People are always looking for their identity, whether it’s the one their parents created for them, or the one they built for themselves. Humans want to know their identity, just as the Ruth and James in The Color of Water, by James McBride, wanted. The book is called the Color of Water because James asked his mother, Ruth, if God was black or white, and she responded that “God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color” 1. This is a pinnacle moment because it shows the reader that identity may not only be about the color of one’s skin, but also the disposition of a person. This book was written as a juxtaposition between his mother’s life and his own. Her chapters were written from interviews and are formatted in italics. Three cross-cultural
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Even her parents didn’t approve of her choice in black men. She was confronted with hate by black people and white people in her community as an adult. On page 232, she said, “Some black folks never did accept me. Most did, but there were always a few running around saying “Nubian this” and “Nubian that” and always talking about Africa and all this. Well, I’m a mother of black children, and nobody will ever deny me my children”. On the same topic of children, Ruth prioritized her children because she wanted them to succeed and be happy, despite their racial differences. She sent them to white schools, and emphasized education’s importance. Towards the end of the story, Ruth, James, and his sister, Kathy, go to James’s co-worker’s Jewish wedding. While Ruth broke away from the Jewish community and her family long ago, she realized that the Jewish culture was an important part of her history and respected that. Ruth learned that she is able to hold on to her Jewish heritage while still having her independent identity.
As the son of Ruth, James McBride had many struggles during his growing up trying to figure out his identity. James wrote this book because he spent time tracking down his mother’s life-story, wanting to learn about her so that he could get a better understanding of who he was. James later said, “It took many years to find out who she was, partly because I never knew who I was” 4. There were times in James’s life when he didn’t know if he should identify as black or white, and if it was possible to protect both
Even her parents didn’t approve of her choice in black men. She was confronted with hate by black people and white people in her community as an adult. On page 232, she said, “Some black folks never did accept me. Most did, but there were always a few running around saying “Nubian this” and “Nubian that” and always talking about Africa and all this. Well, I’m a mother of black children, and nobody will ever deny me my children”. On the same topic of children, Ruth prioritized her children because she wanted them to succeed and be happy, despite their racial differences. She sent them to white schools, and emphasized education’s importance. Towards the end of the story, Ruth, James, and his sister, Kathy, go to James’s co-worker’s Jewish wedding. While Ruth broke away from the Jewish community and her family long ago, she realized that the Jewish culture was an important part of her history and respected that. Ruth learned that she is able to hold on to her Jewish heritage while still having her independent identity.
As the son of Ruth, James McBride had many struggles during his growing up trying to figure out his identity. James wrote this book because he spent time tracking down his mother’s life-story, wanting to learn about her so that he could get a better understanding of who he was. James later said, “It took many years to find out who she was, partly because I never knew who I was” 4. There were times in James’s life when he didn’t know if he should identify as black or white, and if it was possible to protect both