Societally, most individuals like to believe that they are impartial. Whether it's gender, race, disability, or religion, everyone has preconceived ideas about certain groups of people. Although it may be difficult to admit, Toni Morrison constructs her short story, Récitatif, in a way that forces her readers to confront their prejudices and stereotypes. Through the use of devices such as non-standard English, intentional pronouns, unusual sentence structure, modals, unique punctuation, and direct speech, Morrison describes societal challenges based on race, socio- economic and disability, emphasizing the importance of understanding and protecting people. different from ourselves. The word recitative relates to speech and is considered an intermediary between singing and ordinary speech. Morrison imitates this concept of oral storytelling by using non-standard English in the form of fragmented sentences. This familiar structure creates the illusion that the narrator is speaking, recounting her past, and reflecting on the events that have occurred. Additionally, the use of fragments breaks up paragraphs and draws attention to the information contained in those fragments. Because it is not traditional to use fragments in professional writing, these sentences stand out and indicate important elements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The first time Morrison introduces the character of Maggie, Morrison writes, “Maggie fell once. The kitchen ladies with legs like brackets” (2) The fragment “The kitchen ladies with legs like brackets” identifies Maggie who symbolizes disability and her character describes how people with disabilities can be neglected and marginalized by society . Another example in which Morrison uses fragments to describe theme is quotation. , “How to believe what you had to believe” (10). The use of the fragment emphasizes the statement and illustrates the key idea that individuals are capable of justifying acts of cruelty or injustice, whether they are events that occur or individual actions. perpetrate, Morrison implies that humans are capable of mentally compensating for events by believing whatever they can to adjust personal and societal sins to be acceptable. A final instance where Morrison uses fragments to highlight the theme is when Twyla explains that "Maggie was my dancing mother." Deaf, I thought, and dumb” (18). Separating, “Deaf, I thought, and dumb.” underline these words and indicate their importance. Although Twyla's mother is not literally deaf or mute, this is the moment where Twyla is finally able to admit why she harbors contempt for Maggie. Twyla is never able to tell her own mother the pain her mother's lack of attention caused her, so she lashes out at a person who represents her mother's internal traits, on the outside. The recitative is frequently studied because of the racial ambiguity it presents. Morrison introduces two characters, Roberta and Twyla and states that one is black and the other white, but does not specify which girl is which race. One strategy Morrison employs to conceal the races of his characters is the use of pronouns. When Twyla first meets Roberta, Twyla states that her mother would tell her, "They never washed their hair and they smelled funny"(1) when talking about people of Roberta's race. Morrison's use of the pronoun they allows him to speak of an ethnic group without implying to his readers towhat breed she is referring to. Additionally, after Roberta and Twyla are reunited after years of separation, Twyla sees the immense wealth Roberta has acquired and justifies that "everything is so easy for them" (9). In this quote, Morrison uses the word them to refer to an ethnic group, but is able to narrow down further details about the race she is referring to. Concealing the Girls' Races invites readers to guess which girl belongs to which race. In doing so, Morrison asserts the idea that everyone believes some sort of racial stereotypes. Throughout his story, Morrison will begin his sentences with conjunctions. This unusual sentence structure indicates that crucial information is contained in this sentence. Typically, sentences don't begin with conjunctions, so using conjunctions almost shocks the reader and causes them to pay attention to the next statement. Near the beginning of Twyla and Roberta's time together at the orphanage, Twyla explains, "So for the moment, it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper" (1). In the future, the fact that Twyla and Roberta are of different races will separate them, but for now this is deemed unimportant. The girls share a room and each of them belongs to a family unable to care for them. This similarity outweighs their racial difference and connects them throughout their lives. Later, as Twyla reflects on the emotional abuse she inflicted on Maggie, Twyla explains, "And it shames me even now to think that there was someone in there after all who heard us... called us names and couldn't denounce us. » (3). Again, Morrison begins a sentence with a conjunction to create an almost disjointed sentence that grabs the reader's attention. It is