Ruwoldt 1

Michael Ruwoldt
Mr. Newman
English Hon: Rhetoric 101
13 November 2014
The Glue
There are many things that can affect how you view something . One thing that has a lot
of affect on you that you dont realize is your unconscious. Your unconscious is something that
is within all of us, its our thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious
awareness. In the short story Recitatif, the author Morrison demonstrates the use of
unconscious feelings whenever Maggie or the orphanage is brought up, Maggie represents the
girls friendship and when good memories are discussed the girls are good, any other discussion
their feelings for each other are resent.
When the girls are growing up they share their times in the orphanage playing and
making fun of the lunch lady Maggie. Throughout their time at St. Bonnys the girls were always
looked at for their race, just like Maggie was looked at for her disabilities, some things just stood
out to the other girls. The times they shared in the orchard together were the times that they saw
Maggie the most, she was their conversation starter and their entertainment. Twyla and Roberta
shared their laughs calling Maggie Dummy! (Recitatif 2). Since Roberta left later Twyla had
no one to make fun of Maggie with and no one to talk to. As the time went on the girls lost touch
and their first meeting Maggie wasn't even brought up because she was in their unconscious. The
conversation of small talk about Jimi Hendrix and how their lives are going wasnt satisfying to
either of them. So because their was no interest in the talking about Maggie or their past at the

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orphanage the conversation was tense and you could tell neither of them wanted anything to do
with each other after the time went on.
Years later when the girls met up for the second in the supermarket the first words
exchanged were, Ho. Ho. The Big Bozo (Recitatif 5). This shows that not only after their first
awkward meeting that Roberta was thinking about the orphanage and the times they had as a kid.
They wondered why they were glad to see each other this time, and not last time. Their
friendship was reunited by the orphanage and the thoughts of their childhood. The laughter that
once came over them was soon taken away by the thoughts of Maggie. The thought of Maggie
falling wasnt funny to her anymore, the truth about St. Bonnys troubled Twyla and Roberta. As
the talk about the Orphanage got more and more negative so did the vibes from the two friends.
During their third meet up the girls had no talks of the orphanage to start their
conversation, the mood was tense and the girls were annoyed with each other from the start. The
picketing and the racial tension was a lot for them to handle and maybe too difficult for Twyla to
understand. Then when the talk of Maggies race came up the two girls had their own views of
Maggie. When they both had their view of Maggie they were fine, best friends, and they enjoyed
making fun of her. Now that Twyla doesnt remember, or maybe Roberta doesnt remember either,
they do not get along. The memory of Maggie in their unconscious is starting to create a dispute
between the two girls. After their argument Maggie is just a hard memory for Twyla to grasp,
and this is where Roberta didnt acknowledge her presence in anyway. When the bad memories
from the orphanage and Maggie come up, the girls are resentful towards each other.
Even though their friendship was broken up, Roberta came clean and now realized that
she isnt to sure that Maggie was black either. She admitted to Twyla the same thing she admitted
to herself. She wanted to kick Maggie, both of them wanted to kick her and because they shared

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the same unconscious thoughts their moods quickly changed. The quick reminiscencing of the
orphanage brings both these girls back together. They faced the fact that they both had some fear
or hatred towards Maggie for no reason, but they figured out that they actually do care for her.
Roberta wonders where Maggie is and the two end the story on a bittersweet note.
The orphanage and Maggie really helped the young girls grow up. The relationship they
shared with their unconscious feelings is based on their dirty secret of wanting to kick Maggie
while she was down. The more the girls talked good about their early childhood situations, the
better their adult relationship was at the time. When the bad came out of their childhood the
friendship was diminished. In Recitatif the Twyla and Roberta;s friendship is all based on how
they view their past.