Recitatif. By, Toni Morrison

I check on website to check author’s background and I found that ‘‘Recitatif’’ is the only published short story by African-American novelist Toni Morrison. ‘‘Recitatif’’ tell the story of the conflicted friendship between two girls. One black and one white from the time they meet and bond at age eight while staying at an orphanage through their re-acquaintance as mothers on different sides of economic, political, and racial divides in a recently gentrified town in upstate New York. In addition, I do feel that I connect to this story because I do feel that racial divides does still happen today. The story explores how the relationship between the two main characters is shaped by their racial difference. Morrison does not, however, disclose which character is white and which is black. When story open with a description of St. Bonaventure, the shelter where Twyla meets Roberta, when they are both eight years old. Twyla recalls that her mother once told her that people of Roberta’s race smell funny, and she objects to being placed in a room with Roberta on the grounds that her mother wouldn’t approve. Twyla, however, soon finds Roberta understanding and sympathetic to her situation. This first part of paragraph impact me so hard because I realize that I can identity smell different between black and white

Zelah: A tale from long ago. By, Norma Fox

This novel story is number one of my favorite story for leaving home book. This book have lot of emotions of a Jewish girl sent from Poland to America to meet the fiancé chosen by her parents then story was a little difficult for me because I just couldn’t decide if I believe Zelzah was a strong a female or not because she kept confused me by she wrote a letter to Jake that she don’t mind to take her cousin’s place which mean she will be become Jake’s new girlfriend but of course, Jake rejected it. But, she laughed when she read Jake’s letter that he rejected her, that party, I still don’t understand. Also, I can notice that she kept falling idea of marriage but she still being single. Therefore, there is an strong question is she strong female? I do surprise that when she became independent that she is single and still have a good job is teacher for 3rd grader. In addition, I think she is more stick with American culture than Polish because American’s famous is marriage while Polish aren’t. I think she made a big mistake for let Jake go because she kept wrote a letter to him, I think she need to have man around her to have a better life and keep her alive.