desire to be something they are not. For many‚ it is easy to find a community based on common goals‚ hobbies or religions. For others‚ it is difficult. James McBride’s novel‚ The Color of Water‚ intertwines the lives of James and his mother‚ Ruth‚ in an effort to compare their lives and the impacts they had on each other. Throughout the lives of James and Ruth‚ they struggle to fit in with their surrounding environments due to race and religion. Their experiences not only develop individual character
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are enlightened by a true story about the relationship between a black boy and his white mother and how it all unfolds. In the novel‚ “The Color of Water‚” by James McBride‚ he tells his story about growing up in an interracial household. Although they had a rocky relationship McBride looks up to his mother in some ways. Of the many things that occur‚ James’s mother Ruth never tells him the truth about her back round‚ Ruth holds a lot inside herself from him‚ and James becomes very rebellious toward
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In the novel "The Color of Water" by James McBride‚ the two characters Ruth and James grieve over the death of James’s stepfather’s death‚ Jordan Hunter‚ in completely different ways. Ruth’s way of grieving for her husband was very different than how her son chose to grieve his departure. James said after the death of his stepfather’s death he just started to misbehave and resulted in him skipping school a lot and going to the movies with his friends. "I virtually dropped out of high school... failing
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In James McBride’s The Color of Water‚ both James and Ruth were affected with Hunter Jordan’s death in different ways. James griefed over Hunter Jordan’s death‚ but he didn’t properly deal with it. His way of grief was to not dealing with it. He started acting up which is not unusual especially since he saw his stepdad as an actual father‚ and when he died unexpectedly‚ James didn’t know how to properly deal with his loss. It also seemed like he had some sort of anger adding on to the sadness due
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1. How did Tim feel about the Vietnam War while he was at college? He opposed it. He began to hate it. Do his actions and language support the idea that he “hated” the Vietnam war? No‚ he was too scared of what people thought to speak up or act like he hated it. 2. What were Tim’s options once he received his draft notice? To go or leave the country. Who did he hold responsible for his situation? Other people who didn’t have to worry about being drafted. Who did he think should go to war instead
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In chapter one‚ Ruth begins her story by telling James she is dead. Ruth was born Ruchel Dwajra Zylsky on April 1‚ 1921. She was born in Poland and her family immigrated to America. Her family settled down in a small town in Virginia. In America‚ she changed her name to Rachel Deborah Shilsky. Her father’s name was Fishel Shilsky and he was an Orthodox rabbi. 2. When Rachel states that she is dead‚ she is figuratively speaking. She talks about Jewish laws of contracts and there are never marriages
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Sara Knigge The Color of Water Essay Racial Identity The Color of Water by James McBride was a story about a young boy trying to figure out his racial identity but his mother would not talk about her past or what race she was. All James knew was that she was white living in a black power neighborhood and that fact terrified him. He thought that to grow up he had to know his racial identity but through all the trouble and hard times he went through he learned that his race did not matter. It was
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"I ’m light-skinned" (McBride xix) is what James ’s mother had always told him whenever he asked her whether she was white or not. James ’s ethnic/family background had been a mystery to him ever since he was a child and also carried on with him into adulthood. He never knew his mother ’s history‚ where she came from‚ or relatives from her side of the family. This created confusion within James. He could not identify himself as white or black because he did not have any knowledge of his family. Resulting
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While growing up‚ James McBride never knew where his mother had come from. When he asked her if she was white‚ she simply replied that she was “light-skinned”‚ triggering a long-standing confusion about his own racial identity. As an adult‚ McBride offers the reader his story by alternating between his mother’s voice and his own. That’s one of the great things about this book. The reader gets the insights on both characters and what exactly makes them who they are. Ruth McBride was a Jewish
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The Color of Water Introductory Note 1. What framework does the author give the story? * The author gives the story from two different perspectives one from the mother’s perspective‚ Ruth‚ and the other from the son’s perspective‚ James. 2. What is the ethnic background of the author? * The ethnic background of the author is Caucasian and African-American. Chapter 1: Dead 1. Why is this chapter written in italics? * This chapter was written in Italics because it
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