Twyla As A Dynamic Character Essay

In Toni Morrison’s short story “Recitatif”, a young girl named Twyla is faced with hardships and turmoil that causes her to grow and change as a character. The story is centered around Twyla and her friend Roberta as they live in a girls’ orphanage together. Though both girls are equally round characters, Twyla seems to undergo the most change. Twyla is first shown as a protagonist, a young girl who demands the readers’ sympathy as she resides in an orphanage. As the story develops, we start to notice how unreliable she is as a narrator. Her story about Maggie changes every time we hear it. Was she really black? Did the girls push her? Twyla seems to be stuck in a child-like state, classifying people as “mean girls” and not taking blame for Maggie’s accident. Because of her unreliability, Twyla is arguably a dynamic character. It is impossible to predict how she will
Her attitude towards her mother shows a lack of empathy and an uncaring personality. I was surprised when I saw her concern for her son, but her character seems more worried about his education than his wellbeing. She joins the opposing side of Roberta’s protest just to go against her. This woman is obviously hurt and shows slight sociopathic tendencies. Reading from her unreliable point of view is intriguing and opens the story for questions and discussions. This story is fascinating because both of the major characters are well rounded and dynamic. They also contrast with each other. Twyla’s hard heart and Roberta’s need for excitement. Roberta’s remorse at the end of the story shows not only how her guilt has preyed on her for years, but how Twyla has rationalized her form of the truth. Though readers will never know what exactly happened to Maggie, we can learn a lot about the characters from how they dealt with the