Analyzing Chloe Anthony Wofford's Recitatif '

Chloe Anthony Wofford was born on February 18, 1931 to Ramah Wofford and George Wofford in Lorraine, OH. Chloe was the second oldest of four children. Her father was a welder by trade but worked many jobs to support his family and mother was a maid. In 1949 she graduated from Lorain High School with. She then attended college at Howard University, where she majored in English and minored in Classics. . While attending college she decided to Change her name to “Toni” which a shorter version of her middle name. She decided to change her name due to the fact that many people pronounced given first name incorrectly. In 1953 she graduated from Howard with a bachelor in English. She went on to attend Cornell University and received a master’s
Recitative is a style of vocal music intermediate between speaking and singing; reflecting on the natural rhythms of speech”. In the story Recitatif this meaning is important because it points out the natural rhythm of speech between Roberta and Twyla’s relationship. Roberta is black and Twyla is white. They both have an unspoken understanding of each other because they are in an orphanage yet neither one of them are orphans. Due to them being in this orphanage their racial identities do not exist. They are no longer black/white but children in an orphanage whose mothers cannot take care of them. Twyla and Roberta both come from complete different backgrounds. Even at their young age yet they both have completely different ways that they see the world and their surroundings. This is prevalent when Roberta and Twyla meet again a few times throughout the years. Recitatif is about how people view, deal and handle life differently due to their race and circumstance even though one race may be sympathetic to another race that does not mean that truly understand or see the big
I know it’s that way with me….” “…Roberta lifted her head up from the tabletop and covered her face with her palms. When she took them away she really was crying. “Oh shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What happened the hell happened to Maggie?” Roberta holds on to a guilt and also has an understanding of Maggie. She feels bad for never helping Maggie when she would get picked on but yet she knows she was too young to help. She also understands what life must have been like fro Maggie because she was a mute, older black woman. She understood her struggle but she could only imagine Maggie’s pain. Who could Maggie call on in her time of need or who could she tell when she needed help. She true symbol of a black woman without a voice. None of this could Twyla understand and she never understood the big