The Color Of Water Questions

he book I read over the summer is called “The Color Of Water” by “James McBride” This book tells the story of the author's struggles growing up with racial identity issues. He struggled as a child finding out whether he was black or white, but choose to identify as black. He once questioned his mother what color God was, and she replied that he was the color of water. James had many tough times dealing with household struggling with money and twelve children, but when his stepfather, Hunter Jordan died he fell into a void of drugs, alcohol and thievery. He was sent to Kentucky where his sister lives, and was educated by a man nicknamed “Chicken Man’ on how James was wasting his life. James listened, turned away from his old life and became

In Chapter 15 (Graduation) of The Color of Water, Ruth reveals how her period of being young was cut short due to falling in prohibited love. Despite all the hostility Ruth is receiving from the outsiders she continues to complete high school. After returning to Suffolk to finish the rest of high school she visited Peter, Ruth’s first boyfriend. Since Peter and Ruth shared a genuinely close relationship she insisted on meeting him. Ruth explains that Peter conveyed he still had feelings for Ruth during their encounter. Although, as Ruth was at work she overheard an unfamiliar person say Peter and another black women were conceiving a child and he was going to wed her due to the accidental pregnancy. In Chapter 16 (Driving) Ruth has a difficult

The Color of Water by James McBride started its first chapter with Ruth McBride and the book is dedicated to her. Thus, it only seems appropriate to start the summary of the book telling the storyline involving Ruth first. Ruth McBride Jordan was born as Ruchel Dwajra Zylska in an Orthodox Jew family in Poland. When she was 2, her family moved to America from Europe and this point in time is mostly likely when her named had been Americanized into Rachel Deborah Shilsky. Ruth described how their lives revolved around the job contracts her father had. If work (as a rabbi) was, they would move there. During their time going around constantly, Dee-Dee, Ruth’s younger sister was born. Eventually, Ruth’s father had the family move to Suffolk, Virginia.

James McBride 's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man 's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth 's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother 's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the world. It is

In The Color of Water by James McBride, Ruth and James both struggled with issues of identity. Both were conflicted about their identity as they tried to figure out where they belonged. These identity issues led to alienation, internal conflict, and social mistrust. Eventually, they were both able to find their way in life. James and Ruth both perceived identity in contrasting ways.

James grew up as a black child living in a black neighborhood with a white mother during one of history’s biggest era’s for civil rights movements. The title “The Color of Water” correlates to the issues about religion and race that occur in the book with major characters such as Ruth and James. The aspects that had the most significant impact on James’ identity is environment because of the racist and segregated times, the poor neighborhood he was raised in and his mother, Ruth.

James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the

In The Color of Water, author James McBride writes both his autobiography and a tribute to the life of his mother, Ruth McBride. In the memoirs of the author’s mother and of himself, they constantly face discrimination from their race in certain neighborhoods and of their religious beliefs. The trials and tribulations faced by these two characters have taught readers universally that everyone faces difficulties in life, but they can all be surmounted.

It’s hard to look at our parents and see how they grew up from their past. In The Color of Water, James changes his viewpoint on his mom because of her past, present, and future. Throughout the book, James learns a little more about his mom each chapter and about her past. As he learns about what religion and race means to his mother, and as he learns more and more about Ruth’s past, he learns to understand and appreciate his mother.

At the beginning of The Color of Water, James McBride’s mother Ruth goes on to introduce particular aspects about her upbringing. She mentions how she grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and begins to describe both her parents. Ruth’s father was a very cold and hard individual who didn’t care too much for his children’s overall well-being, while her mother was very sweet and kind in nature. She also goes on to talk about how her family was originally from Poland but decided to move to the United States from fear of oppression from the Russian government. Along with outside forces that proved to be a problem for Ruth’s family were similarities in oppressive behaviors in their family as well. Since Ruth’s family were Orthodox Jews,

“I'm dead. You want me to talk about my family and here I been dead to them for fifty years.” - Ruth McBride Jordan. Ruth McBride Jordan is a strong Polish Jewish woman with 12 children who firmly believes in work, school, and religion. Ruth undergoes many different changes within both herself and her family throughout The Color of Water, causing her to change her name 3 times in a way of reviving herself. These 3 names are significant with respect to her identity and her life because they represent a time in her life where she tried to change in order to make her it better. These name changes lead up to a manageable time of life for Ruth. The name Ruchel Dwarja Zylska is significant because it represents her when she was young naive girl who didn't understand the aspects of life. The second name, Rachel Deborah Shilsky, represents a time in her life where she tried to change her ways in order to fit in. The final name, Ruth McBride Jordan, stands for a time when she finally moves on with life and leaves behind all of the toxic things that once troubled her.

In The Color of Water James McBride struggles to discover who he truly was as his mother explains to him the difficulties that she had to overcome as a white, Jewish woman and later on marrying a black

In the Color of Water, Ruth Mcbride has an important significance, because her complex past is what propels the book. Without her, the book would not be nearly as interesting. James Mcbride, Ruth’s son and author of the book, portrays Ruth as a secretive, un maternal like, and spiritual woman. Ever since James was a child, he remembers his mother never mentioning her past or her racial identity. James notes:”She had a complete distrust authority and an insistence on complete privacy which seemed to make her and my family odder .... Matters involving race and identity she ignored (9) Ruth keeps her past hidden away from her children, so that she doesn’t have to relive painful memories or inquire her past. In doing so, Ruth also doesn’t label

Both James and his mother Ruth struggled to find their cultural identities. Growing up Ruth hid her past from her children; as a result, James suffered struggling to stay afloat to find his identity. It was not until James became a young adult that his mother chose to paint the true picture of her rough past, helping James accept who he is and understand where he came from.

Ruth offers James confusion as he grapples with his racial identity as a younger boy, but she offers him clarity as a young adult. When James was young, Ruth would answer any of her questions and that bothered him but he knew not to push her to her limit or he would get the belt. He does not know what half of his race is, he know he was black from his father but knew nothing about his mother’s race. Ruth was not ashamed to be a Jew, but she did not support Judaism because of her father, Tateh. She was not hiding the fact that she was a Jew from James but she did not want to think about everything that she ran away from when she