Toughness In The Color Of Water

Strength of The Mind Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary biology, once said: "It's not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most resilient and responsive to change." He noted how an organism's adaptability and hardiness are the determining factors of its survival in a hostile environment. This idea extends beyond biology and into human psychology, often presenting itself as a reason for a person's success despite prior hardship. The role of mental toughness in prevailing over challenges in one's life is well portrayed in many different pieces of literature. One such piece is the memoir, The Color of Water, by James McBride. McBride uses the stories of his family and himself overcoming tribulations throughout their lives to prove that to overcome hardship, one needs both …show more content…
I was afraid of Tateh and had no love for him at all. I dreaded him and was relieved when he left the house. But it affected me in many ways, what he did to me. I had very low self-esteem as a child, which I kept with me for many, many years." (68) McBride's usage of words with a strong negative connotation like "dread" delineates Ruth's fear of her abusive father who molested her. The denotation of "dread" means to anticipate and fear someone, which perfectly describes Ruth's unease whenever her father comes home. Ruth was traumatized by her father; therefore, she couldn't think of anything other than the abuse she experienced, despairing about which other ways her father would abuse her. The repetition of "many, many years" emphasizes that Ruth was affected by the trauma inflicted by her father for a long time. The repetition of the word "many" suggests that Ruth was affected for decades, rather than