Short Story Unit: Toni Morrison's "Recitatif"

We'll be reading Toni Morrison's "Recitatif" in class as part of our short story unit. You can find a (semi-accurate) version of the story here.

Your first homework assignment is (complete both):

1) Complete a dialectical journal (DJ) in your reader's notebook, analyzing Roberta's character. Find three quotations from the section we read in class that describe Roberta's character. You should find one quotation for each method of characterization:

• Character Action
• Dialogue
• Direct Description

2) Twyla is the story's narrator. How much older do you think Twyla is now that she's narrating the story, compared to how old she and Roberta are when the story begins? How does this help develop Twyla's character? Why do you think Morrison chose to use Twyla as a Narrator, and to jump around the time line, instead of using a more straightforward narrator?

Due Dates for this assignment are:

• CP 2 - Beginning of class 3/29
• CP 6 - Beginning of class 3/30