Analysis Of Deborah Shilsky's The Color Of Water

Perceptualize waking up one faithful morning only to go to rest at dusk the same day with the dreaded thought that one’s life has been changed forever due to her pregnancy as a teenager, imagine being a 32-year-old reading about this real event from the perspective of his mom’s abortion. Although these thoughts may seem negligible to many, they are familiar and expected everyday occurrences that Jewish immigrant Rachel Deborah Shilsky has to experience in her orthodox reign in The Color of Water. These very events commence as Rachel becomes the beloved girlfriend of a black teen known as Peter in Suffolk, Virginia. The relationship is light at first but escalates to the abortion of an unexpected pregnancy. Moreover, the story progresses to
This is apparent by the fact that she does not see her fellow Jewish people in bright light but instead in crippled shadows. In an example, Rachel emphasizes throughout that her Jewish family does not love her. She remarks about how her dad, Tateh, sees her as only an economic and marriage asset while her brother Sam does not talk to her. Moreover, she has unpleasant reactions to her local Jewish community in Suffolk, Virginia and her extended family in New York City. She observes that her Jewish aunts and uncles have very little interest towards her and see her family as crippling. By the same token, not only does Rachel have a strong distaste towards the followers of Orthodox Judaism, she also views Christianity as a new path while disregarding Judaism as medieval. Her fresh, new passion towards Christ is demonstrated as she marries her first husband and exclaims: “I told Dennis, ‘I want to accept Jesus Christ into my life and join the church.’ Dennis said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this Ruth? You know what this means?’ I told him, ‘I’m sure.’ I was totally sure (J. McBride 235).” As she converts to Christianity, she remarks about how the Jewish faith never allowed her to feel a strong connection towards God and how Christ has brought her into a new and bright feel to her future, a concept
My first prediction is that James will meet and reconcile with his grandparent, Tateh, as he adventures along several states and communities. My thought process for this prediction is based on various foreshadowing throughout the story along with analytical thinking. In example, it is constantly hinted throughout that Tateh has been watching Rachel as she ran away from her home to New York by hiring a spy. The spy had said to have been wandering throughout Harlem and even visited Rachel’s old apartment with Dennis. In like manner, James also discovers while visiting Suffolk in the 90s that Tateh had shortly moved to New York City as well after his wife’s death. This, along with many other minuscule details, leads me to believe that James will encounter Tateh sooner than later. Likewise, another prediction I have about the predicted route of James’s adventure is that he will not meet Tateh but will instead meet his mother’s old lost sister, Dee-Dee. Evidence for this possibility is more concrete and can be found as James travels to find an old bank institution nearby Suffolk. Within this institution, he meets his mom’s old neighbor that used to live behind Rachel’s shop. He tells James that he has very little information on Sam, James’s uncle, other than that he died after his draft in WW2. He mentions extensively, however, that Dee-Dee is