English 3319 students:
For our blog on Monday, November 15, during class time (1:00-1:50 p.m.), please publish a comment of two well-developed paragraphs about the character of Maggie. Why is she so crucial to Twyla and Roberta's conversation at the end of the story? https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/1073/Morrison_recitatifessay.doc.pdf
After you publish your comment, please reply with one paragraph to at least one of the other students' comments.
If you have any problems publishing your comment, please do not hesitate to email me (linda.kornasky@angelo.edu) your comment, and I will publish it on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kornasky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S.:
As promised, here are links to sources about contextual details that will help you to understand the social setting of the story:
An article about the history of desegregation busing:
Here is famous conductor Leonard Bernstein's clear explanation of what a recitatif (or recitative in English) does in Opera:
Here is a clip of the very popular Bozo the Clown, a kids television show, which suggests how insulting that the Big Bozo nickname of Miss Itkin is meant by the girls to be:
Boston's original Channel 5, WHDH-TV, produced a local, weekday version of the \"Bozo the Clown\" children's program between 1959 and 1970. Booth announcer Frank Avruch played the title role. These excerpts are from a 1966 broadcast. Episodes videotaped at WHDH between 1965 and '67 were syndicated to markets that did not produce a local version ... www.youtube.com |
Here is an article about the Howard Johnson's restaurants (Twyla works at one of them) during the time of the story:
Maggie was an interesting character throughout the story because at first it seems like she is just a throwaway character that Twyla and Roberta talked about every now and then. Things they remembered about Maggie were that she had messed up legs, she dressed up like a child and was mute. Because of that Maggie was bullied by the other kids. While Twyla and Roberta did not kick Maggie like the other kids did they remember that they wanted too. They also strangely can't remember if Maggie is black or white.
ReplyDeleteAs the story goes on though I think she becomes more important to the story because Twyla and Roberta both start remembering certain things about Maggie. I think that Maggie represented Twyla and Roberta’s mothers based off of some of her personality traits she had. Maggie was like Twyla’s mother because she was unresponsive and child-like, not hearing or communicating with Twyla throughout her life. Maggie also seemed like Twyla’s mother because she was an old person who dressed like a kid, representing Twyla’s mother's inability to grow up. For Roberta Maggie represented the fear of her future. Maggie had been brought up in an institution just like Roberta’s mother and that gave her fear that she would share the same fate as them in the near future. I think that they started talking about Maggie near the end of the story because they had finally found their footings in life and that made them wonder what had happened to this person that was so symbolic for both of them.
Maggie being a symbolic mother figure really adds depth to their treatment of her. Both girls, while having each other, were frustrated with their mother's respective conditions and how it effected them. Maggie, being unable to respond, would have served as an emotional punching bag. Twyla certainly held some resentment towards her mother, which would have spurred on her negative reaction to Maggie. And, as you said, Roberta saw a depressing future for herself in Maggie. After reading your post I wonder if each has issues regarding Maggie's race because both and Roberta and Twyla identified with her so heavily.
DeleteMaggie, voiceless and disabled, was just as easily ignored as she was abused. Like Twyla and Roberta, she had been abandoned at an institution. And yet unlike them, she didn’t have a voice to connect with others and her disability made her an easily scorned oddity among the children. She was vulnerable and unable to defend herself from even the most childish attacks. “And it shames me even now to think there was somebody in there after all who heard us call her those names and couldn't tell on us.” (p.3) This inability to respond made her an easy target to the frustrated, confused, and ignorant children of St. Bonny’s.
ReplyDeleteIn a short story so concerned with the thin, societally conceived lines of social division, Maggie’s vulnerability was most apparent. She, as a character, had no defenses to protect her from the insults and attacks directed at her. Whereas she should have been nurtured and protected by her community, she was harassed and beaten for simply passing through the orchard at the wrong time. Twyla and Roberta, as vulnerable young girls themselves should have been able to recognize Maggie’s plight for its similarities to their own. Maggie’s beating should have been a time to realize their latent compassion. Instead, they both fantasized about joining. “It was just that I wanted to do it so bad that day-wanting to is doing it." (p.19) When each girl was presented the opportunity to break the mold of cruelty and abandonment they’d been thrusted into from birth, they instead wished to join the role of the abusive oppressor.
