...Thonpson English 10 15 March 2015 Color of water The book Color of water by James McBride is about his mother Ruth McBride and her struggles with cultural and racial differences. Color of water is set in the early 1930’s through the late l960’s in both the southern town of Suffolk, Virginia and the city of Brooklyn, New York. Many important symbols appear throughout the story, including Ruth’s bike, flying birds, and clear water. These symbols were important in Ruth’s life. Ruth rides an old blue and white battery-powered bike to maintain a connection with her dead husband. Her second husband , Hunter Jordan, found this bike abandoned in Brooklyn and brought it home. “The contraption would be a collector’s item now, probably worth about five thousand dollars, but back then it was something my step father found on the street in Brooklyn and hauled home a few months before he died.” (page 5). Ruth would ride this bike up and down the street as a form of grieving the loss of her late husband. The loss of her husband was one of the difficulties that Ruth encountered during her life and it took her several years to move on. The symbol of how water has no color is made when Ruth and her son are in church. Ruth’s son asks her what color god was because their family is “mixed”. He asked this because Ruth is a white Jewish woman (now Catholic) who married a black man and had mixed-race children. “God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color.” (page 51). This symbol was significant...
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...Summary: The Color of Water Chapter 10: School James reflects upon his and his sibling early conception about Judaism. They were not familiar with this element of their mother background, and they had only vague impressions, and often misconceptions of Judaism. However, James comments that at times his mother’s attitudes consciously or unconsciously reflected her upbringing. For example, her absolute insistence on the importance of education meant that James and his siblings often commuted long hours in order to receive the best possible schooling, mostly in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods. As a consequence, James and his siblings were often the sole black students in school, and suffered from prejudice of the white world. Chapter 11: Boys Ruth recounts her relationship with a black boy named Peter. Because of the racism of the South, Ruth and Peter had to meet secretly. The constant threat of violence came mostly from the Ku Klux Klan, although Ruth explains that most white Southerners shared the violently racist attitudes of the Ku Klux Klan. When Ruth became pregnant with Peter’s child, she did not dare to tell any white people. Her mother had found her bracelet in Ruth and Peter’s secret meeting place, silently placed the bracelet in front of her daughter, and suggested that Ruth go to New York for the summer. Although she and her mother never spoke of her situation, Ruth felt deeply grateful that her mother had chosen to keep the secret and acknowledge Ruth’s...
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...The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother is a brilliantly written Historical Fiction story about a young, mixed- race boy, James McBride, growing up in New York City, NY in the 1960s and 70s. Throughout the book the narration switches to the gloomy scene of James’ mother, Ruth Shilsky’s rough childhood as a Jewish girl growing up in Suffolk, Virginia. Both of the narrations recap the countless acts of racism and injustice experienced by James and his mother. Through all the hard times they both suffered as children, they learned that one must persevere and never give up on life, staying faithful to God and humanity at all costs, and valuing education and knowledge of the world around them above all else. “I asked her if I was black or white. She replied "You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody” is the quote that in my opinion embodies the main idea this selection....
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...What do I believe in? I believe that the choices you make, shapes your fate. You know why? Because we are alive. It is because we are alive that we have to make choices. Sometimes we regret our choices because of things turned out after we made them. I’ve made a few regrettable choices in the years that I’ve been alive, and I don’t like it. They come back and haunt me. We live our lives from start to finish, and things happen in between. Sometimes the things that happen in between can influence the choices you will make. Part of it depends on who you are, and if you don’t know, it’s time to find out. It kind of depends on where, when and how you start your life from that affects the choices you make in it. For example: Napoleon. Napoleon was a general of the French Nation. He was born into a broken country. A country that broke itself. When Napoleon became emperor, he tried to fix his country. And he did, for a while. Then he tried to take over the world. He failed. Got exiled, twice, and finally died of cancer. From Napoleon’s perspective, he did nothing wrong. All he did was do what he thought was right. In the end, Napoleon got exiled, twice, and then died of cancer. Napoleon probably thought he was doing the world a favor, seeing as how divided, selfish, and corrupt the world really is. It was because he thought that way, he did what he did. When people think what they do is right, they will act upon it. Anyway what I’m trying to say is that when, where, how, you started...
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...Self-motivation has a different meaning to everyone. Literally, the definition of self-motivation is: motivated to do or achieve something because of one’s own enthusiasm or interest, without needing pressure from others. In the novel The Color of Water, written by James McBride, he delineates self-motivation as, “The constant learning and yearning for knowledge…” (pg. 270) James McBride’s view on self-motivation is emphasized through his use of rhetorical terms such as: tone, parenthetical, point of view, and many other rhetorical terms. The attitude of a writer toward the subject or audience is helpful in identifying said writer’s views. In this case, views on self-motivation are being identified. James McBride’s tone in The Color of Water can be described as matter-of-fact. As James describes things his mother, Ruth, does in her retired years he states, “But that’s not enough to keep her busy.” (pg....
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...In the story of Color of Water, Ruth and James both dealt with their grief over Hunter Jordan’s death similarly; both of them having in common of dealing with their grief of it making them unaware of what is occurring, not having a care. As you can see, “blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world. She saw none of it,” (McBride 8), Ruth was unaware of the danger she could’ve faced, because whites and blacks did not like her for being a white person in a black neighborhood. Another example of how Ruth dealt with her grief was riding “in slow motion across...Murdock...only white person in sight,” (McBride 7). Ruth’s way of dealing with her grief was by distracting herself, that being outside, enjoying nature...
