The Color of Water by James McBride
analytical Essay
1069 words
The Color of Water by James McBride
I chose this book because in the description of the book it is stated that it was written in tribute to James McBride mother and to the whole family she raised. I wanted to know how extraordinary her life was. The author is an authority on the information presented because this book is the story of his life.
I.
This book is an autobiography of James McBride where he integrates narrations made by him and Ruth, his mother. She was born in a Jewish family in Poland , but her family ran away from the Nazi Holocaust and came to America. Her father came first to America and afterwards he brought his wife, Ruth (James mother) and Sam (Ruth's brother).
During their first year they would move very often because her father was a contract rabbi. During this episode, her sister was born, however, they moved to Virginia . Despite the opposition of the Jewish congregation, her father started a grocery store in the black neighborhood. The 3 children were forced to work in that store under their father's authority. Ruth developed antisocial behaviors because her father molested her continuously. Her brother was mistreated by his father but around the age of 15, he run away to Chicago . Later he joined the army and got killed in WW1.
Ruth, fell in love for her best friend, Peter, they started dating in hiding but she got pregnant. However, she couldn't hide anymore her worries about the pregnancy. that Summer she went to New York and she decided to tell her aunt who handled everything to help her to have an abortion, which was terribly painful.
After some time, she came back home and realized that Peter was getting married against his will. She was really disappointed and realized there was nothing that would stop her going away from that city. So the next day after her graduation, she went to New York . She worked for a while for her aunt, where she met Dennis McBride. They started going out until they moved together. She went to watch her mother for a while because her mother was really sick; Ruth found out that her father was going out with another woman. her father asked Ruth to stay longer but despite everything Ruth went back with Denis. After some time her mother died.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the color of water as an autobiography of james mcbride where he integrates narrations made by him and ruth, his mother.
- Narrates how ruth developed antisocial behaviors because her father molested her continuously. her brother was mistreated by his father but around the age of 15, he ran away to chicago.
- Narrates how ruth fell in love with her best friend, peter, but got pregnant. she went to new york and told her aunt to have an abortion, which was painful.
- Narrates how ruth went to new york and met dennis mcbride. after her mother died, she married hunter jordan.
- Analyzes how james' mother, ruth, was an odd person without perceiving the danger of living in a black neighborhood being white.
- Explains that ruth taught her children to be educated, believe in god, be confidential with personal information, and distrust og outsiders.
- Narrates how james got involved in illicit activities after the death of his stepfather and almost dropped out of school. when the family moved to delaware, he tried to improve in school and get control on his life.
- Narrates how ruth's father and sister had moved away without leaving a clue where to find them.
- Explains that james mcbride felt a need to express gratitude and admiration for his mother, who survived to the losses of her husbands with 12 children. he exemplifies that it doesn't matter how difficult the situations in life can turn.
- Analyzes how ruth and james overcame all the difficulty in their lives and became productive and benevolent people. their lives are good precedent to help people get a different point of view in life.
Related
- analytical
- comparative
- The Struggle In Ruth Mcbride's The Color Of Wateranalytical essayEverybody on earth faces some type of hardship at some point in their life. Regardless of religious preference most people seek guidance and find comfort through practicing their faith. This is exactly the case for Ruth McBride-Jordan, James McBride’s mother. In the novel The Color of Water, James sends the messages that a strong faith in God can overcome any obstacle and is the foundation for a happy, prosperous life through the story of his mother’s life.
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- Analyzes how james' mother ruth mcbride-jordan's faith in god is the foundation for a happy, prosperous life.
- Narrates how ruth's rough childhood led to her becoming unhappy with her life, especially living in a strict jewish household. she moved to new york, where she met andrew mcbride, who introduced her to christianity.
- Explains that ruth and dennis faced a lot of obstacles, but because of her strong faith and devotion to god, she was able to overcome every problem.
- Analyzes how ruth and her 12 children shared a close bond that kept them closely together even when they were separated. ruth instilled strong faith, morals, and dedication to god in their children.
- Analyzes how ruth chose to stay strong and preserve for her well-being and for the sake of her children. her amazing faith and dedication to god provided her with the strength to fight against and overcome all of the adversity that she faced.
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- Analyzes how the novel, the color of water, follows and narrator james mcbride and his mother ruth's life through their childhood, through the part of their lives where they began to accept themselves for who they are.
- Analyzes mcbride's use of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself.
- Analyzes mcbride's choice of diction and syntax to characterize his social, religious, and racial identity.
- Analyzes how mcbride's choice to merge the two narrations at the end of "finding ruthie" is effective as it conveys the thoughts of both narrators.
782 wordsRead More - The Color of Water by James McBrideanalytical essayThe novel, The Color of Water follows the author and narrator James McBride, and his mother Ruth’s life. It explores their childhood—when they were both embarrassed by their mothers—through the part of their lives where they began to accept themselves for who they are. Moreover, this memoir is quite distinctive as McBride cleverly parallels his story to his mother, Ruth’s story using dual narration. This technique further helps contribute to the theme of self-identity. Throughout the novel, McBride searches for identity and a sense of belonging that derives from his multiracial family. By using two different narrations, McBride gradually establishes his identity and by integrating both narratives at the end, McBride also shows that although both narrators at the beginning had different upbringings, in the end they came together, and understood each other’s perspective.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the novel, the color of water, follows and narrator james mcbride, and his mother ruth's life.
- Analyzes mcbride's use of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself.
- Analyzes mcbride's use of diction and syntax to characterize his social, religious, and racial identity.
- Describes mcbride's tribute to his white mother, the color of water.
- Analyzes how mcbride's choice to merge two contrasting narrations at the end of "finding ruthie" is effective as it conveys the thoughts of both narrators.
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- Analyzes how mcbride's autobiography and tribute to his mother, ruth, teach readers that everyone faces difficulties in life, but they can all be surmounted.
- Analyzes how ruth and james mcbride were accepted as christians solely, avoiding any difficulties having to do with race when speaking about it with religion.
- Analyzes how james mcbride reflected on his life up to a teenager, who knew that bad things would occur in the not too distant future if he didn't change his ways and behavior.
- Analyzes how james mcbride was able to travel to europe with the american youth jazz band, sponsored by a white couple named the dawsons. he was fired, but still went.
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634 wordsRead More