Toni’s use of ambiguity regarding the race around Twyla and Roberta, allows us to explore themes like identity, memory, and complexities of race. For example, when they are first introduced in the orphanage, the way they describe each other and why they would end up in the orphanage–it is left to our own minds what their background is, which is further enhanced when later in the story, the two girls have grown and are now in two different social classes. It ties into identity, and the complexity of race, as we in our minds are using our own interpretations of their background based on what we already know, and are presuming to know.

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