The Color Of Water Identity Analysis

Traveling Through Identity A better sense of identity comes from the experiences and troubles, or lack of troubles, that come into one's life. While some may struggle with identity, others have no quarrels with the topic. Throughout his life, James McBride, author and protagonist of The Color Of Water, fights to find out who and what he really is. His constant battle with identity led him to overcome obstacles and learn more about himself than he ever thought he could. Even though he learned a lot from his triumphs, he learned just as much about his passions, which he slowly uncovered in the places he traveled. His learning experiences and passions shaped the way he sees life and interacts with those around him. More importantly, …show more content…
One of the struggles that James had to overcome was the death of his step-father, Hunter Jordan. James explained, "Gradually the house slipped farther and farther into disrepair. I ignored it" (141). James could see how his mother and his family were struggling with the loss of their father, and instead of reaching out to his family for help he internalized his pain and secluded himself from everyone else. This form of coping dragged his life down. He turned to drugs and alcohol to numb his feelings as a means of escape. To deal with his anger he and his new group of friends took to crimes such as robbing people, selling drugs, and getting into fights. The condition of the people in his house only got worse with his absence, making him only want to be farther away from them. Throughout his teens James had a lot of withheld a lot of his anger that which pulled his life in a downward spiral. It wasn’t until James spent a summer on “the corner” that he faced the harsh reality of what he was becoming. James tried to find somewhat of his identity within the falling pieces of his world, but could not. He thought that he wouldn't be affected by his choices and doesn't accept his future of staying on the corner, drinking and smoking, for the rest of his life. James thought that someone, somewhere, would pull him out of his self destructive ways. Much to his surprise Chicken Man, his role model at the time, tells James, "You think if you drop out of school somebody's gonna beg you to go back? Hell no! They won't beg your black ass to go back. What makes you so special that they'll beg you! Who are you? You ain't nobody! If you want to drop out of school and shoot people and hang on this corner all your life, go ahead. It's your life!" (150) The message that he was trying to get across was that nobody cares what you do with your life; only you