dumped" there by their mother and were from different race meaning one was black and the other was white.  Twyla as the narrator give several clues that this short story was based on race. For example, at the beginning of the story Twyla was introduced to Roberta then Twyla says " My mother won't like you putting me in here". This says that the narrator mother wouldn't like the idea of her daughter having to share room with someone of a different race. There isn't a specific description as to which character is black or white. I believe Twyla is the white and Roberta being the black girl. The narrator gives another clue as to race by metaphorically comparing Roberta and her as being like "salt and pepper". Twyla puts "salt" first before "pepper" because salt is white and pepper is black. I concluded that Twyla was the white girl as referring herself to the "salt" and Roberta being the black girl as to the "pepper". In the middle of the story, Twyla compared herself to a "Swiss cheese" towards Roberta. This helped me to understand more of what is going on in the story and who is who. The narrator also states that Roberta reminded her of kicking an only black lady. Though out the story, the racism gets deeper until both character notice the difference among themselves. They both were from a different class and background. Twyla mother seem to not be so religious, they were poor. All she cared about was the way she looked, she wore slacks and a torn jacket, didn't bring any good for Twyla. Whereas, Roberta mother was more religious, she carried a huge bible with a huge cross on her chest. She brought food for Roberta. This give me a clearer view of what both side looked like and that both characters shared a different background and class. Morrison presented this in a such a way to be a suspense as to where the reader have to keep guessing and figuring out what is actually going on and who is really who in the story. With the clues and description in the story given, it helped the reader understand what is going on and be able to identify who are the characters in the story. I find that it was a suspense because I had to put it together to understand what was really going on in the story. 

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Recitaif

Nikeisha Abdool

Professor Raquel Corona

English 102

9/19/14


1. From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta? Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?

In the beginning of the story Twyla says. "it was one things to 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". Twyla also stated her mother told her the never washed their hair and they smelled funny. She also pointed out the other kids use to call them salt and pepper. From the clues I think its definite to say that Twyla is white and Roberta is black. I would say Roberta was of lower class than Twyla was. I think the author presents this story in the way she does to show both sides of two people who led somewhat different lives. I think she wanted to show the good and the bad. And no matter what Twyla and Roberta remained friends while being at St. Bonny's despite their race or what their lives were like.

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin Question #1

Myra Khan

9-18-2014

EN 102 –C6A/6C

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin

1.  Francis "had not developed his memory as a sentimental faculty."  Why is memory important in this story?  What kinds of memories do people try to ignore and what kinds of memories actually do surface in the story?

            In the story Francis’s memory was very important because it showed his emotions while thinking about Sonny. The last time they were together was over a year ago, and he didn’t see Sonny as the type of person who would do drugs. With that image of Sonny in Francis’s head, he probably didn’t want to meet with him; just to see his brother completely different from what he used to be. Reading the news about his brother made Francis go into denial, he told himself ‘Sonny was wild, but he wasn’t crazy… always been a good boy…he was never disrespectful’. Because Francis didn’t want to believe the news, so he never met with Sonny in prison.

But once Sonny was released, and they finally met with each other; Francis started to remember all the fun they had as kids. ‘Stores which we had stolen…rooftops from which we had hurled tin cans.’ Aside from good memories with his brother, Francis recalled his folks as well; when Francis was worried about Sonny he told himself he just wanted to know if Sonny was safe and done with his heroin addiction. He remembered their father always said ‘Ain’t no place safe for kids, nor nobody.’ Showing that he was right, even if Sonny was a good boy, he wasn’t safe from the outside world influencing him to try drugs. Francis also showed guilt, maybe because he felt like it was his fault Sonny got into drugs. The memory of his mama showed his guilt. When she was telling Francis about their father’s brother, Francis told his mama ‘…I won’t let nothing happen to Sonny’.  But something did happen to Sonny. 

People usually try to forget the bad memories, but usually the bad ones are the ones people remember; while good memories are sometimes hard to remember. I believe that a lot of the memories Francis had linked to his emotions, from happiness, denial and guilt. Since he never actually verbally spoke about his feelings, his memory did.

        

Sebastian Martinez

Prof. Raquel Corona

English 102

Question 1.Francis "had not developed his memory as a sentimental faculty."  Why is memory important in this story?  What kinds of memories do people try to ignore and what kinds of memories actually do surface in the story?

