What Does Ruth May Represent

* This chapter was written in Italics because it was written from a different point of view which was Ruth’s perspective who talks about her past as a child.

Ruth felt connected to black culture in Harlem because she was never part of a group where she felt welcomed. She would support the Civil Rights acts as if they were her own. On the other hand, she felt rather excluded from the people living in the South. As she had a growing family to take care of, she would be in need of family and financial support, but they would purposely shun her. At a young age, Ruth a practicing Jew was ridiculed and bullied by classmates who were gentiles. It affected her so much she changed her name so she could fit in more, “My real name was Rachel, … but I used the name Ruth around white folk, because it didn't sound so Jewish, though it never stopped the other kids from teasing me” (McBride 80). Her parents forced Judaism on her, causing her to resent religion; therefore, she converted to Christianity when she was an adult. This conversion helped rediscover herself and create a new relationship with God. Ruth’s adult life changed significantly from her life in Suffolk. She needed some relief after separating from her family so she embraced her new religion and found the relief in practicing Christianity. Lastly, Ruth had two integrated marriages that changed her life and brought out the best of her; unfortunately, both died and Ruth was a widow who had to raise and support

Page 20- i can infer that Ruth is very nervous she said the wrong thing. I think this because she accidentally mentions Papa’s name which cause her to shake and swallow several times. Ruth also takes off running and hides before the lady can ask anymore questions.

When "After the War" opens we meet a broken and angry Ruth, who has had all joy ripped from her life at the hands of the Nazis. Over the last few years, while fighting for her life, Ruth has taught herself to conceal all emotion. She won't allow herself to show signs of weakness. She refuses to cry and crushes any hope or joy that makes its way into her life. Furthermore, Ruth stifles all memories of her friends and family, before the war, so that she will not have to recount

Ruth stresses the importance of maintaining a good image of her family. When George arrives to take Beneatha out, Walter and Beneatha are not being well mannered, so Ruth takes control and tries to make-up for their behavior. “Beneatha, you got company-what’s the matter with you? Walter Lee Younger, get down off that table and stop acting like a fool…(80)” Ruth is also independent and kind.

important turning point for her mother as well. With that being said the character of Ruth May is

Throughout the novel, it is Old Mrs. Hall who represents (with a cold bitter insistence) the traditional representations of the wife and mother. While Ruth’s marriage was in no way a radical departure from tradition, it does not seem to have been based (entirely) on an old paradigm that was rapidly becoming antiquated in the wake of modernity. To

“ Mommy’s house was orchestrated chaos and as the eighth of twelve children, I was lost in the sauce, so to speak. I was neither the prettiest, nor the youngest, nor the brightest.” pg 65 Ruth’s family was made of lots of different people. In their family your brother or sister was your best friend and enemie. Also, While the house had lots of rules it was in constant chaos “ Her time merited only full-blown problems like, ‘Is the kitchen floor still under two feet of water since y’all flooded it?’” pg 69

Ruth just want to get out of poverty and to have a happy family. She doesn’t want to lose her opportunity to get out of the too small dilapidated apartment of which her family is forced to live in do to their lack of finances.

Between the roles of the two woman, it is apparent that Ruth’s role is more favorable in the eyes of characters

The Book of Ruth Ruth is a story about loyalty, love, and faith. The simple love story

Ruth is a very strong woman with morals and a belief in God. Ruth loves her husband and her son and does her very best to take care of them. She is always putting the needs and desires of her family above her own. Ruth has always been supportive of Walter, but recently they have not been communicating well. Ruth tries to convince Mama to allow Walter the chance to invest in the liquor store by saying, “something is happening

Ruth was emotionally abandoned she wanted someone to return the love she had been giving out. The mere idea of her having to go the rest of her life in that state frightened her. If she was emotionally supported by her husband she would have been happier. This shows that her mental state shows abandonment of women.

Reba’s aunt, Ruth Foster, has a name that is also associated with a character in the Bible, also named Ruth. In the Bible, after her husband died, Ruth faithfully stays with her mother-in-law, refusing to leave. One of Ruth’s most notable quotes from the Bible is as follows: “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” (Ruth 1:16-17). In this quote, the reader can see that Ruth is willing to stay by her mother-in-law’s side no matter what, even claiming that she would even die with her. Naomi, her mother-in-law, is a constant reminder of Ruth’s husband, and she refuses to leave her because Naomi is the only reminder she has of her late husband. In Song of Solomon, after

She tries to do as much as she can. She just wants Walter to love him but that is tough since he has been so sad all the time. All he wants is to make a name for himself and save his family. Unfortunately, he was a little too upset with Ruth so he uttered something that the could not take back. During one of their arguments on page 87, Ruth asks, “Honey, why can’t you stop fighting me?” so he responds with,”Who’s fighting you? Who even cares about you?” This crushes Ruth and she doesn’t know what to do. She talks of how she is going to get an abortion for the new baby they will have. She was so sad because of how her husband does not seem to care.Fortunately, she doesn’t but that relates to Aretha Franklin’s song, “Respect.” The last couple lines in the song are,”When you come home, or you might walk in. And find out I'm gone, I got to have a little respect.” Ruth can relate to this because she was going to leave and have the baby aborted. This definitely would have changed things because the whole family would have been hurt by it. Ruth also explains how she wants to leave their tenament for a house. This would help her to have more self-respect being a homeowner. After Walter loses all of the money, Mama is unsure about keeping the house anymore. Ruth quickly stifles her ideas by stating, “Lena – I’ll work … I’ll work twenty hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago… I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors in America and wash all the sheets in America if I have to – but we got to MOVE! We got to get OUT OF HERE!” That quote is on page 140 and further explains how Ruth really wanted to leave that house. Ruth wanted to be a difference maker. The neighborhood the family is moving to is made up of only white people, but Ruth is not scared. ON