...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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...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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...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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...analyze each argument and apply concepts that mimic real life situations. For example, we discussed the situation in the book where James’ mother Ruth born into an orthodox Jewish family explains that she has become, in her own words, “dead” to her family as a result of her marriage to Andrew Dennis McBride, James’ African American father . Contrasting her depiction of the hardships she had to endure because of her marriage to a black man was a sobering reality for some of my classmates because they fully understood and can empathize with what James had to endure as a child of an interracial...
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...but, as I watched the brothers running across the roof, flying their kites...I wondered how free a daughter could ever be”(Yousafzai 26). Her father and mother had a respectful and loving relationship, as well as her father owning a school that of which she grew up in. Seeing how most females in her country did not share this luxury, Malala was inspired. Malala’s story shares a connection with the second memoir I read, The Color of Water, by James McBride. The Color of Water is a story that follows McBride’s childhood and the mystery behind his white mother. McBride, growing up in the early ‘60s, faced much racial discrimination. McBride’s mother, Ruth, who grew up in the south, also witnessed this aspect of cruelty, saying she “ always felt that way about the South, that beneath the smiles and southern hospitality and politeness were a lot of guns and liquor and secrets”(McBride 95). McBride, despite facing discrimination, is proud of his skin, saying that his “siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in [him]”(McBride 90) and that “ as a kid, [he] preferred the black side”(McBride 91). This connects with I am Malala as even though it would feel as if the world around them was against them, the two narrators still manage to find pride and achieve excellence...
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...FAMILY OF SECRETS The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the Last Fifty Years RUSS BAKER Contents Foreword by James Moore 1. How Did Bush Happen? 2. Poppy’s Secret 3. Viva Zapata 4. Where Was Poppy? 5. Oswald’s Friend 6. The Hit 7. After Camelot 8. Wings for W. 9. The Nixonian Bushes 10. Downing Nixon, Part I: The Setup 11. Downing Nixon, Part II: The Execution 12. In from the Cold 13. Poppy’s Proxy and the Saudis 14. Poppy’s Web 15. The Handoff 16. The Quacking Duck 17. Playing Hardball 18. Meet the Help 19. The Conversion 20. The Skeleton in W.’s Closet 21. Shock and . . . Oil? 22. Deflection for Reelection 23. Domestic Disturbance 24. Conclusion Afterword Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade...
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