Hi, Emily!
DeleteYou made detailed points of Maggie’s vulnerability. It definitely relevant with the l last part of the story. It is interesting that the two characters could not recognize her plight, and also, they have different memories on her race. The quote is the right one as well! Well done!
Hi Emily,
DeleteI like your response. I agree that she was a target because of her disability and the children chose to pick on her because of the ease that came with bullying someone who could not bully back. It is odd how children who are on the "outside" themselves could not find empathy for Maggie but rather were willing to join in when others were mocking and ridiculing her. It is largely related to how Maggie represents each of their mothers.
I really liked your description of Maggie's vulnerability, and I definitely agree that the two girls were offered an opportunity to break out of the societal mold of oppression, yet failed to do so. I think that this was because they subconsciously view Maggie as an extension of themselves. They do not allow her to be a complete person, but rather allow her to stand in for their own internal pain and self-loathing. The girls are so disenfranchised, that when they see someone who is even more disenfranchised than them they want to act upon their supposed superiority. They are caught up in a cycle of abuse, and act out of the pain that that cycle has caused them. Later Twyla, and it is implied Roberta as well, realize that they didn't hate Maggie, but rather hated themselves and their mothers, and that is why they treated Maggie the way they did.
DeleteMaggie is a minor character in the beginning of Recitatif. She is a mute older woman who works in the kitchen at the orphanage Twyla and Roberta are at. When they are young, they witness Maggie getting harassed by the other girls in the orphanage. Even Twyla and Roberta call her names and make fun of her even though she doesn’t really bother anybody. One day, some of the other girls knock her down in the middle of the orchard and begin kicking her. Twyla and Roberta see this, but they are too scared to go up to her and hide instead.
ReplyDeleteLater, when Twyla and Roberta run into each other again at an older age, they bring by Maggie. Tyla beings telling the story about when Maggie was in the orchard. Twyla explains she remembers Maggie falling on her own and the others kicking her but that’s not how Roberta remembers it. Roberta remembers the other girls kicking her and then both Twyla and Roberta also joining in on kicking the poor woman. Roberta also says Maggie was a black woman and Twyla doesn’t recall her being a black woman nor even kicking her. Eventually, Roberta says she doesn’t remember if Maggie was black or not, and also admits they didn’t kick her while she was in the orchard. At the end of the story, they bring up Maggie and what actually happened. They seem to relate to Maggie in different ways which is why they had a desire to hurt her at the orphanage. Maggie reminds Twyla of her mother because of how she walks, and Roberta seem to be having a problem with race or maybe identity which is why she remember Maggie as a black woman. Maggie represents some of their own vulnerabilities and insecurities, so that is why they had a desire to hurt her in the orchard.
Camryn, I enjoyed your description of Maggie as a physical representation of the insecurities of many of the characters. While I touched on the subject myself in my own blog post, I did not go as in depth as you did. I regretfully did not include anything about the playground assault. The scene plays perfectly into the theme of harboring fears of being identified by one's race that many of the women hold.
DeleteCamryn, I like that you described how Roberta and Twyla remember Maggie in different ways and how they also seem to relate to her in different ways. You also mentioned how Maggie reminds Twyla of her mother and why Roberta remembered her as a black woman which is very understandable. I also agree with your interpretation that Maggie represents their own vulnerabilities and insecurities.
DeleteToni Morrison’s Recitatif can be read in various ways, according to a reader's perspective, stereotypes, and prejudices. In the story, the character of Maggie is an outsider character. She allows Twyla and Roberta to realize their struggles with abandonment and race. At the end of the story, the two characters encounter and talk to each other remembering Maggie’s race differently.
ReplyDeleteTwyla thought Maggie was not black, whereas Roberta thought Maggie was black. Why do they remember Maggie differently? This will also depend on who is black or white between Roberta and Twyla, but from my point of view, I think that Robert, who was socially weak, identified Maggie with black people who are more subject to experience discriminations than the other. On the other hand, I guess, because Twyla is black, if the other person was black, Maggie would have remembered vividly, thinking she was black like her, but not because she was not.
