Salt and Pepper

One black, one white: the children at St. Bonny's called them "salt and pepper."
They are two distinct, opposite units, but together they are whole.
One black, one white; one wealthy, one working class; the two lead very different lives, but always find their way back to each other.
Twyla and Roberta meet as children in an orphanage, where they were placed because their mothers were unfit to care for them. Immediately they are outsiders, and for that reason they are drawn to each other. After leaving the orphanage, they separate for a while, and encounter each other later in their young adult lives to discover that they have turned out very differently. Each successive time they meet, their divide becomes more and more obvious. However, instead of focusing on their racial differences, which she simply acknowledges, Morrison highlights their discrepancy in wealth and status.
Despite these differences and because of the strong bond they formed as young children, the woman have a real connection. Like an oxymoron, these two opposites combine to form a cohesive unit. They both know what it is like to be the outsider, and because of that they are not alone.