Final answer:
A Critical Race Theory approach to Morrison's "Recitatif" is true as it examines how the story's racial ambiguity and title critique the dominant culture's perceptions of race and institutional racism. The story encourages readers to explore constructed racial identities and the power structures that enforce them.
Step-by-step explanation:
A Critical Race Theory approach to Toni Morrison's "Recitatif" reflects on how the story portrays dominant culture's perceptions of race and challenges the institutional views of racism. Specifically, CRT analyzes social and power dynamics involving race and racism within the context of literature, arguing that racism is not just a series of individual prejudices but something embedded in the legal, cultural, and social fabrics of society. In Morrison's "Recitatif," the racial ambiguity of the main characters Twyla and Roberta forces readers to confront their own biases and assumptions about race, illuminating how racism is perpetuated unconsciously by individuals and institutions.
Through the lens of CRT, we can interpret "Recitatif" as a narrative that uncovers the constructed nature of race, its impact on power relations, and the social reality of the characters, and by extension, the readers. Morrison's choice of the story’s title, "Recitatif," which relates to a type of narrative in operas, suggests a complex interplay of voices and perspectives, much like the clashing viewpoints of Twyla and Roberta throughout the story. By not revealing the races of the two protagonists, Morrison inherently critiques the dominant culture's preoccupation with race and encourages a reevaluation of how racial identities are understood and the power dynamics that shape them.