strange that Twyla realizes that "there was someone in there." This language suggests that, as a child, Twyla viewed Maggie as less than human due to her disabilities and that she only now realizes that her actions affected the life of another human being. As Twyla recounts the events of her life, she seems to move away from the narrative of the past to add comments regarding her thoughts in the present. Morrison's use of modality illustrates how the events of Twyla's life unfolded in opposition to how Twyla wanted events to unfold. an event in his life had taken place. When Twyla first mentions Maggie, she recounts an event in which Maggie falls and the older girls laugh and make fun of Maggie. After explaining the event, Twyla seems to break away from the narrative and introspectively admits that "we should have helped him up" (2). Use of the modal should distinguish events that occurred from actions that Twyla believes should have occurred. A similar rift occurs after Roberta reminds Twyla that Maggie did not fall alone, but was instead pushed by the older girls at the orphanage. Twyla's narration is interrupted as Twyla wonders, "I wouldn't forget such a thing." Would I do it? » (14). Morrison uses a modal verb to indicate that the narrator is thinking. This depicts a breakdown of trust and shows that Twyla is unsure of the reliability of her memory. One of Morrison's most powerful uses of modal verbs comes at the end of her story, when Twyla thinks back to her time at the orphanage. Twyla remembers shouting derogatory names at Maggie and admits, "I knew she wouldn't scream, that she couldn't – just like me and I was glad of that" (18). Twyla seems to correct herself by adjusting herlanguage from not wanting to not being able to. These two modals have very different connotations. This does not indicate a choice and suggests that Maggie decided not to scream, but cannot convey the truthful reality that Maggie had no choice. She was unable to scream despite the abusive treatment she was subjected to. Morrison also adds an introspective thought as Twyla narrates using hyphens. Often the speaker interrupts herself to insert a thought that conveys the truth. When Twyla talks about her relationship with Roberta, she explains that they are "two little girls who knew what no one else in the world knew: how not to ask questions" (10). The two girls come from a difficult family situation and belong to mothers incapable of taking care of them. Instead of asking questions, Roberta and Twyla silently understand each other's situation. This lack of questions is something that strengthens their friendship, but it also unites them as culprits for Maggie's treatment. Roberta and Twyla's hesitance to ask questions prevents them from understanding Maggie and helping her as she faces abuse and marginalization. Instead of interceding on behalf of a disabled woman, they ignore and even support the torments to which Maggie is subjected. Another example where Morrison uses the hyphen to interrupt a thought with truthful reality is in the sentence "It was just that I wanted to do it so much – to want is to do it" (19). Roberta talks about how the older girls at the orphanage kicked and made fun of Maggie, and even though Roberta and Twyla never engaged in that, each of them wanted to. Roberta admits that these feelings of unkindness, even if not backed up by actions, are just as damaging as the physical actions Maggie suffered from. Twyla and Roberta did nothing to help Maggie and even mentally encouraged the other girls' actions. This lack of action proved just as damaging as the older girl's physical actions. Morrison's use of punctuation emphasizes key elements of his story. Morrison uses colons in his writing to denote important concepts. Introducing the character of Maggie, Twyla recalls, “The kids said she had her tongue cut out, but I think she was born that way: mute”(2). Morrison inserts a colon to separate the word mute from the rest of the word. This separation draws attention to the words and introduces the importance of the idea of ​​being silent going forward into the story. Maggie is physically mute, but Twyla and Roberta both feel emotionally mute. not being understood is an important concept in the Recitative, and Morrison notes this in attributing the word of the phrase. Morrison uses the colon the same way in the sentence: “Oh Twyla, you know what it was like in those days: black-white. »(13). Race is another important topic in Morrison's short story and this separation of race from the rest of the sentence indicates its meaning. Morrison uses direct speech to highlight important dialogue. In particular, she directly quotes questions posed by characters with a focus on race. meaning of their speech. Morrison's use of questions to convey a theme is particularly interesting because Twyla repeatedly states that she and Roberta don't ask questions and that's why they get along well. When Twyla becomes aware of Maggie's situation, she asks Roberta, "What if she wants to cry?" Can she cry? then asks “Can’t she scream?” »(3). These questions are important because they not only develop.