In the book, The Color of Water, the author himself is one of the main characters. James McBride was confused about everything around him. He always wondered why his family was different, why he didn’t look like his mother, why he couldn’t befriend the other kids. All these questions would always appear in his thoughts. McBride wrote a book to try and discover himself better through annualizing his mother’s past as well as his own. James was light skinned but he was considered African American. He had curly hair, and well he was into religion just like his mother was. He looked at life like a kid he didn’t know right from wrong, he just did what his mother told him to do. To not understand when you’re a kid is hard, but growing and to understanding the truth was even harder. Growing up and seeing your father figure pass away was one of the worst feelings for James. He got into drugs and started hanging around with the wrong crowed. Everything felt like it was falling apart for him. McBride felt as if he had to take charge of his family. Now that his stepfather passed away he had to step up and be the man of the house. He was very uneasy at first that’s why he headed into the direction of drugs and violence. Until James invested all his time into music and writing, his true hobbies and got out of the violence. After he matured he knew it was his duty to look after his family. Next, James mother’s background influenced him by just letting go and not let anything bother you. He learned you can only be yourself and no one else. His mother showed him that god is everything and he is very religious now. James loved his mother very much and learned to deal with her strange ways. Rachel never drove, she didn’t want to learn. She didn’t speak to any of the neighbors. Even then James never resented her and was never ashamed. Lastly, the thing that’s were most important for James were his family. Through the rough times he could always fall back on him family. When he fell into the drug use and violence the only thing that got him out and is keeping him sane is his family. I know that his lost must have been one of the hardest things for him to go through. That’s how you know that his family means the world to him. Losing them could be the world to James. I believe he has changed throughout the book. In the beginning he was just a child and didn’t know much. Also, his mother didn’t really tell him much. Once he got older he started figuring out things on his own and realized how life really was. He has matured a lot throughout the chapters of the book. It hit him the most I believe when his father died. He took charge and he became the man that he always knew he would be.
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