"Recitatif" by Toni Morrison

The story happens with a description of “St. Bonny’s or St. Bonaventure, the shelter where Twyla, the narrator, meets Roberta, the story’s other main character, when they are both eight years old. Twyla was white. Roberta was white. Twyla claims that her mother told her that people of Roberta’s race smell funny. She moved to the room with Roberta on the grounds that her mother wouldn’t approve. She finds Roberta understanding to her situation. Most children at the shelter are orphans, she is there because her mother always busy with the night. Roberta is there because her mother is really sick. They are very isolated from the people because they are scared of the older girls. However, Twyla’s mother says that the black people usually “never wash their hair and they smell funny”, that was racism. Twyla also tells the Big Bozo, “My mother will not like you putting me there.” That was racism also because Twyla’s mother did not want her daughter to roommate with a black girl.

            That reminded me of the past, I had gotten the blatantly racism many time because I am Mexican. One time, when I was young, I went to the story and the police decided to stop me and asked me, “Do you have green card” with a nice smile.  I swear to the god, I wanted to punch in his face because that was OBVIOUSLY racism. But it was good things because I responded it with a smart mouth with a saying, “Uh, Are you familiar with the law in America?”, and “Was that perfect example of racism?” and I found that offensive. They got humiliated pretty much, and then were quiet for few minutes. My mom educated me a lot about racism. I do familiar with the law in America. The most recent, I was on the way to 7eleven store with my several friends. They were white except me. DC police stopped and asked me, “Do you have any drugs on you?”  In my mind, why not DC police ask my friends instead. Obliviously, the police chose me because I am Mexican. I was angry because it made me looking bad. Dc polices were touching my body. But lucky, I told my mom about it. My mom wasn’t happy. We told to the organization about it, they said they will have had him fired from the DC police. I was thrilled about it.

"Zelzah" by Norma Fox Mazer

Names, of course everyone will always love, hate, or wonder about their names. They would want to know what it means, why it was given. Often nicknames can be given to replace real names so they would feel comfortable. I always wonder why I was given the name of Jaime, I didn’t like it until I grow up and realize Jaime is me, at least it wasn’t Jamie, because it’s a girl name. Sometimes names are given for purpose or some kind of inspiration. Sometimes you will meet some people that will conflict with personality and name meaning like Zelzah’s family. This story is obviously based on old fashioned place where you would marry somebody that your parent would agree upon with another parent like for example that Jake would be Zelzah’s husband. Kind of odd for me because I’m in modern times and am still not used to the idea that the past people have married their own blood which makes it disgusting because we don’t do that anymore unless I’m wrong about some specific people. But that was the culture of their own. But it was interesting how they just send their daughter off to a family where she will meet a man whom she never met before and will marry him. It’s weird how the idea of marriage is serious now than before. In the past they would pick a son or daughter to marry so that way they benefit something somehow like rich family or land, or cattle but sometimes some families would disown their child into a family they don’t care about. There are some things where you read and think about how different things are compared to the story like what I’m doing now. Because of how families arrange daughter to be picked for marriage.