            Memory is important in this story because of the kind of situation that it is. It’s always hard having someone you know, much less a family member get involved in the wrong things. At the very beginning of the story, Francis is remembering Sonny for the kid that he used to be. It was heartbreaking for him picking up the newspaper that morning, he might not have even had breakfast yet and to be hit with something that shattering. Not only his specific memories of Sonny, but everything around him was reminding him somewhat of Sonny, from the boys out in the school yard, and even his own algebra class. Memory seems pretty important in this story because of the way that it is told, it’s not from Sonny’s perspective but from Francis’. When Sonny’s friend shows up, him and Francis still recall and remember all of the things they knew about Sonny and even went into his spiral into abusing heroin. Strangely the memories that Francis seems to be repressing are the positive ones about Sonny. In the beginning of the story he doesn’t really want to think about all of the positive qualities Sonny had. I feel that it was probably because he didn’t really want to think about Sonny at all, didn’t want to think about how his brother who was once so promising had now been jailed for drug abuse. As the story progressed we learn more about Sonny and how he wanted to be a musician, he was a very ambitious kid who had a talent for the piano. It’s the fondness of these memories that hurt Francis the most I think, and I feel it’s a pretty good way of depicting how drugs destroy families and peoples relationships. These are the memories that Francis holds closest, and I think that in times of crisis or hardship we all tend to cling to the memories that make us happiest.

sonny's blues

1.       Francis “had not develop his memory as a sentimental faculty. “Why is memory important in this story? What kinds of memories do people try to ignore and what kind of memories do surface in this story? 

 

I really enjoy reading the story because as I was reading I felt like I been in the same position as he was when trying to fix things with his brother. Sometimes as the older sister/brother we had to take care of the youngest of the family by doing things that they might see it as if we are interfering with their personal life which may lead to problems. I have a little sister, sometimes it really hard for me to show her my feeling and when it comes to giving her advice I don’t really know where to start. The narrator of the story seems to have real feeling for his brother who is younger then him, but his kind of shy and afraid of letting his feeling out and also he feel the responsible  for his brother  because his mom told him to look after him. In my opinion memories its important in this story because as he was narrating the story he was remembering things that had happen to him in the past. Example the loss of his daughter and the story that his mom told him about the brother of his father who was killed by a car full of drunks white mans. Its like as he narrating the story he has a lot of flash back. People always try to ignore the bad memories but in this story mostly all the memories that he have were bad memories that affected him. In my opinion the narrator is trapped in the past, that’s why he felt certain way sometimes, at the end of the story he said that he felt that he was being free from all the bad memories and pain he felt by remembering all that bad stuff.

Gangadaye Seema Ragbir

Professor Racquel Corona

English 102    

19 September 2014

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Question 1.  From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta?  Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?

 

In this story Recitatif, the main characters Twyla and Roberta were two different races.  To my understanding, Twyla was black and Roberta was white. Twyla, also the narrator in the story, gives proof that they were black and white by stating “we looked like salt and pepper standing there”.  Twyla made a statement after Mrs. Itkin put Roberta and her together in the same room at St. Bonny’s, “my mother won’t like you to putting me here”, which shows blacks and whites were not equal and could not stay in the same room together. Further in the story, the class background of Twyla and Roberta was shown. After about twenty eight days at St. Bonny’s, the mothers of Twyla and Roberta came to visit them at church.  The both girls went in separate directions to meet their mothers. When Roberta saw Twyla, she brought her mother over to meet her friend and roommate Twyla and her mother Mary. After an introduction by Roberta, Mary smiled and struggled to pull her hand out of her thorn jacket pocket to shake Roberta’s mother’s hand. But all Roberta’s mother did was looked down at Twyla and Mary, took Roberta’s hand and walked out. This scene shows that Roberta came from a more high class society and also since they were white and in that time frame the story was set, white people was always superior. The reaction that Roberta’s mother gave Mary and Twyla came from scorn, since Twyla mentioned in the beginning of the story that Mary danced all night. From the makeup and clothes that Mary was wearing, Roberta’s mother judged her in an unethical way and since Mary was black, it was easier for Roberta’s mother to justify the scorn of Twyla and Mary. The food that the mother’s brought for their children also showed some class background. Roberta’s mother brought chicken, ham sandwiches and milk in a thermos, whereas Mary brought nothing for Twyla, who eat the stepped on jelly beans that fell down on the floor. Roberta’s mother read the bible. Most white people had the opportunity to read and get and education.  The writer Toni Morrison, wrote this story Recitatif with not too much words giving away the races of the Twyla and Roberta but uses big hints, by mention of “Jimi Hendrix”, and by mention if the words “ racial striff”. This creates a scene for the reader within a period of time.

