Identity In The Color Of Water By James Mcbride

Racial divisions had always been a source of conflict for Ruth. Her struggles began as a young child and followed her into her adulthood. She felt the pressures from racial divisions at her school and in her very own home. The internal conflict that Ruth felt regarding race stemmed from the hatred that she had experienced with the white people from her childhood and the acceptance that Ruth had felt from the black people she had encountered.

a. Reading James McBride’s novel brought on a plethora of emotions. I sometimes forget just how trying life can be for “minorities.” For Ruth I mostly felt empathy and sadness. During her childhood, the white kids were mean to her, her father molested her and showed absolutely no respect for her mother, teen pregnancy/abortion, and then she finds the courage to leave where she finds true love not once, but twice only to have that ripped away from her. Ruth’s life is one struggle after another.

Ruth’s Jewish background, her conversion to Christianity, and James’ childhood influence James’ confusion with his identity. Ruth was born Jewish and lived her life experiencing multiple situations of discrimination growing up. Jews and Blacks were hated upon during that period and by her marrying a black man, it attracted even more discrimination towards her. James experienced discrimination when he was younger because he was black. James knows nothing about Ruth’s past because she had kept it a secret from him and his siblings since they were young. Ruth had taught them a mindset that is set to focus only on education and religion, not focusing on anything else so they couldn’t question other ideas Ruth did not want them to see. When Ruth was living in New York with her husband Andrew McBride, Ruth found out that her mother

* James notices that his mother’s skin color than his friends’ mothers’ skin color are different, so Ruth tells him “Who cares about your friends’ mothers’ skin color? Just educate your mind.”

It is always around, it is impossible to back away from it, but what it is? Racism is a very strong force, it has captivated the world ever since humans existed. It is hard to back away from racism, to avoid it all together. Whether you are black, white, Jewish, Catholic, Irish, etc. you will be discriminated against by a group of people. No one can hide from the hatred, it is just there. The Color of Water shows that no matter where you are or who you are, that you can face racism. Rachel faced it when she was a Jew in an all white, Protestant school. James and his siblings faced racism when they were in an all-Jewish school. In the memoir, The Color of Water, by James McBride, racism is a powerful presence that can severely affect those who are victims of it.

James grew up as a black child living in a black neighborhood with a white mother during one of history’s biggest era’s for civil rights movements. The title “The Color of Water” correlates to the issues about religion and race that occur in the book with major characters such as Ruth and James. The aspects that had the most significant impact on James’ identity is environment because of the racist and segregated times, the poor neighborhood he was raised in and his mother, Ruth.

“Rachel Shilsky is dead as far as I’m concerned (2)” according to Ruth, she is expressing her erased her identity. She has erased her past, so much she even has to relearn how to drive.Her growth impacts the book as a whole, because it gives more insight how Ruth became the strong person that she is today. Without her growth, the book would be meaningless. One of the most meaningful changes was her self esteem. Ruth expresses, “I’d like to say I didn’t care about my classmates, and what they thought of me. But when I was a teenager I wanted to be like them” (109). James states ”She had absolutely no interest in a world that seem incredibly agitated by our presence. The stares and remarks, the glances and cackles that we hard went right over her head, but not over mine” (100). The first quote proved how Ruth was insecure and wanted to be accepted in her teenage years. However, as Ruth ages she could care less what people think of her. As Ruth mentions more and more of her past, important messages occur. After her mother dies, Ruth proclaims “That’s why you have to say ‘all of your sorrys’ and ‘I love yous’ while a person is living because tomorrow isn’t promised” ( 217). This may seem a like a simple act, nonetheless many people don’t say these words enough. Furthermore, Ruth teaches readers that people to be themselves, since she was individualist. All these message drive the book, because as Ruth makes these sudden realizations, so does James. Ruth’s important messages help James discover who he is and what his intentions are in life. Ruth makes the Color of Water a meaningful book, not only for fascinating, complex past but also her character journey that produces meaningful life

In the book color of water by James mcbride talks about his mother Ruth's and how she had ups and downs in her younger life till now when she is a widow and how she a has this habit of riding her bicycle through the all- black neighborhood in which James and his family lived. In “The Color of Water,” by James McBride has many themes. Each theme he is trying to get a point across and he tries to make us understand what him and his family went through as being Jewish and African American. He tells about his past and his parents past to give us an idea of what they all went through. In this book he brings you into their lives.

For my cultural cache book report I chose to read the book, The Color of Water by James McBride. I learned several things about what life was like in the mid-1900’s and in which may be why we still face issues with racial differences. McBride does a great job of illustrating his internal and external challenges that he faces throughout his life. I also learned more about African American culture in the United States and gave me a desire to be a part of positive change to this particular racial group.

from Tateh, her father. She is raised in a very strict, religious, yet hypocritical family,

James McBride was born in 1957 to Ruth and Dennis McBride and was raised in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects with his eleven brothers and sisters (Bodhos 2). In 1997 McBride’s bestselling memoir The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother was published. The story is uniquely written in double voice with chapters alternating between chapters as the author recounts his life growing up as a biracial child and his mother recalls in detail her disownment from her Orthodox Jewish family, marrying a black man and successfully raising twelve biracial children. The connection of the two stories is compelling

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

James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the

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.

Another way to deal with past regrets that is brought to light is the idea of repressing that memory in the first place. Unlike her sisters, Rachel Price is the only one who ignores her guilt. After Ruth May’s death and their departure from Nathan, Rachel rarely ever brings these major events up again. Instead she talks about her new life, speaking about her newest boy toy and complaining about the African’s culture. The night of Ruth May’s death, since Rachel is