Yeseul, I agree that this story can certainly be read in a multitude of ways! I think that Maggie is a symbol of Twyla’s and Roberta’s issues with race. I like how you noted that Roberta thought Maggie was black because she was weak and therefore, fed into those preconceived stereotypes people possess about race. I think it is interesting that you think that if Maggie is black, then Twyla would remember her more vividly. I had not thought about that possibility!
DeleteIn Recitatif, Maggie is described by the first-person narrator Twyla. Maggie is “[t]he kitchen woman with legs like parentheses” (2) who “rocked when she walked” (2). She cannot talk and some girls at St. Bonny’s said that it is because her tongue was cut out. Twyla, however, thought she was born like that, a mute girl. Maggie is also described as being “old and sandy-colored” (2). Twyla also describes her as a childlike person because “[s]he wore this really stupid little hat – a kid’s hat with ear flaps – and she wasn’t much taller than we were” (2). She is introduced in the story when Twyla mentions her falling down in the orchard of St. Bonny’s and the other girls laughing at her. Twyla says that she and Roberta should have helped her, but that they were too scared of the other girls. Twyla and Roberta even called her bad names to find out if Maggie could understand them.
ReplyDeleteLater in the story when Twyla and Roberta meet again, Twyla remembers the moment when Maggie fell, but Roberta clarifies that Maggie was pushed down by the other girls and that they even tore her clothes. Again later in the story, Roberta says that both of them joined the other girls in kicking Maggie. Twyla and Roberta also argue whether Maggie was black or not. Twyla realizes that she did not kick Maggie, but that she wanted to do that. “Maggie was my dancing mother.” (17). At the end of the story, Roberta also realizes that they did not kick Maggie, but that she wanted to do it. “I thought she was crazy. She’d been brought up in an institution like my mother was and like I thought I would be too.” (19). Both, Twyla and Roberta, compare Maggie to their mothers. Twyla saw her as childlike and unable to help someone else. Furthermore, Maggie’s walking reminded her of her mother dancing. Roberta saw her as a crazy and sick person like her mother was. Both girls expressed their anger towards their mothers in hating Maggie and wanting her to be kicked by the other girls. Both girls do not realize that when they are little girls at St. Bonny’s. They only realize that when they meet again as adults and talk about St. Bonny’s and Maggie.
In Recitatif written by Toni Morrison, Maggie is both a mute and disabled child staying at St. Bonny’s orphanage. She is treated as an outsider because of her disability, her lack of voice, and her vulnerability. Twyla and Roberta alike find themselves resentful of Maggie and join the other children in ridiculing her. The resentfulness stems from Maggie representing the two girls’ mothers.
ReplyDeleteTwyla’s mother is described as promiscuous in the way she dresses and how she “dances all night” meaning she fails to be a mother figure because of her lifestyle choices. Twyla sees her own mother in Maggie because, like her mother, Maggie does not respond and seems to ignore the things that Twyla says. Twyla felt her mother was always unresponsive and never communicated with her, much like a mute would. Twyla’s mother was also perceived as childlike and could not fulfill her role as a mother properly because of it. Maggie is childlike because of her disability in the way that she moves, and Twyla perceives this as a reflection of her mother. When Twyla had kicked Maggie when she fell, she had felt empowered over her “mother” for the first time in her life. Roberta’s mother is vague, but we know that she is physically sick in a way that Maggie is. Roberta’s mother has an illness, and she is unable to take care of Roberta which is the reason she is staying at an orphanage. She resents Maggie in the same way that Twyla does because of the symbol that Maggie is.
Maggie reflects the two girls’ abandonment and maternal figure issues.
I like that you talk about Maggie representing Twyla and Roberta's abandonment issues. I did not talk much about the abandonment issues they felt so I am glad you brought attention to it. Awesome post!
DeleteIn Recitatif, Toni Morrison creates a story that shows us that we all have stereotypes about race that causes us to make assumptions about whether a character in a story is black or white merely based on the way they are presented. She removes racial codes in a story where racial identity is crucial by not clearly stating which characters are black and which ones are white. This cause in confusion is why Maggie is so important to Twyla and Robeeta’s conversation at the end of the story. She allows the two characters to think back and question the way they saw Maggie. Whether she was black or white wasn’t necessarily the biggest issue. It was the fact that they can’t even remember that makes them uneasy.
