James Mcbride 'Color of Water'- Search for Identity

* 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.”

James grew up in a racist and segregated part of history. Often times racial slurs were used to describe people of African descent during the time James was growing up. Even during school James would be called these horrendous names: “...someone in the back of the class whispered, “James is ni**er!” followed by a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room” (McBride 89). The fact that small school children call blacks these names shows how racist the many people are and the hatred and discrimination that blacks face. These experience taught James how people treat those that appear to be different. Another experience that taught James this was when he and his family went to the Jewish store and were discriminated against. McBride had many experiences in which he and his family were discriminated against whether it was by the police or store owners: “Some of these Jews can’t stand you” (86). All in all, incidents with people who have a particular dislike for blacks shaped James into the way

One of the themes was the burden of secrets that were kept. As a young boy, James knew very little about his mother’s childhood background. James’s mother Ruth discouraged his curiosity about her past and her background. She really never wanted her kids to know the things that she went through as a child and as a young adult. She was ashamed of the things that she went through, so she kept everything inside.What I think is going to happen is that James is that he is gonna have to realize that he can not be out doing drugs and skipping school. also he is going to have to grow up really fast.

This is fueled by, not only the changing emotions that teenagers typically endure, but also by the death of his stepfather, whom he saw as his own father. After his death, James cannot bear to see his mother suffer, for she no longer knows how to control the dynamics of the family and "wandered in an emotional stupor for nearly a year." James instead turns to alcohol and drugs, dropping out of school to play music and go around with his friends, which James refers to as "my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her, as if by doing to I could keep her suffering from touching me." Instead of turning to his family and becoming "the king in the house, the oldest kid," James "spent as much time away from home as possible… absolve[ing] [himself] of all responsibility…" As a result, Ruth sends James to live with his older half sister and her husband, in an attempt to straighten her out her son's life. James distracts himself with the life he found there, spending the summers on a street corner with his half sister's husband, Big Richard, whom he adores, and the unique men that frequented the area. During these summers, James discovers "[He] could hide. No one knew [him]. No one knew [his] past, [his] white mother, [his] dead father, nothing. It was perfect. [His] problems seemed far, far away." Instead of facing the realities of loss and anger in his family, James seeks distractions

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.

Despite the fact that he respected his mother, James grew to question her unorthodox strictness and unusual teachings. Eventually, he graduated college to become a press writer and a jazz musician, yet he still felt incomplete. James says "Play sax, write books, compose music, do something, express yourself, who the hell are you anyway? There were two worlds bursting inside me trying to get out. I had to find out more about who I was..." (330). Even though James has a great job that pays well, he still quits because he wishes to figure out who he is. By saying this, he proves that he wants to find his identity and reason for continuing his line of work. I chose this quote because it clearly demonstrates how James feels about finding his identity.

Both James and Ruth had contrasting experiences throughout their school years. While Ruth, raised from a Jewish family, went to an all Jewish school. Ruth claimed that they had a white school and a black school and a Jewish school. Her father didn’t want Ruth to go to a white school, but because her Jewish school didn’t count, she got her education at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. Ruth stated that going to school was a problem for her because “...the white folks hated Jews...”(McBride 80).

James’ insecurities brought him loneliness, often got him into trouble, and in some cases he did not feel like a human being (93). His insecurities no just caused him to question his mother and her race, but also caused him to question himself (12-13). As he did not know where he fit in society, he frequently felt alone and without any insight of companionship. Therefore, James confusion due to his identity, social issues and necessity of companionship, led him to create an imaginary world where he locked himself in the bathroom and talked to the boy in the

In many ways, literature has the ability to document the past in much of the same way as the formal discipline of history. Actually, there are several respects in which literature surpasses history's ability to preserve the thoughts and sentiments that existed before, since the former frequently delves into the emotional complexities and the ramifications of historical events which the latter merely details. In that respect, the prudent scholar may learn much about the nature of the struggles of those who are foreigners to conventional white American culture by reading a pair of works of literature, Nella Larsen's Passing and James McBride's The Color of Water. Despite the fact that Larsen's tale is largely fictional whereas McBride's narrative is an autobiographical work based on his life as an African American and his mother's life as a white woman, each sheds a considerable amount of insight into the process of adapting to traditional American culture. When one pauses to examine the facts of both of these respective pieces of literature, it becomes apparent that Clare Kendry's approach to adaptation is based upon assimilation whereas Ruth's approach in raising her black children was one of denial. In light of the fact that the historical epoch in Passing preceded that of The Color of Water, one can argue that there has been progress in what is required to integrate within American culture as a foreigner, although there is still a

The happiest moments in Ruth Jordan McBride's life did not revolve around the amount of money she obtained, but the experiences she had with the people she loved. The Color of Water, written by James McBride tells the story of “a black man's tribute to his white mother.” This story does not only demonstrate James' view of life but additionally signifies Ruth’s intriguing telling of her life events. This entangled story of a mother and her son shows the world a truly inspiring journey, along with the deprivation endured by James' mother, Ruth, a white Jewish immigrant from Poland. After his stepfather passed away, James expressed his anger through a barrage of alcohol, crime, and drugs. He continued struggling in order to find himself, and eventually

The first sentence of The Color of Water prepares the reader for what is to come. “I’m dead. You want to talk about my family and here I been dead to them for fifty years. Leave me alone. Don’t bother me.” From this sentence we can infer McBride’s mother will be a vital part of this literature, however, the reader will learn about the writer’s mother as McBride attempts to figure his mother’s life story together. James truly wants to know about his mother 's

This event after everything is very significant to Ruth. This passage shows how hard work pay off in the end. Ever since Ruth was born she always had to do so much for everyone especially her children. She tried making all of her children understand racial barriers and how things are different with them. James McBride always tried to see what side he was on his mother’s or the black power. Ruth gave everything her children needed including a good education and after everything she's been through she gets relief from her children knowing that her children have their lives set. In this whole memoir, James tried to understand who he was and at the end he figured it out. Ruth tried seeing her old self again by trying to see if her family was still

A typical mother in that time would be expected to stay in the house and take care of the children, but Ruth does not follow those expectations. She is not a typical mother because she was nurturing but was also the protector of her family. Ruth was twice a widow and had to raise her children by herself, making her the provider for the family, which wasn’t easy because she worked poorly paid jobs. The loss of her husbands did not make her inexpressive or detached; instead she worked harder to keep her family together. Unlike Beth, she shows love and care towards her twelve children and is involved in all their lives and emphasizes the importance of work, education, family, and God. Ruth also separates from the image of a typical white woman because she lived in a black neighborhood and even married a black man and ignores the judgement of her father towards the black

Ruth's initial experiences of a white Jew living in a black area were different than James's later experiences. Although Ruth might have felt antisemitism, the racism wasn't overt. Certainly James had to contend with being bi-racial as well. Ruth tries to counter the divisiveness of race through the book. When James asks his mother whether God is black or white, he is a boy living in a predominantly black community with a mother who looks white, and is simply expressing his personal confusion about race. To add to the confusion, however, his mother simply responds that she is "light-skinned". When his mother explains that God doesn't have a color, and that God is "the color of water", the image converges questions of racial and religious division

Throughout the story, the point of view alters between her son, James, and Ruth, herself. Having the point of views switch, will give an insight on the pain she felt, did, and struggled with. Since Ruth was forced into Judaism, she always resented it, and when she finally moved to New York she converted to Christianity. Ruth wanted her kids to take school seriously and teach them that race doesn't matter because we are all human beings, but during the sixties, it was often arduous for James, in which he