The Color of Water Essay

The Color of Water by James McBride was a narrative about a immature male child seeking to calculate out his racial individuality but his female parent would non speak about her yesteryear or what race she was. All James knew was that she was white life in a black power vicinity and that fact terrified him. He thought that to turn up he had to cognize his racial individuality but through all the problem and difficult times he went through he learned that his race did non affair. It was his instruction that was the most of import. Ruth attitude about her race effected James through his childhood and as a immature grownup. she negatively affected his racial development. and Ruth finally clears up his inquiries that he has been deceasing to acquire replies from. Ruth McBride’s attitude toward her ain race affected her boy. James McBride. as both a kid and as a immature grownup. Ruth chiefly looked down on her race because of her male parent. All he care about was money and the shop. he did non care about his ain married woman or household. He besides molested Ruth when she was a immature miss. When James was a immature male child he ever questioned her about race. He wanted to cognize if he was black or white and he besides asked what colour The nazarene was. James mother would non wholly reply his inquiry. She responded stating that James was a human and instruction was all that mattered. and that Jesus was the colour of H2O. As a child. James knew that his female parent was white. and that terrified him. He knew that a white lady life in a black vicinity. besides with black childs. was populating in danger. James truly realized his mother’s danger when Ruth and James were walking place and a adult male came up and stole Ruth’s bag. James figured out how strong and brave or crazy his female parent was when she did non contend the larceny back and all she told James was that it was merely a bag and it did non affair. When James grew up. he thought that Ruth was traveling brainsick. and he didn’t esteem her like he did in the yesteryear. If James would hold known about his mother’s yesteryear. it wouldn’t have change much. He might hold been more excusatory for her but that would be about it. Ruth’s impact on James’s racial development is negative. but she had good purposes. James ne'er knows what his racial background is and that bothers him throughout his life. If he would hold known what his mother’s background was possibly so he would understand himself in his eyes. but it does non take your race to calculate out yourself. it takes larning who you are on the interior. Ruth was seeking to do it a positive impact on his racial development. Ruth knew that race did non affair. it was about what was on the interior of the individual. but James did non understand that construct. Race ne'er concerned him by stating he was non traveling to tie in himself with a individual because of their background but he want to cognize about their race. and Ruth had no attentions about their race. which is a better manner to travel at it. Ruth offers James confusion as he grapples with his racial individuality as a younger male child. but she offers him lucidity as a immature grownup. When James was immature. Ruth would reply any of her inquiries and that bothered him but he knew non to force her to her bound or he would acquire the belt. He does non cognize what half of his race is. he know he was black from his male parent but knew nil about his mother’s race. Ruth was non ashamed to be a Jew. but she did non back up Judaism because of her male parent. Tateh. She was non concealing the fact that she was a Jew from James but she did non desire to believe about everything that she ran off from when she left Suffolk. Virginia and her household. more significantly her female parent. Hudis Shilksy. When James turns into the immature grownup he finds out that cognizing your race does non assist you in life like a good instruction does. Even though he has learned this Ruth starts to explicate his inquiries about race to him. In the narrative The Color of Water. James has unanswered inquiries as a kid. At the terminal of the book James learns about Ruth’s race and he finds out his racial individuality. James besides finds out God’s colour. He is the colour of H2O and H2O is neither. black or white. Ruth had harmful memories when she was a Jew because of her male parent and when he might her first hubby. Dennis. she changed her religion and found felicity. Ruth’s race affected Ruth which subsequently on affected her boy James negatively. Her angry about her yesteryear led to James’s confusion about his ain racial individuality. but subsequently on got all his inquiries answered.