RR "Recitaif"by Toni Morrison

1.  From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta?  Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?

In “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, the narrator, Twyla, is recounting her past from when she entered the orphanage to adulthood. At the orphanage, she met Roberta, whom she got along with really well. There were many indications that tells you about the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, such as “It something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race.” Also, when the girl’s mothers came to visit them, the narrator gave a description of what her mother, whom she calls Mary wore. “She had on those green slacks I hated...didn't she know we were going to chapel? And that fur jacket with the pocket linings so ripped she had to pull to get her hands out of them” where as her description of Roberta’s mother “I looked up it seemed for miles. She was big...and on her chest was the biggest cross I'd ever seen...And in the crook of her arm was the biggest Bible ever made…” Roberta’s mother snubbed Mary. To me this was the first hint that the two characters are of different race and class, however as the story progresses, the author does not disclose specifically which girl is black and which is white. At the turning point of the story, where there were racial conflicts in the form of busing, has divided both characters to the opposite side. Yet still, the author did not state the race of either characters. Even at the end of the story, I still could not tell precisely the race of either one. I believe that the author presented her story this way because she does not think it was necessary to label humans in the form of race, or skin colour, etc. I think she more focuses on the characteristics of the characters. Everyone has different behaviour patterns, and emotions for different situations and that is what the author was more focused in bringing out.

RR, Sonny's Blues (loved it)

1. Francis "had not developed his memory as a sentimental faculty." Why is memory important in this story? What kinds of memories do people try to ignore and what kinds of memories actually do surface in the story?

The narrator of Sonny's Blues is telling the readers about the environment he was raised in and how it affected his family. The story is developed in Harlem, NY. The time frame seems to be from the 1940's to the early 1960's. This story starts when Sonny's brother is shocked to learn about Sonny's imprisonment, which brings many memories about their life growing up and all the factors that contributed to Sonny's "failure" as a member of society. Most of these memories to some readers could seem in some way negative but in my opinion these are merely a reflection of what poverty and violence have to offer to their victims. Most of the story revolves around Sonny and the high chances of him getting involved with drugs and problems of all sort because of the neighborhood he lives in. First, His mom tries make his big brother aware of the problems that may arise and she also makes a very convincing case about brotherhood by bringing up the story of his uncle's death and how his father suffered because of this. In this way she places a big responsibility on Sonny's brother's shoulders to look out for him. Despite Sonny's inclination for music, time passes and his mother's warnings become a hard reality which keeps Sonny's brother in constant state of concern, but there is just so much that he can do. As a justification to himself, he brings up that there is a constant conflict going on between them and because of that they didn't speak for a long time. After the death of his 2 year old daughter, he started looking to make up with his brother. In the end these brothers finally reach a good middle ground, Sonny was finally being open and honest about his shady life, and his brother finally opened his mind to Sonny's big world. In the narrator's last paragraph, I, as a reader, can see his change from pity and contempt towards his baby brother to admiration and respect for his effort and talent. 

Recitatif RR

 1) From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta?  Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?


In the short story "Recitatif" Morrison presented clues to provided the reader the two main characters race and class background.  When Roberta and Twyla got sent to St. Bonaventure, the shelter, Roberta was upset because she was sharing a room with Twyla. She was bother that she had to share her room with a  "whole other race."  Roberta mother had mention to her that "they never washed their hair and they smelled funny." I believe Roberta came from a privileged family due to the face that when it was Sunday visit her mother brought her a lot of food and Robert didn't touch her food. Meanwhile Twyla mother didn't bring her any food but ate her jelly beans. Robert and Twyla grew up differently. Roberta ran away from the shelter and Twyla left the shelter. Twyla worked in a dinner when she was young and she notice Roberta. As a good person Twyla went to say hi to her but Roberta dismissed her hi's with awkward "wow, hello. wow"Roberta seemed to be embarrassed because Twyla was talking to her that she embarrassed Twylan, because she didn't know who Hendrix was. Twylan is now married and lives in a rundown town with her children's and husband. She uses coupons to get through her life with her family and doesn't have a rich life like Roberta dose. Also Roberta is married to a wealthy executive and onne night Twyla runs into Roberta in a elegant dress at a downtown hotel, meanwhile Twyla seems to be the same person she was before. Both characters have different economic classes but as in race i wouldn't know who is what race. I believe that anyone can be rich or middle class in any race. Roberta might be African American or White or Twyla might be White or African American. While reading this story I had difficulties differentiate what race the characters were.   

Sonny Blues Reflection

What struck me most in this short story is the relationship between the two brothers as well as determination by Sonny. Although Sonny was in jail, his brother was always there for him. This kind of remind me of my little brother. No matter what the situation may be I will always be there for him and I'm assuming its the same for him. During the beginning of the short story the narrator was so depressed after reading the news paper also after talking to Sonny's friend after work. Some brothers may just not care while others feel the pain.

