The Color of Water is a memoir written about and by James’ McBride. Throughout the book James’ switches the point of view between him and his mother, Ruth. By this the reader learns about both Ruth’s and James’ life as well as the progression of the United States. Though Ruth and James’ were separated by countless years, the audience can compare their lives through similar struggles as well as similar victories. For some, growing up in the 1930’s was much different than the 1960’s, but others it was quite the same. While reading, the audience can compare Ruth and James by adventuring through the many struggles they both faced. As a white Jewish woman, Ruth often endured discrimination in her home town of Suffolk, Virginia. She attended a
In the story The color of Water, by James McBride, James learns a lot from a new person. In chapter 22, James meets a character named Aubrey Rubenstein. They talk for a while. Rubenstein gives James a lot of knowledge that he will learn from. To begin with, James first meets Aubrey Rubenstein on a synagogue’s steps.
We go through life with important, beautiful things hovering right below our nose in our reach the whole time yet for some reason we never seem to notice them they slip right out from under us like they were never there at all. We’ve been in water but never been able to distinguish it. David Foster Wallace touches on all the aspects of selfishness and belief in his changing speech to Kenyan students called This is Water David Foster Wallace uses vivid imagery, figurative language , and symbolism to enhance the readers/listeners experience well making the piece seem more personal. One literary tool that David Foster Wallace uses to invoke more feeling the reader is vivid imagery.
“When I asked her if she was white, she’d say, “No. I’m light skinned,” and change the subject again.” (Ch.4, pg.15) Ruth’s changing the topic of racial issues caused even more perplexity and insecurities within James. Because of his uncertainty, it was very difficult for James to decide how he fits into his conservative society. Also, in his community it was only the McBride siblings who seemed to come from the interracial family which made them partially feel like
Her characters like Walter and Ruth are forced to live in a cramped house because they don’t have the money to move out. Walter has to work as a chauffeur driving people around all day for a low wage. Just like in that time period when African Americans could not get high paying jobs, this aided in the racial problem because it kept blacks from being able to move into white neighborhoods. Another method used to keep blacks out of White neighborhoods was contract buying. “When selling on contract, the speculator offered the home to a black purchaser for a relatively low downpayment- often several hundred dollars would suffice.
In this book Glory is overwhelmed with how her town is handling people who are different than they are. She realizes that her favorite local pool is closing down so colored people can’t swim with the whites. Glory becomes an activist herself and writes a letter to the newspaper lining which makes her preacher father proud. Therefore, the theme of this book is to treat everyone equally, such as when Glory’s friend Frankie from Ohio drinks out of the “colored fountain”. Also, when Glory’s sisters boyfriend that he was arrested for sitting with a “colored friend” at the white table.
In chapter 22 of The Color of Water, James Mcbride is wanting to see inside of the synagogue because of his family history. James is interested on his family history because he is writing a book about it. “My family has a history there, because there's a part of me, whether I, or those that run the synagogue, like it or not” (221). James does not know much about his history and is trying to get to know himself and understand himself more as well. He wanted to know the truth.
In the book the Color of Water, Hunter Jordan, James ' stepfather, died of a sudden stroke when he was younger. His mother first married a man named Andrew McBride, that was James’ biological dad, but was only alive to see the moment where his mother, Ruth, re-married to Hunter. When he had died each one of them had a different way of grieving. Ruth rode a blue bicycle Hunter had brought in before he died. For example, James explains how his mother rides the bike around everyday and “... what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what i perceived to be imminent danger from the blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world.”
It foreshadows the fate of the Japanese-American families living in the United States during the war. The mother’s attitude of what the internment camps are going to be like is an understatement because she told her children that they would only be going for a little while, and that it would almost be like a little vacation, but in reality, this would be a horrifically inaccurate description of what it was going to be like for them. Water, although a simple necessity that we all have access to, is a symbol of hope and survival for the Japanese-Americans’ race. For them, the water was never too cold, too clean, but were still allowed some with every meal, and that helped them feel fine after
James McBride wrote a memoir, The Color of Water, to tell his life story and how he arose through a difficult childhood into a successful member of society. During The Color of Water James tells how he finds himself, a mixed boy, in a very segregated world. In this memoir some of James’ most important turning points would be when his stepfather died, His time in Louisiana, and when he was accepted into Oberlin College. The death of Hunter Jordan, James’ stepfather, devastated James in his early teen years. This event started James on a path of drugs and terrible grades making him fail classes and eventually drop out of school.
The Color of Water is a memoir of James McBride’s life. James tells us about his struggles of childhood. In The Color of Water he went through phases which ranged between good and bad. James began to hang around with the wrong crowds and that did not develop him in a good way. He found out how it would affect him in the long run and decided to change how he was living.
She grows old with the self-condemnation of staying with Nathan for as long as she did, for if she mustered up the courage to leave the Congo earlier, Ruth May would not have died. Ruth May’s plea for Orleanna to forgive herself, just as Ruth May has forgiven her, presents the possibility of repentance for anyone, no matter how great of consequence their mistakes are. Though she never passed the age of 6, Ruth May seems to have learned better than most the importance of finding strength from and learning from wrong-doings. Urging her mother to “Move on. Walk forward into the light”, Ruth may passes along her own moral reassessment to anyone whom will listen, telling the error in letting so-called sins weigh down ones self forever
Yet, at home, she devotes love and curiosity to her family. This contrasts to multiple other characters, as the relationship between Ruth and her single mother is inspiring. Accordingly, she respects her mother, who provides encouragements like, “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” With pure gratitude, Ruth seeks to apply her mother’s words. When bullies trouble Philip, Ruth can empathise with him.
The latter is described as being pretty and lively whereas Mrs. Wright lives the life of an outcast, keeping to herself. The loneliness in the two women’s lives adds a dark atmosphere to the respective stories as well as an undeniable gloom. In conclusion, Ruth Warren and Mrs. Wright share many life experiences and struggles, but what makes them different is the way in which those struggles shape them. While Ruth Warren retains her cheerful attitude despite her gloomy situation, Mrs. Wright becomes a shell of her former self, yielding her happiness completely to her
Instead of giving in to the man’s racist ways, Ruth holds her ground and honors her husband by displaying her pride for him and their relationship publicly. She was undeterred by the possible negative outcome of her bold actions, which is key in an effective leader. Her courage and confidence lead her to making daring decisions, like marrying a black man, moving away from home, and helping her husband create a church from scratch. “‘What color is God’s spirit?’ ‘It doesn’t have a color,’ she said.
Ruth is willing to work harder and harder if it means she works for what her family wants and needs. Ruth Younger is motivated by working for her family’s and her goals to get what they dream