ReplyDeleteMaggie is a character that is described as disabled and is often bullied by the children at St. Bonny’s. When Twyla and Roberta were there, they also yelled at her and even kicked her when she fell down. Due to the confusion of race in this story, no one knows if Maggie is black or white. This is important because when Twyla and Roberta are having their conversation at the end, they start to question whether Maggie was black or not. Twyla and Roberta had to deal with racial descrimination at such a young age that when they think back about Maggie, they can’t even remember what race she was. Maggie also makes the reader wonder if Twyla is black because Roberta tells her that she kicked her, making it seem as if kicking someone of your own race was worse than kicking someone from the same race. Maggie serves as a symbol to Twyla and Roberta that represents that racial discrimination and how it affected them.
I agree that this was a story of sterotypes. I think it is a sad notion that these girls didn't see the wrongnes of their actions. They couldn't remember why they attacked maggie. I think that the question of race is a question that is asked, but where did the behavior come from and who validated would be a question that I would ask.
DeleteI think that the mentioning of the different stereotypes is interesting, because they are normalized even to this day. It is interesting to see how the way people see each other is going to drastically change how they get treated. This story alone is a great example of that idea. I think you did a great job of breaking down the different points that were made throughout the reading.
DeleteMaggie plays such an important role in the stories of Roberta and Twyla because she is a vector for the turmoil in their relationship caused by their mothers and by their races. A disabled woman of indeterminate race, Maggie is often abused by the children at St. Bonnie’s. While Twyla and Roberta never join in the physical abuse, they are complicit in it and on one occasion torment Maggie with names—trying to find out if she could hear. The two girls are disenfranchised in so many different ways, so they feel the need to take those emotions out on someone who is more disenfranchised than they are. Roberta and Twyla are close friends, yet the difference in races creates an unspoken conflict. This tension is not one the two girls, and eventually the two women, seem to be fully aware of, and even if they were, they cannot express it. As a result, they express this tension through Maggie, who seems to be thought of as white by Twyla and Black by Roberta. As the girls grow older, and Black activism becomes more and more prevalent, the unspoken discomfort among the now-women becomes more pronounced. Roberta accuses Twyla of kicking a “poor old black lady when she was down on the ground” (16) when she feels that Twyla disapproves of her current actions. She feels as though Twyla is calling her a “bigot” (16), and responds by accusing Twyla of something much worse. Maggie is merely a vessel through which the women feel that can gain superiority over the other.
ReplyDeleteMaggie also allows the girls to express their anger over their mothers. Twyla and Roberta both feel abandoned by their mothers in some capacity, feel voiceless and lost. When they come across a woman who is literally voiceless, they see themselves and are frightened. Rather than using this self-recognition and becoming sympathetic towards the plight of Maggie, Roberta and Twyla turn to hate. In Maggie, Twyla sees her mother, who would not hear her cries or extend anything helpful towards her. She also sees herself, unable to scream, and “was glad about that” (18). Similarly, Roberta admits to “really want[ing] to hurt her” (19), for reasons which can be assumed to be similar to Twyla’s. Maggie is no longer a person, but is the symbol for the pain, abandonment, and self-loathing that Twyla and Roberta experience. They want to gain some semblance of superiority in the world where they are so disenfranchised, so when they see the physical embodiment of their emotions, they ignore the fact that she is a human being and instead do everything they can to make Maggie feel inferior. At the very end of the story, Roberta askes Twyla “what the hell happened to Maggie?” (20), which is really her asking what happened to the two of them. What happened to the two girls who felt voiceless and abandoned? What happened to the two girls who only had each other, yet allowed their sisterhood to deteriorate? Once again, Maggie is merely a symbol for everything which that the two cannot say aloud.
Hi Katherine! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about Maggie and why she is important to the story. I also agree with you about how Maggie is a symbol for the girls and their struggles. It’s interesting to me how instead of having sympathy for her, they instead choose violence. It is quite sad the girls feel the need to be violent to a helpless woman in order to try and fight their own insecurities.
