In Recitatif, Toni Morrison uses ambiguity in the form of a missing outward trait—the race of individuals—to discuss themes of identity, memory, and intricacies in issues of race. Morrison gives her readers no racial clarity, provides them no racial detail to be racist or unbiased, and in doing so makes the point racial identities are not also fixed; they are constructed. Three examples underscore these dynamics.

First, the bond of friendship that exists between Twyla and Roberta defies any clear determinants of race. Morrison states they are of different races, but she never says which character is black and which one is white. For example, Twyla remembers her mother was racist towards Roberta’s ethnicity when she said, “They never washed their hair, and they smelled funny.” Such statements are often stereotypical, but they leave room for ambiguity, inviting the audience to consider how their ideas of race impact their understanding of the individual. 

Second, the conflicting memories of Maggie, a mute kitchen worker at St. Bonny’s, highlight the slipperiness of both memory and racial identity. Twyla and Roberta initially agree that older girls victimized Maggie, but they later argue over whether Maggie was black. Roberta insists, “She was black, and you kicked her.” Twyla denies this, and Maggie’s racial ambiguity mirrors the unresolved tensions between the characters, forcing readers to grapple with the implications of racial violence and complicity.

Lastly, the fact that Twyla and Roberta keep running into each other during times of social and racial conflict, like the school integration protests, shows how their ideas about each other and their shared history change depending on the racialized situations going on around them. These relationships are always fraught with racial passion, even as the violence and tropes take on more ambiguity, which Morrison stresses in her work, suggesting a more complex interplay between race and space and people.

Through these examples, Morrison masterfully employs ambiguity to challenge readers’ assumptions about race, memory, and identity, creating a narrative where what remains unsaid is as powerful as explicitly stated.

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