Ruth In The Color Of Water

family would not survive. Ruth’s aspirations are hindered due to the fact that she is

Ruth just want to get out of poverty and to have a happy family. She doesn’t want to lose her opportunity to get out of the too small dilapidated apartment of which her family is forced to live in do to their lack of finances.

Aristotle once theorized, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” The book, “The Color of Water” describes the lives of James and Ruth McBride and their journeys to find this happiness. Both of these characters, among other characters in the book struggled for the majority of their lives with the issues of race. They felt as if they were caught between two different worlds; the world of blacks and the world of whites. These struggles left all of the characters feeling forlorn. In McBride’s memoir it is made clear that in order to find happiness, the characters must first be able to confront and then overcome the racial divisions that were so prominent in their lives.

* This chapter was written in Italics because it was written from a different point of view which was Ruth’s perspective who talks about her past as a child.

the ones that stand out most is her determination, her courage, and that she fights for

In the Color of Water, Ruth Mcbride has an important significance, because her complex past is what propels the book. Without her, the book would not be nearly as interesting. James Mcbride, Ruth’s son and author of the book, portrays Ruth as a secretive, un maternal like, and spiritual woman. Ever since James was a child, he remembers his mother never mentioning her past or her racial identity. James notes:”She had a complete distrust authority and an insistence on complete privacy which seemed to make her and my family odder .... Matters involving race and identity she ignored (9) Ruth keeps her past hidden away from her children, so that she doesn’t have to relive painful memories or inquire her past. In doing so, Ruth also doesn’t label

Ruth was emotionally abandoned she wanted someone to return the love she had been giving out. The mere idea of her having to go the rest of her life in that state frightened her. If she was emotionally supported by her husband she would have been happier. This shows that her mental state shows abandonment of women.

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

At the beginning of The Color of Water, James McBride’s mother Ruth goes on to introduce particular aspects about her upbringing. She mentions how she grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and begins to describe both her parents. Ruth’s father was a very cold and hard individual who didn’t care too much for his children’s overall well-being, while her mother was very sweet and kind in nature. She also goes on to talk about how her family was originally from Poland but decided to move to the United States from fear of oppression from the Russian government. Along with outside forces that proved to be a problem for Ruth’s family were similarities in oppressive behaviors in their family as well. Since Ruth’s family were Orthodox Jews,

dedication and diligence she took in being a good student from elementary through high school.

“I'm dead. You want me to talk about my family and here I been dead to them for fifty years.” - Ruth McBride Jordan. Ruth McBride Jordan is a strong Polish Jewish woman with 12 children who firmly believes in work, school, and religion. Ruth undergoes many different changes within both herself and her family throughout The Color of Water, causing her to change her name 3 times in a way of reviving herself. These 3 names are significant with respect to her identity and her life because they represent a time in her life where she tried to change in order to make her it better. These name changes lead up to a manageable time of life for Ruth. The name Ruchel Dwarja Zylska is significant because it represents her when she was young naive girl who didn't understand the aspects of life. The second name, Rachel Deborah Shilsky, represents a time in her life where she tried to change her ways in order to fit in. The final name, Ruth McBride Jordan, stands for a time when she finally moves on with life and leaves behind all of the toxic things that once troubled her.

Sarah Ruth, his wife, at the same time, is struggling with her own set of

Salva the main character of “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park was an 11-year old boy when his village was attacked. His teacher urged him to run away from the village and to run to the “bush.” After that attack, his life made a turn for the worse. With no family around him, he was completely lost. During his journey, he had some problems, but overcame

In the novel, Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, a young girl named Kira was born with a damaged leg that hinders her self-sufficiency and makes her a burden to her society. After her mother, Katrina, dies of a mysterious illness, Kira worries about being sent to the Field to die. However, her remarkable skill at embroidery saves her from certain death when the Guardians call her to mend, maintain, and further embellish the robe of the Singer. The portrayal of Kira having a lame leg yet is still being chosen for such an important duty in her society demonstrates that talent does not need to be hosted by a “perfect” individual. Not only that, her lame leg makes Kira become a hardworking person since she has to always prove to her society that

Ruth’s father sent Ruth off to boarding school to get her out of his hair and this is how she received her formal education in addition to the tutoring she received at home. After Ruth was married, her ‘family’ wanted nothing to do with her and left her to be taken care of by her in-laws and Harry. When Harry died, Ruth and Harry’s parents only helped her in order to keep their reputation intact. She was not worse off in the long run because of her parents’ poor child care. The distance that Ruth’s family put between themselves and her caused her to become more independent than she already was.