DeleteInitially being portrayed as a minor character in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif”, Maggie later is revealed to be of great significance to the story, despite her being clouded in mystery. Maggie is at first described as being an old woman who walks funny because of her bow-leggedness. She also is unable to speak, leading some children to make up the story that her tongue was cut out in the past. However, Twyla is certain that she simply never learned how to talk in the first place. This theory is tested by Roberta and Twyla as they hurl verbal insults at her, which leaves Twyla feeling extremely guilty despite her seemingly not hearing them.
ReplyDeleteAs the story progresses, Maggie goes from a forgettable background character to a manifestation of the frustrations Mary and Twyla both feel, as Twyla begins to compare Maggie’s strange way of moving due to her bow-leggedness with her mother’s problem of cavorting around town after sunset. Maggie also plays a role in dissecting the complicated and many-layered relationship with racial identity that is present throughout the story, as a point of contention between Roberta and Twyla is whether or not Maggie is black. While seemingly presented as a background character, Maggie grows into a catalyst for one of the main points that “Recitatif” is trying to make.
I agree that it is interesting how Maggie goes from a background character to a central part of the story by the end. I found your point about Twyla's comparison of Maggie's bow-leggedness to her mother's lifestyle. Perhaps this means that Twyla (and probably Roberta as well) see something of themselves in Maggie? After all, like Maggie, they were victims of the institution, since it is mentioned that Maggie grew up in the orphanages. In addition, Roberta and Twyla put a great deal of importance on her race. Twyla acts disturbed at the possibility that Maggie might be black, and if Twyla is also black, that would mean that Twyla may be concerned about the possibility that she has mistreated someone who shared qualities with her.
DeleteYou makes bring up some really interesting things here. The way Maggie goes from a forgettable background character to one of the main points of conflict in this story is a rather unconventional but incredibly strong way to incorporate her into the narrative. Her being a manifestation of the girls frustration and a reflection of their troubles is also a very good point. I completely agree with her being catalyst for the main points of this story.
DeleteMaggie’s role within the narrative is rather interesting. When the story begins, Maggie doesn’t seem like she will be that important. She is an older, disabled woman that works in the kitchen at St. Bonny’s and is often bullied by the children. Even Twyla and Roberta call her mean names when they were children. She plays the role of a background character that, at first, only exists to be reminisced on.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Maggie becomes one of the main points of conflict within the story. Like the two girls, Maggie’s race is kept ambiguous, which is one of the factors that lead to the conflict between them. Towards the end of the story, we get a better idea of what Maggie truly meant. Maggie, like the girls, was a victim of her circumstances. She had no choice in her disabilities or her race, yet she was a victim by merely being in the wrong place. Maggie reminded Twyla and Roberta of their mothers, and in turn of the unavoidable cards that life had dealt them.
EmaLee I totally agree that Maggie reminded Twyla and Roberta of their mothers. At the end when Roberta said she wanted to hurt Maggie it was her way of saying she wanted to hurt her mom. Although it wasn't anyone's fault her mom was sick she still was upset that she had to live in a shelter. I liked your response and analysis of Maggie and her importance in the story.
DeleteMaggie is an interesting character in “Recitatif” because she suffers from both physical and mental disabilities in a story where race is the main focus. It is clear that Maggie is often discriminated against. She is mocked by many of the children at the orphanage, including Twyla and Roberta. However, it seems at first that this poor treatment is solely because of her disabilities. Later on in the story, Roberta shares the opinion that Maggie may have been black, although it is never made clear if Maggie actually was black or not. The fact that Maggie may have been black does cause the reader to consider the possible true nature of the poor treatment against Maggie. If she was black, does that make her treatment worse from a moral standpoint or not? Because the reader is never given a definite answer as to Maggie’s race, the implications that can be drawn from this part of the story are likewise ambiguous.
