Morrison’s story Recitatif challenges the motives of racism prejudiced towards white or black people. Using vulnerability as a thematic concern, the story contests the actions of vulnerable people towards those who are weaker than them in the society. Major themes discussed in the plot of the story include outsiders, outcast and unwanted, sickness and disability and childhood versus adulthood. It also covers largely the theme of race and prejudice. The settings of the plot in terms of both time and place is particularly important because it determines wholly the manner in which the characters change over time.
The setting of the Toni Morrisons story mirrors the transformation of individuals, especially women in the society in order to adjust to the every varying societal needs and demand. The place when the story took place and the timing of the plot in relation to character representation forms the backbone of the story. Twyla and Roberta represent the transformation of the face of America in relation to the relationship between whites and blacks. The story shows changing settings when girls Twyla and Roberta are at St. Bonny’s (St. Bonaventure), at the end of the plot the girls meet at again when they are at their twenties and have both married and become friends (Help,2008). The changing setting shows the trend in and rhythm of relationship restoration and motion of relationship.
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The struggle of the protagonist in the story is Twyla, a black girl in an orphanage who meets with her friend Roberta. Throughout the plot, Twyla is faced with many problems and is the center of the thematic concerns represented in the story. Twyla is a sympathetic character in the plot as she descriptively accused by her friend Roberta of kicking Maggie in the orchard, an act she did not do. Post-modernist techniques in the story are represented through new modes of writing such as the employment of thematic concerns such as cultural imperialism and disconnectedness from history and culture.
Conclusively, the story employs variance in setting as an important aspect of plot analysis and thematic comprehension. It represents the face of the protagonist as a characteristic of a new engagement with the social and historical world. It also advances on major modern techniques through the use of specific thematic concerns.
Reference
Help, H. (2018). In Toni Morrison's story, "Recitatif," what is the main struggle of the protagonist? | eNotes. Retrieved from https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/whaare-settings-both-time-place-morrison-story-268112
