Recitatif Survey Results

It's been four days since I posted the "Recitatif" survey, and here are the results so far.


1. In "Recitatif," how do you racially place the character Roberta?

• Roberta is a black character- 2 votes
• Roberta is a white character- 1 vote
• Can't decided because she can fall under both categories- 2 votes
• Distinguishing her racially is insignificant to the story

2. How would you racially place Twyla?

• Twyla is a black character- 1 votes
• Twyla is a white character- 2 votes
• Can't decide because she can fit into both categories- 2 votes
• Distinguishing her race is insignificant to the story-

3. "'Recitatif' was an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative," writes Toni Morrison in her Preface to Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. Do you believe she accomplished ridding the short story of racial signifiers?

• Yes, there are no racial signifiers mentioned throughout "Recitatif." - 2 votes
• No, racial signifiers are present all through the story- 2 vote
• She tried to remove mentions of race, but failed- 1 votes
• Don't know-

4. How would you racially place the character Maggie?

• Maggie is black- 1 votes
• Maggie is white-
• Maggie is neither black or white-
• There's not enough information on Maggie to distinguish her- 4 votes
• Don't know-

5. What character of the short story do you sympathize with the most?

• Twyla- 2 votes
• Roberta-
• Maggie- 3 votes
• Twyla's dancing mother-
• Roberta's dancing mother-