ReplyDeleteTwyla and Roberta are unsure as to how they treated Maggie, and this bothers both of them a great deal. Roberta tells Twyla that Maggie was black and that they kicked her, but later says that they only wanted to kick her, and is not sure about her race. Roberta seems to think that only wanting to kick Maggie, standing around watching and doing nothing while Maggie is assaulted, is very bad, nearly as bad as actually performing the act herself. Perhaps the author is trying to suggest that it is less the actions and crimes performed because of discrimination that are bad, and more the underlying hatred itself. After all, while harming someone physically is obviously terrible, hating someone causes a great deal of mental anguish for both the hater and the hated, and can certainly lead to physical pain. Perhaps Twyla and Roberta realize that Maggie’s race does not matter, that the hatred they showed to Maggie was harmful regardless of her race. Perhaps the ambiguous nature of the entire story shows that everyone can be led down a road that leads to hate, and that it is important to understand the stereotypes used to perpetuate racism, and then to overcome them to avoid this hate.
From Wyatt Hase:
ReplyDeleteIn Toni Morrison’s short story Recitatif the minor character Maggie, who is the orphanage cook, disabled, and racially ambiguous deeply affects both Twyla and Roberta in their younger years. Maggie ends up being the recipient of much abuse at the hands of the children, including Twyla and Roberta, who both call her epithets like “bow legs” and “dummy.” Although it is never explicitly mentioned by either of the two girls, Maggie seems to produce anger and hatred in them as a result of her vulnerability and kindness. Both girls may see in her what they despised in their own mothers, disability, like that of Roberta’s mother who “was sick”, and a dance-like way of moving, like that of Twyla’s mother who “dances all night.” As the story progresses beyond childhood, both characters feel guilt for their actions, perceived and unperceived.
In their recollections, each girl seems to blame one another for some aspect of the torment they imposed upon Maggie, evoking even more racial tension than was already festering in them as adults. Rather than evaluate their motives for their abuse towards Maggie, both women blame each other and their perceived biases, despite the fact that neither truly knows if Maggie was actually white or black. Only in the final moments of the story does Roberta question, “what the hell happened to Maggie?” Although this question may never be answered, its conception reveals much about the experiences of both Twyla and Maggie as they reflect upon them. Maybe now each woman can see their faults as their own and not necessarily as imposed upon them by greater society.
From Aaron McGuire:
DeleteI agree with the statements you make here. It quickly becomes clear as the story progresses that the girls harbor a resentment of Maggie, both due to her vulnerability and the similarities she shares with their mothers. The girls also tend to try and blame each other for Maggie's treatment while disregarding the unknown nature of Maggie's true racial identity, reflecting on the girls' own biases and experiences and bringing into focus one of the core messages of the story. Good work!
This post was made by Aaron McGuire.
ReplyDeleteThe character of Maggie shifts from being a minor character to being a central point of contention in the story. This, in my thought, may be best summarized through how Twyla and Roberta project their lives and experiences on her in regards to two key topics: their mothers and their racial identity.
Maggie, being described throughout the story as being bow-legged and mute, which the girls appear to make connections to with their mothers, with Twyla's mother's dancing being likened to Maggie's peculiar way of walking and Roberta's mother's time spent in an institution being directly connected to Maggie's upbringing in an institution. As such, it is clear to see how the two girls' insecurities with their mothers are projected on Maggie, making the character crucial to the story's final conversation.
Additionally, the girls seem to project their insecurities about their own racial identities on Maggie. This is made evident through Roberta and Twyla's differing thoughts on Maggie's race. In the end it is revealed that Roberta wanted Maggie to be harmed, a statement that Twyla empathizes. Though she does not agree with Roberta's sentiment outright, this empathy can be seen as both characters having a similar desire to beat down or otherwise alienate themselves from the racial identity attributed to Maggie's pitiful life, further emphasizing Maggie's role in the ending of the story.
Hey Aaron! I find your post to be very interesting. I had completely forgotten about the detail of her walking being compared to the way Twyla's mother dances, and how each girl could relate her to their own mother. I think it's very interesting how Maggie does represent aspects of each of their mothers, and since they both lived in Foster care for a time with poor mothers, it would make sense that those similarities would project themselves into their conversations. In particular, when Roberta accuses Twyla of kicking Maggie while she was down, it could mirror how Roberta feels about her own mother and herself in day to day life. I totally agree about the racial elements as well. Very nicely analyzed I think.
