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The events that form you are probably the best events of your entire life. In the memoir, The Color of Water by James McBride, the audience is told about a young mixed boy who grew up in a very segregated time period. The setting was Suffolk, Virginia; New York City; Louisville, Kentucky; Oberlin, Ohio; and Wilmington, Delaware. James McBride describes how he changed from a confused child into an intellectual individual. Although the story talks about many small events that all built up James McBride as a person, there were three major events that truly gave him definition as to whom he was, or who he could be. These events are when his step father, Hunter Jordan, died; when he moved to Delaware; and when he was able to finally uncover his …show more content…
Those were the words of James McBride when his step father, Hunter Jordan, died. This is the first event that led to a drastic change in James’ character. He was drawn to doing drugs and his grades plummeted, eventually dropping out of school completely. He also turned in to a thief, stealing from helpless old women to get money. His mother sent him to live with his sister, Jack, in hopes he would realize all that he had done wrong. While living there he got very close with Jack’s husband. Rich, and would hang out on “the corner.” He loved living how they lived; “They called me ‘New York,’ and let me sit out there all day, practicing my flute and smoking all the weed I wanted” (page 147). One of the men living on the corner began to talk to him about living his life the right way; “’If you want to drop out of school and shoot people and hang out on this corner all your life, go ahead. It’s your life!’ I had never heard Chicken Man talk so severely and what he said didn’t really hit me, not right away” (page 150). Although it took some time, after that he went back to school and tried to get back on …show more content…
His family fought about whether or not they should move, but James knew that if they didn’t he would get into more trouble; “Plus I kept running into my old friends, who were getting into bigger and bigger trouble. I needed to see some new faces, a fresh start” (page 177). Along with staying out of trouble, New York grew too expensive and they would have had to move later on anyway. While living in Delaware James began to play music and ended up going to Europe with his jazz band. Music was considered his savior, distracting him from a bad crowd and eventually sent him to college. “By the time I began my senior year in high school, I knew I wanted to go to college and be a musician of some kind” (page 187). He was accepted into Oberlin College in Ohio, where he played music and was very
The “Dark Tide” by Stephen Puleo was the first book to tell the full story of “The Great Boston Molasses Flood.” The reason he wrote the nonfiction novel was to give the full accounting of what happened in the historical context. He used court records, newspaper accounts, and files from the fire department. He recrafted the tale about what actually happened with painstaking and terrifying details of those affected. Puleo creates a new way to view the dreadful catastrophe as something that changed Boston (“Dark Tide”).
	At the age of thirteen he boarded a ship to Whitehaven, which was a large port across the Solway Firth. There he signed up for a seven year seaman's apprenticeship on The Friendship of Whitehaven, whose captain was James Younger, a prosperous merchant and ship owner. His first voyage took him across the Atlantic Ocean to Barbados and Fredericksburg, Virginia at which he stayed with his older brother William, a tailor, who had left Scotland for America over thirteen years before, and who now was living comfortably and flourishing.
Most everyone has someone they admire or look up to. In the book, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, written by Michael Dorris, one character stands out and has the most admirable traits. Rayona is one of the main characters and throughout the book she shows us that she is hard working and never willing to give up. As well as getting the job done, Rayona has to be brave in a lot of different situations. Being clever is a trait that everyone looks up to. Everything Rayona does portrays how clever she really is. Rayona is the most commendable character in this novel because she displays young adult behavior.
McBride, James. The Color of Water: a Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. New York: Riverhead, 1996. Print.
James McBride's The Color of Water. James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity through the truth of his mother's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind.
This has shaped me to be who I am today, because I greatly appreciate what I have and take advantage of the opportunities I am given because not everyone is lucky enough to have what one has family plays and will always play a big influence in our lives and in this novel, we are given a great example of how it does. Although Wes didn’t know his father for long, the two memories he had of him and the endless stories his mother would share with him, helped guide him through the right path. His mother, made one of the biggest changes in Wes’s life when she decided to send him to military, after seeing he was going down the wrong path. Perhaps, the other Wes’s mother tried her best to make sure he grew up to be a good person, but unfortunately Wes never listened.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” At some point in life one is faced with a decision which will define the future, but only time will tell whether or not the choice was right or wrong. The Boat by Alistair MacLeod demonstrates that an individual should make their own decisions in life, be open to new experiences and changes, and that there is no way to obtain something, without sacrificing something else.