I think determination is key in this short story because Sonny always wanted to be a musician, he even had his own instruments. However, his brother had doubts he didn't know Sonny was good at what he do. It's like his entire family was against him. I admire the way Sonny handled this situation though. Although everybody let him down, he didn't give up. He stood there and fought for what he wanted. And although this short story is fiction it was like a real life situation in which I pictured happening. It is always important to go ahead and focus on what you would like to achieve, same as having a goal. In this way you already know what you want and you'll be working forward to that particular thing. At the very end of the short story where Sonny was playing his brother finally saw who Sonny was and how talented he was. It's like the music was a part of him.

Recitatif by Jamie (sorry for the real life thoughts haha)

I can not keep a story about race under 300 words, I could write a book...Makes me angry to hear about racism.

 

I don’t believe one can determine who is who in this story. So many parts of this story have you wondering who all the characters really are. From the beginning of the story seeing the time period the story was written in I can tell you that I thought Twyla was white and Roberta was black. White people no matter the time of year always seemed to be considered the “upperclass” and the blacks not. They were never put on the same level (which aggravates me to no end). Twyla said Roberta never washed her hair and she sure smelled funny. Then she turns around and says “My mother sure would not like you putting me in here”. Back then whites and blacks did not mix. Surprisingly enough in the story both girls were failing school and it was Roberta that could not read or write. This makes you believe that they have now switched roles again. The “white” children, and I hate writing stories about race because it makes me angry, it’s ridiculous that anyone can be singled out because of the color of their skin. Same blood, same bones, same Shi*t. Anyway “white” children back then were able to have the proper schooling that they needed. Moving on to where the parents meet. They describe Twyla’s mother as having torn ripped up cloths while Roberta’s mother wore “slacks”. Roberta’s mom too good to talk to a black women grabbed Roberta and moved to the back of the line not saying hello or anything. Twyla’s mom did not bring food while Roberta’s mom brought a lavish smorgasbord of food. Now you have Twyla who is grown up working a minimum wage job with weird hours working at a thruway stop. Here comes Roberta a 1960’ maybe hippie with large hoop earrings with big hair. Something that was all too popular in the “Jimmy Hendrix” days. Twyla lives in a small town, population not a lot in upstate NY. Her husband a hard worker makes just enough money to pay the bills. Happy that she can shop around in a new “luxury” market for groceries, while Roberta rolls up with a chauffer to help her carry her bag. The story continues and I could probably write a novel on this, however I feel that race cant be determined by this authors story although if I want to be a person who assumes things I would have to say that Roberta is the white girl and Twyla is the black girl. Two very different girls grew up in different lifestyles I don’t think you can classify their race by what you read in the story.

"Recitatif" by Toni Morrison RR

1.  From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta?  Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?
         In "Recitatif" Toni Morrison presents multiple characteristics and gives us an idea for who the characters Twyla and Roberta are. When Twyla and Roberta are sent to St.Bonny's both of their mothers are not that capable of taking care of them. Twylas mom is described as somebody who keeps dancing while Robertas mother is described as being sick.When both of their moms meet eachother Roberta's mom tries to somewhat avoid Twyla and her mother, Mary. Also being very distant in a way where she just looked at Twyla and  Mary, then just walking away. Reading this I got the idea that Roberta and her mother were white and Twyla and Mary black. Usually when you read or even see something like this its usually a white person completely ignoring a black person. Another clue that further makes this more believable is when Roberta refuses to give her address to Twyla so she can send her letters, but instead told her that she would write to her, where she ended up up not doing. However, I questioned this towards the end of the story when Roberta claimed that Twyla had kicked Maggie ,a deaf woman, at St. Bonnys who she said was black but was described as "sandy-colored" and so i thought Twyla was white and Roberta black. Although Roberta claimed this, at the end of the story she tells Twyla that she was wrong and that Twyla did not do this thus going back to my earlier thought that Twyla was black and Roberta white. As the story progressed and the next few times these two girls meet eachother, Twyla is usually the middle class working girl while Roberta becomes more of an upper class girl., and when they meet at the restaurant Twyla was working in Roberta seems to avoid her in some sort of way while she was on her way to see the famous Jimi Hendrix, which gives the time period as being in the 1960's when race was still a big issue, This further supported my claims about the girls races. When they both became adults and living their own lives, Roberta was living in a nice rich neighborhood called Annandale near Newburgh which was a working class city. Roberta had married a rich widow while Twyla was married to a working class man with a big family. All of these clues bring me to the conclusion that Twyla was black and Roberta was white. 

Reading Response Questions

Hello all,

I apologize these questions are so late.

Thank you for understanding.  See you in a few days!

Raquel



Recitatif

1.  From the clues provided by the narrator, how do you figure out the race and class backgrounds of the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta?  Why do you think Toni Morrison presents this in the way she does?

Sonny's Blues

1.  Francis "had not developed his memory as a sentimental faculty."  Why is memory important in this story?  What kinds of memories do people try to ignore and what kinds of memories actually do surface in the story?