DeleteI believe Maggie was crucial to Roberta and Twyla at the end of the story because she represented a justification for their respective beliefs, a kind of universal scapegoat for both to play their recently ideologies upon. Maggie is a silent, disabled person of unknown race, able to assume the identity of anyone any character would like, and her presence illustrated the contention and failure surrounding people claiming members of their “own race.” Because it fit her narrative, Roberta portrayed Maggie as a black woman, and furthermore, lied to herself to portray Twyla as kicking down her own kind. This supports Roberta’s unspoken assertion that colored people are lesser or unrefined, that white people cannot commit such egregious crimes against one another, and that her activism was for a just cause, even if it was based on a lie. Twyla saw Maggie for who she was, a mixed-race woman who was deaf and mute. Maggie represented a disabled person to Twyla, someone who’s identity went well beyond race, and though she at one time thought to hurt her, sees Maggie like a mature adult would, since that is her new relative world view.
ReplyDeleteMaggie highlights the distinctive cultural and philosophical differences of Twyla and Roberta since they’ve grown apart. In a segregated world, the two found common ground in wanting to kick Maggie while she was down, but decided not to in the end when they were kids. Roberta, entrenched in a culture of bigotry against other ethnic groups, genuinely believed Maggie was black simply because she had darker skin, and related her oldest experiences to fit that narrative, including demonizing one of her oldest, best friends in Twyla. This is why, in the end of the story, Roberta admitting her perspective on and treatment of Maggie was wrong led her to apologize to Twyla. As soon as that visage crumbled, a metaphor of sorts for her culturally necessary dislike for integration and mixing races, she was able to treat Twyla like a whole friend again. For this reason, Maggie serves as a universally crucial symbol of tolerance for Twyla, and surrendering prejudice for Roberta.
This is very true, Maggie was a vehicle of excuse for the two--a reason not to grow as people. As they got older, they realized their reasonings for being so evil towards her, and they realized they really knew nothing about her, which was such a breaking point in the story, and probably in their views of themselves.
DeleteI like how you brought up how Maggie represents not only Twyla and Roberta's need for justification and validation in their respective beliefs but also the cultural and philosophical differences between the two after growing a part towards the end of the story. It's truly a sad story that makes you think in several different ways from finding little pop culture references to seeing the power struggles in how the main characters bond over wanting power over someone "weaker" than they are simply because they would very rarely get the same chance later on in life, to have that power but they chose to be good people who wouldn't kick Maggie leading them both into a state of cognitive dissonance.
DeleteRecitatif by Toni Morrison is the story of two young girls who are at a shelter for kids who don’t have parents. In the story we are introduced to the character of Maggie. Maggie is a disabled woman who does not speak. Throughout the story we hear about how often the girls were mean to her and bullied her. In the beginning we do not know what race she is. Morrison also has us guessing the race of the two main characters Twyla and Roberta. Morrison makes us think about these characters in different terms rather than race. Throughout the story the reader is trying to figure out which one is black and which one is white. The same can be seen for Maggie. The women at the end begin to question whether Maggie is black or white. They are unsure because they saw her disability and nothing else.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of the story Roberta accuses Twyla of kicking Maggie. Twyla says she never did. This interaction causes confusion with the reader because before they both said that the older girls were the ones who knocked her over. Then at the end Twyla and Roberta talk again and Roberta admits that neither of them did any harm to Maggie. Maggie can be seen as a mother figure for the girls at the shelter, but since a lot of these girls excluding Twyla and Roberta did not have mothers they did not know how to treat Maggie properly. The fact that she was mute and her disability did not help when the girls often bullied her. Maggie is an important character in this story as she is often a topic of conversation for Twyla and Roberta. Although they don’t remember a whole lot from the shelter Maggie and her race continue to be a question to both women throughout the years. Maggie is one of the reasons these women have stayed tethered to each other for so long.
