The Racial Prejudice By Morrison s Black Matters

The Racial Other in â€Å"Recitatif† Morrison’s â€Å"Black Matters† presents an argument that deconstructs the notions of American literary canon in respect to race. In this deconstruction, Morrison remarks: â€Å"Statements to the contrary insisting upon the meaningless of race to American Identity are themselves full of meaning† (Black Matters 216). She elaborates this claim to say that this sends a more direct message as to how it racializes the other which leaves the reader in a position to decipher this the race of a character. In â€Å"Recitatif†, Morrison allows her characters to reflect racial ambiguity as to create a distance from the reader and the work itself. By creating a narrative that changes the reader’s perspective on what each character’s race is, Morrison shows readers that racializing a character is defined by arbitrary indicators through the processes of othering. Maggie’s racial ambiguity from the start of â€Å"Recitatif†, forces a racialized response from the reader to understand the end of the narrative as well as ethically examining Twyla and Roberta. One of the first descriptions of Maggie is that she is â€Å"She was old and sandy-colored† is the constant state of her racialization as neither Twyla and Roberta can determine her race (Recitatif 2). Likewise, throughout â€Å"Recitatif†, Twyla and Roberta both debate on Maggie’s race with Twyla saying, â€Å"Maggie wasn t black† and Roberta asserting, â€Å"You kicked a black lady who couldn t even scream (16). But these arguments betweenShow MoreRelatedToni Morrison Framework Of Black Literature823 Words   |  4 PagesDwashonique Sanford English 207 Professor Cliffari May 24th 2017 Toni Morrison: Rectaif The framework of the American Literary Canon has, for Black Literature, naturally denoted the assimilation to the conventional guidelines of an overbearing tradition and its previously established works. â€Å"in postmodern period, traditional literature has been found to have been written by â€Å"dead white males† to serve the ideological aims of a conservative and repressive Anglo hegemony. In an array ofRead MoreRacism : Black Or White?949 Words   |  4 PagesBlack or White? Caucasian, African American, Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian: together all of these races make up the different racial groups in America. Racism is the belief that race is the reason for human traits and that racial differences cause a race to be inferior or superior to other races. 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