The Similarities Between James And Ruth

James McBride's mother was a very sweet and honest woman, but she never talked about her past. When James would ask where her parents were she would always avoid the question. She had troubles with her parents in the past and left home. During the time James was growing up, mixed children weren't

To begin with, James McBride took the death of his stepfather rough. To explain, “ I virtually dropped out of high school after he died, failing every class”. (Chapter 2) . James no longer felt the energy to continue to go to school if he was going to not even pay attention due to the constant distraction of his father's death. In addition, James Mcbride got out of control and started acting like a criminal. To show, “ I shoplifted. I even robbed a drug dealer once” (Chapter 2). James Mcbride was not the kind of person to even think about committing such acts when his father was alive, but his anger has caused him to act in a

Except one time when his mom walked him to the bus stop on the first day of school. On page 12 James starts noticing that his mom is different from the other moms James said “Then why don’t you look like Rodney’s mother, or Pete’s mother? How come you don't look like me?” That was not the first time that James questioned his mother he’d always been curious, I mean who wouldn’t when the only parents you have is a different race than you.

James McBride has faced many obstacles in his life and that consisted of facing discrimination throughout the majority of his youth, having an overall sense of being lost, being embarrassed by his mother’s appearance (being white), and questioning life in general. As the novel progresses, James begins to overcome the obstacles he has faced by embracing God and Jazz. He turned to Jazz in order to escape his drug use and drinking. James’ life has proven to be highly inspiring because he grew up during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. There were many conflicts surrounding interracial marriages and anything against Black Culture.

Ruth led a life broken in two. Her later life consists of the large family she creates with the two men she marries, and her awkwardness of living between two racial cultures. She kept her earlier life a secret from her children, for she did not wish to revisit her past by explaining her precedent years. Once he uncovered Ruth 's earlier life, James could define his identity by the truth of Ruth 's pain, through the relations she left behind and then by the experiences James endured within the family she created. As her son, James could not truly understand himself until he uncovered the truth within the halves of his mother 's life, thus completing the mold of his own

After Andrew`s death Ruth asked her family if they can help her with her and her eight children but they ignored her and they didn’t want to have any connections with her. But in the same year she found another man name Hunter Jordan and fall in love with him and he help her and her children. In same year (1958) she got married with Hunter and had four children together. They taught their children that school and God will bring them a better future. Hunter became like a father to James so in the year 1972 when Jordan Hunter died James started to do drugs and drink beer. When his grades started to drop, Ruth moved him and the whole family to Wilmington, Delaware. In 1973 James was in Louisville and work. When he was there he meets a man name the chicken man. The chicken man sets James right by pointing out his failures in his life and told him to stay in school to have a better future than him. James goes back to school and took chicken man advised to do better and he graduated high school and went to Oberlin College and in 1979 he graduated Oberlin college. Ruth goes to college in 1989 and gets a degree in social work from Temple

In chapter nine Ruth was discussing the type of schooling she had received as a child. In her small town they had three schools, each designated to a group; whites, blacks, and Jews. According to Ruth, “, “The Jewish school didn’t really count for the white folk’s so [she] attended the white school” (page 61).She

James grew up in a racist and segregated part of history. Often times racial slurs were used to describe people of African descent during the time James was growing up. Even during school James would be called these horrendous names: “...someone in the back of the class whispered, “James is ni**er!” followed by a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room” (McBride 89). The fact that small school children call blacks these names shows how racist the many people are and the hatred and discrimination that blacks face. These experience taught James how people treat those that appear to be different. Another experience that taught James this was when he and his family went to the Jewish store and were discriminated against. McBride had many experiences in which he and his family were discriminated against whether it was by the police or store owners: “Some of these Jews can’t stand you” (86). All in all, incidents with people who have a particular dislike for blacks shaped James into the way

There is an absence of men in the novel. James is one of the few men seen throughout the story and because of this, the story suggests that he holds a lot of power. He is a difficult character to understand because his true intentions and feelings are hidden beneath what is being portrayed on the outside. James begins as someone who is displayed as positive, respectful and loving of women, but as the story progresses, it is revealed that he views women more as a sexual object or a slave to men. He tricks the reader into believing that he values and considers women as equals to

On the other hand his mother Ruth turned to piano and riding her bicycle (McBride 5). Compared to James’ actions she is far more serene. However it could be said that her calm actions drove her son to rebel more as it was that James felt that the piano was fine but the “bicycle drove [him] crazy” (McBride 5). The bicycle was a gift of sorts to her, something he had “hauled home a few months before he died” (McBride 5). The riding of the bike is most likely a way for her to feel safe and as if he was still close to her with her without actually acknowledging that he is gone, which is apparent when we learn that she rides her bike every day past his car, ignoring it (McBride 7).

The middle of the book takes more of a look of some of the prejudices that both Ruth and James went through during their upbringing. Ruth begins to talk about the difficulties that came with being Jewish and living in the South during that time period. She was always the target for mockery by her peers, but fortunately met a girl named Frances who truly accepted her for who she was. They would spend a lot of time together, most of the time at Frances’ house due Tateh’s discern for gentiles. James also faced similar prejudices at school. Since his mother put so much of an emphasis on schoolwork, James and all of his siblings would have to go to predominantly Jewish schools and were the objects of ridicule for the other students. There was one instance in particular in which James was asked by his classmates to dance because of a predisposed idea that because he was black he could dance. He danced for the class, but conflicting thoughts were rushing through his mind. He felt accepted by his peers, but also ashamed that he stooped so low to gain that acceptance. This example as well as other instances that occurred with his siblings showed the racial tensions that were filling the air at that time.

In the color of water the two main characters Ruth and James, had very troubling childhoods but overcome them too later on have a very honest living. Ruth’s childhood was very influenced on the hate of her father, and the realization of what would happen to her mother. And James’ childhood was impacted heavily by the death of his stepfather, turning to illegal acts. James and Ruth’s childhoods formed them into very honest living people because of the tragedy and adversity they went through when they were younger.

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

Ruth's was born and raised in Suffolk, Virginia was her Jewish family who was per say quite religious primarily due to the contribution Ruth's father made to the Jewish community as a rabbi. Once she fell off at the age of ___, she ended up living in Brooklyn New York eventually converting to Christianity with the influence of her husband Dennis. Ruth explains Dennis affect when saying, “ It took a long time to get over it...Dennis stuck it out with me, and after a while, I began to listen to what he said about God forgiving you.”(McBride 217). It expresses that after Ruth’s grief and guilt over her mother's death she emphasizes

In the bible The Book of Ruth follows the story of the widowed Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Throughout the story, the three experience life during biblical times. Although the time frame of this particular passage of the bible is widely debated amongst scholars, most believe that it took place during the Period of the Judges. Through reading about these ordinary people, one can tell that their everyday life was generally uneventful. People often worked in fields to provide for their families and for generations to come. The women of the Book of Ruth lived simple lives, placing high value on loyalty to the family, the continuation of family lines, and marriage.