Maggie is one of those interesting characters that felt as if she was put there for no reason in the beginning as a token outsider character for the main characters to speak about now and then. However, as the story progresses, we learn that Maggie is actually an essential character in having Twyla and Roberta come to terms with themselves and their past. Maggie is sort of a mother figure to the two main protagonists; she represents how Twyla's mother was childish and careless, while for Roberta, she meant a future she didn't want. A future where she was isolated and ridiculed for how she looked and behaved.
ReplyDeleteWhile both Twyla and Roberta claim to have never kicked Maggie, they also didn't care enough to remember if Maggie is black or not. They only remember that she was old and disabled. They were young and scared and dealing with so many things around them that they couldn't remember complex details about the woman who they felt such negative emotions towards. However, they still question what happened to Maggie because of the guilt associated with having done nothing to help Maggie.
At first Maggie was a minor character at first. Someone who does really mean anything to both of the girls. She is pushed down and is unable to get up or even called for help. She is really seen as the outsider while the girls are the voice of the marginalized.
ReplyDeleteMaggie is the overlap between race and disability. I think each girl saw a portion of their own future and past within maggie herself. Maggie is a reflection of Twyla mother because they were in the same place, while roberta saw her future in Maggie. I think I see an anger in the prediciments in these characters. Anger in the helplessness of their childhood situations.
Maggie is an embodiment of ageism and ableism in that her age—her oldness—and her inability to walk or speak—her disability—were worse than her possibly being black or white for Twyla or Roberta. She is also the truest victim in this story, as she was a caring woman for the children, even almost a motherly figure, but they were wretched to her. They either wanted to hurt her, or did hurt her. Her race ultimately didn’t matter, or wasn’t most important, because she was “worse” than a black or white person. She was an attraction and a punching bag, literally and figuratively—she was not a person to the children.
ReplyDeleteEven though they were both so hateful to Maggie, she was sort of like a mother, or a surrogate for their hatred towards their mothers. On the other hand, they identified with Maggie in that she had also struggled, but they wanted to quite struggling, and became bullies—oppressors. Whenever they got older, they realized what they had done, how little they had cared for someone so kind. How much they hated someone that didn’t hate them. They regretted their hatred, and realized that she was just an outlet for stunted emotions, and unexpressed insecurities.
Once more, they can’t remember her race, or much about her at all, because she was used as a scapegoat for both of their hatreds, in her disability and her age.
Toni Morrison's Recitatif is a very interesting story because the reader is left to make assumptions of the race’s of the characters. There are so many different stereotypes that are somehow supposed to lead the reader to come to a conclusion on the race of the women. Maggie is a girl who has some disadvantages and is dealing with some disabilities. She is made fun of and treated poorly by those around her and that includes Twyla and Roberta. The two girls find themselves conflicted on the idea of whether or not Maggie was white or black. To their surprise they could never come to a conclusion. This brings up the question of, “If race is truly as important as people make it out to be, wouldn’t they know what race Maggie was?”.
ReplyDeleteThe mother figures in the lives of Twyla and Roberta are not great and they cause serious problems in their lives and they manage to take out their frustrations and resentments on Maggie. Maggie now plays the role of their mothers in a sense that they disrespect and mistreat Maggie due to the lack of respect for their own mothers. Aside from their issues with their mothers and Maggie, the idea that Maggie is a symbol of the girls' abandonment issues and their resentment towards their own mothers.
This comment was made by Madelyn Mendoza.
ReplyDelete"There are no small parts or characters." I feel as though this is the case when looking at Maggie as a whole. Maggie in my own opinion is viewed as the "whipping boy" character in the sense. She is considered this character for me because Twyla and Roberta took a lot of their insecurities about their own home life or lack there of out on Maggie. The fact that Maggie is disabled is also a cause of concern for the basis that it allows the two girls to abuse her verbally with little to no repercussions in the orphanage. With Maggie's disability being a concern, it also leads to the race question.
It is greatly known throughout the story that no one truly knows the real race of Maggie because everyone looks at her disability. This leads to the overall conversation where the girls are questioning what actually happened to Maggie. The girls will never know what truly happened to her because they were more concerned with how their own problems were being handled. In this retrospect, Maggie is mainly portrayed as almost the light at the end of the tunnel especially when examining the long run of Twyla and Roberta and how they grew up and changed after they escaped the orphanage.