Due Friday, September 13th - "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison

"Recitatif" by Toni Morrison

Directions:  Please read the short story, "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison.  Read slowly and try to visualize the characters. As you read, think about how you view Twyla? Roberta? Most importantly, explain why. If major changes occur, please take immediate note of the direct quotation(s) that shifted your thinking? How does our discussion of "The Danger of the Single Story" impact your reading of this story?  Also, the ending is rather abrupt.  What role does Maggie play in the story?

Compose an argument to be posted in this blog space using one of the following prompts. Use 2-3 direct quotations, and your notes in your response.

Prompts from Past Exams

1985. A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work.

1986. Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author's manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.