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...The Color of Water by James McBride is an amazing autobiography that gives insight to what it was like to be black during a time when it was bad to be black. What makes his story even more amazing, however, is the account of his white-skinned mother. It’s difficult to say how many white people chose to take on a black lover when it meant endangering the lives of both in the relationship, not to mention their offspring, but the account of McBride’s mother, Ruth, in his book makes it worth that much more. He dedicates the book to her, and I feel that the value attributed to The Color of Water is second only to the treasure that is James McBride’s wonderful and inspiring mother. The story told within The Color of Water is very personal and thus...
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...analyzing the past provides valuable lessons for people. They can draw wisdom and fix their present behavior as the way in The Color of Water. The memoir The Color of Water is McBride’s tribute to his mother. In the novel, McBride goes back and forth between stories between himself and his mother. We see how their life progresses and who they eventually become. Although she initially imposed, Ruth McBride eventually discusses her difficult childhood while James discusses who his mother eventually became. We see how she used her past to learn and thrive from it. The theme of how one’s past can affect their future develops throughout the novel. Body Paragraph #1: We can see throughout the novel that Ruth doesn’t dwell on her past she learns from it. She doesn’t want to be another version of her parents so she changes. She had difficult childhood who had a hard time dealing with certain things such as race and religion. Despite Ruth’s painful upbringing, McBride discloses that by learning Tateh’s values and by avoiding his...
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...To get through difficulties in life different people have various solutions however one of the most renowned solution to most struggling individuals is to turn to God for help. Especially problems that involve race, Jesus is considered the answer since it is an immense overlapping between the two conflicting diversities. In “The Color of Water” by James McBride, the main character, Ruth who was a Jewish mom and wife to two African-American men, brought up twelve children and gave them the best education all because of her God. She dealt with many biracial questions and one day when her son pressingly asked her if Jesus was black or white she responded the he was the color of water. The central idea is that identity is not based on color however it is plainly the color of water while who we really are is the choices we make in life....
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...The Color of Water by James McBride shows how interracial marriages can succeed despite disapproval from others. In history, people tend to be hostile and unfair towards people of a different skin color than them. As a result, people during the 1960s and 1970s tend to stay within the norms of marrying people who are similar to themselves, but this book shows how norms can change and new history can be created. The main character of the book, Ruth, is expected to marry a white Jewish man, and her father attempts to arrange a marriage for her: “Daddy arranged for me to meet several young men from Brooklyn’s Jewish community. Most of them were hardworking, studious boys, but they didn’t appeal to me” (77). Despite the expectations set for her...
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...In the book, “The Color of Water” , the main character, James McBride, suffers from his father's death. However, he is not the only person who grieves over Hunter’s death. Ruth, James’s mother also grieves over her lost husband. In the following essay, The way that these characters grieve will be contrasted in this essay. Throughout the book, James make reference that his step father to him was always like a daddy. After his death, James takes on very bad traits and activities. “ I virtually dropped out of high school after he died, I spent the year going to movies on Forty-second street in Times Square with my friends.” (McBride 6). Moreover, James admits to, “snatching purses, and shoplifting, I even robbed a petty drug dealer once.”...
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...Throughout the book, The Color of Water, Ruth’s family had experienced many miserable events including deaths of both her spouses and her dad. Ruth’s family consists of 12 children and with the death of her first spouse, Andrew McBride, it was really hard for her. However, she was able to continue on with her life and ended up being married to her second husband, Hunter Jordan. Fortunately, he was able to continue on the care and love for the children after McBride. Sorrowfully, he passed away due a stroke. With this in mind, Ruth and her son James had diverse ways in dealing with the grief of Hunter Jordan’s death. To begin with, Ruth dealt with Hunter’s death by riding her bicycle in slow motion across the street. For example, James says, “..as cars swerved around her and black motorists gawked at the strange, middle-aged white lady riding her ancient bicycle..it was her way of grieving..” (McBride 7). Moreover, she grieved Hunter’s death by taking up a new hobby, playing the piano. To illustrate, James expresses, “now she seemed intent on playing the piano..” (McBride 7). In addition, another way Ruth dealt with her spouse’s death was by going to church, where she felt...
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...In the book The Color of Water by James McBride uses satirical techniques to criticize the struggles Ruth faced throughout her life. A satirical technique is a technique in which a writer ridicules or criticizes a person, group, institution or event using certain literary devices. As Ruth described the struggles she faced as a child, the author uses satirical techniques such as irony, incongruity and reversal. For example, in the passage it states, “Anytime he had a chance, he’d try to get close to me or crawl into bed with me and molest me.” (McBride, pg. 42). This quote conveys how ironic it was to know that the father of Ruth treated her like that, due to the fact that he was a rabbi or priest who travelled around. In the outside world he...
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...Summary & Response #3: McBride James McBride's inspiring memoir, The Color of Water, describes his hardships living as an interracial child and later how he was able to become a talented musician and writer. In one scene, James describes how music and literature became his escape from reality. For example, he remembers “Music arrived in my life around that time, and books. I would disappear inside whole worlds comprised of Gulliver's travels, Shane, and books by Beverly Cleary” (McBride 90). Later in the scene, James begins to get lost in the music while trying to improve on his musical skills. For instance, McBride vividly recalls, “I took piano and clarinet lessons in school, often...
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...Quarter 1 American Dream Essay Charles B. Rangel once quoted “The promise of the American Dream requires that we are all provided an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to our nation. The American Dream is the ideal that every U.S citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The poems “I,Too,Sing America” by Langston Hughes, “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska, and the novel “The Colors of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His Mother” by James McBride all represent how race influences the pursuit of the American Dream. Race influences the pursuit of the American Dream because based on your race determines if you are treated as less than or above others. As stated from the poem “I,Too,Sing America” by Langston Hughes on page 13 in the Springboard book “I,Too,Sing America, I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, .... Tomorrow I’ll be at the table when company comes, Nobody’ll dare say to me, “Eat in the...
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