Since taking possession of North America, Europeans have colonized the continent and enforced their beliefs and practices. Now Native Americans are reclaiming their culture and heritage. Thomas King participates in this movement through the form that Helen Tiffin identifies as "the processes of artistic and literary decolonization [which] have involved a radical dismantling of European codes and a postcolonial subversion and appropriation of the dominant European discourses" (17) by publishing his postmodern novel Green Grass, Running Water (1993). The book creates certain conflicts between values and expectations and conventions for the non-Native Canadian reader. These are mainly composed of stereotypes, internal structure of the text and reoccurring ideas throughout it.
Literacy has impacted individuals of all classes, race and gender. In The Color of Water, James McBride´s interaction with literacy causes him to look at the world more deeply by seeking the story of his mother. Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore shows the reader the effects of literacy when comparing the lives of two men with the same name. Additionally, Richard Wright’s Black Boy shares the insight of what literacy can have on an individual’s sense of the world, and Brent Staples’ “Black Men in Public Space” sheds light on the stereotypical platforms set by society. Lastly, Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool” explains a life full of careless fun. Although these stories differ, the influence of literacy has enabled each man to grow as a person
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.
Everyone experiences loss within themselves. There will be a time of uncertainty of who you are, and in order to discover your identity, you will go through many obstacles that lead you step by step. James Mcbride is lost as in who he is. There's a feeling of uncertainty in his life, from his mother's past to himself. He is lost in many ways, and he will go on an adventure of self discovery to find himself through answers. In James Mcbride’s memoir, The Color of Water, he is a black kid with a white mother with an unknown past. He is struggling to find himself until he keeps coming to a wall. He eventually overcomes this wall by finding his identity while having his perception of the world change. Although James Mcbride becomes aware of his
In the short story, “On the Rainy River”, Tim O’Brien reflects on how an individual’s values and identity shifts in the face of adversity. This idea is portrayed in the character of Tim O’Brien and how he is able to compromise his values when he is faced with internal turmoil in the presence of adversity. “Oddly, though, it was almost entirely an intellectual activity. I brought some energy to it, of course, but it was the energy that accompanies almost any abstract endeavor”. This quote portrays how weakly Tim clung onto his values even though he held an opinion against this war. Tim never really takes initiative to fully fight this war, he only puts in the bare minimum. He talks about how the editorials he wrote were “tedious’ and “uninspired”
In 1938, he and his father moved in with his aunt who lived in Augusta, Georgia. His Aunt Honey ran a Grambling house, and brothel to make ends meet. James would also earn money by working in the cotton fields, and dancing for the soldiers to help feed a household of 18 people. He also spent time in the church sweeping before every service, so that he could learn to play different tunes on the piano (Brenchley, 2003, DVD).
When reflecting and writing on Eiseley’s essay and the “magical element”, I balk. I think to myself, “What magic?”, and then put pen to page. I dubiously choose a kiddie pool to draw inspiration from, and unexpectedly, inspiration flows into me. As I sit here in this little 10x30 foot backyard, the sky is filled with the flowing gaseous form of water, dark patches of moist earth speckle the yard, the plants soak up their scattered watering, and the leaves of bushes and trees imbue the space with a sense of dampness from their foliage. As my senses tune into the moisture that surrounds me, I fill Braedon’s artificial pond with water. I stare at the shimmering surface, contemplating Eiseley’s narrative, and the little bit of life’s wellspring caught in Brae’s pool. I see why Eiseley thought the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface is mystical.
I read the book “The Dead Lake” by Ismailov,Hamid, translated by Andrew Bromfield, that was published by (Pierene Press, 2014) with only 128 pages. The story is told about Yerzhan, the main character, who is a 12 year old boy that lives with his grandparents, mother and uncle in the remote town in Kazakhstan. It is told in third person, but we imagine ourselves in the position of the young boy. The town is old and nearly deserted as the only ones near are one neighbor and a train. His only surrounding is known as the Steppe, a deserted massive piece of land with an eerie sense. The steppe has many stories told about it to warn the children, it is also known as “The Zone”. The daughter of their only neighbor is the girl he always knew he would grow up to marry, especially with such few people. He knows what he wants and is driven to impress and win her over. The first part of the story describes the younger years of Yerzhan's life. Yerzhan is talented in music, and quickly learns to play the violin so well, but realizes that this talent will never be fully taken advantage of in his town, or even county. He is known as the talented musician, but what a shame he will not be acknowledged for it.