Teaching Toni Morrison's Recitatif

What is the primary focus of the article?

What are the challenges of teaching, "Recitatif"?

What does Seltzer suggest as the primary instinct when first encountering a text?

What are the key points of the story, "Recitatif," according to Seltzer?

In the story "Recitatif," Twyla and Roberta are both clearly identified as being Black.

What is the specific instance used to clarify the difference between "historical self" and "self-self"?

What is the central figure of "Recitatif"?

Within the story, the setting of the ______ is used to represent blurred binary lines.

Twyla and Roberta's experiences at St. Bonny's impact their interactions as adults.

What does "Recitatif" leave the reader to ponder?

Article Summary

Catherine Seltzer's article discusses teaching Toni Morrison's "Recitatif" in introductory literature courses.
The article highlights the challenges of teaching the story, particularly in understanding how Morrison uses race as a construct.
"Recitatif's brevity and frequent anthologization make it a common introductory text.
The story's unique characteristic is that it avoids explicitly stating the characters' race, prompting students to make assumptions and consider their own racial biases.
The article emphasizes the need for educators to guide students toward recognizing how Morrison plays with constructs of race in this short story.
The article suggests using Claudia Rankine's "Citizen" to help students critically engage with the topic of race and relationships between people of different races.
The article describes the different perspectives on race that occur when a student reads the story.
The article also argues that understanding the characters' "self-selves" and "historical selves" is vital to understanding the story and learning to critically interpret how race is presented and handled within a dialogue.
There is a discussion of the ways in which each character's experiences in the story impact her relationship, and how this is reflective of their upbringing and context.
A discussion of the significance of the "orchard" is made and how it is linked with racial identity and memories.
It mentions how the story is still relevant and important today.
The article concludes with the author's advice on how to teach the story effectively and encouraging students to think critically about race.

Key Figures

Toni Morrison, author of "Recitatif".
Catherine Seltzer, author of the article.
Claudia Rankine, author of "Citizen".

Explore the challenges of teaching Toni Morrison's 'Recitatif' in literature courses. This quiz focuses on understanding the racial constructs in the story and helps educators guide discussions around race and biases in student interpretations. Additional references, such as Claudia Rankine's 'Citizen', offer a broader context for engaging with race-related themes.