Salt och Peppar : En läsning av Toni Morrisons novell Recitatif utifrån det teoretiska perspektivet dekonstruktion

Sammanfattning: In this paper I’m studying Toni Morrison’s short story Recitatif (2022) through the perspective of deconstruction. I theorise about conceptual meanings and differences that occur and can be found in structures. With deconstruction I can observe where in the text traces of metaphysics lay and what impact they have on the characters that live within the story. The study examines binary oppositions such as white and black; male and female; being rich and being poor; being somebody and being nobody. Questions are raised about found meaning in these categories, what they entail and say about perception of reality, and how all of these categories fit into one much bigger classification: the human. This study follows the text closely, exploring the story in chronological order and focuses on the two main characters, Twyla and Roberta, who symbolise two different ends of the binary opposition white and black skinned. Twyla and Roberta come to define themselves by their contrasts and that is also where deconstruction flows and exists. In the end, it’s the character Maggie – first seen as ”unimportant” – that comes to play a crucial part in the shaping of the story and Twyla and Roberta’s lives. Therefore, through deconstruction and its terms and notions, I further investigate Maggie’s character and her meaning and place in Recitatif. This study concludes with that while binary oppositions – and the perceptions they comprise – are firmly established around the characters and the world so are they not fully bound by them.