I first read this book in college — not for a class, just for fun because it was in the bookstore and it had a compelling title. Ten years later I’m even more impressed by what this story has to say about humanity and our abilities to bury the negative experiences of our past, to persevere despite incredible obstacles, and to forgive those who hurt us.
From the back of the book:
As a boy in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects, James McBride knew his mother was different. But when he asked about it, she’d simply say, “I’m light-skinned.” Later he wondered if he was different, too, and asked his mother if he was black or white. “You’re a human being,” she snapped. “Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” And when James asked what color God was, she said, “God is the color of water.”…As an adult, McBride finally persuade his mother to tell her story — the story of a rabbi’s daughter, born in Poland and raised in the South, who fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a Baptist church, and put twelve children through college. The Color of Water is James McBride’s tribute to his remarkable, eccentric, determined mother — and an eloquent exploration of what family really means.
Here’s what you need to do. First, just read the book. Then…
During Reading
As you read be sure to visit the blog on occasion to leave comments with your thoughts. You must comment five times while you read, and in those comments you must respond to a quotation of your choice from the book. I’ll leave my own quotation comment for you as an example.
As you’re writing your own comments, be sure to read other students’ comments as well. You’ll need to respond to two of your peers comments as well. Again, check out the comments I’ve left for an example.
When you finish the book
Once you’ve finished the entire book, leave two comments where you respond to two of the following writing prompts (from Penquin Reading Guides):
1. Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
2. “Mommy’s contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably substandard… She was against welfare and never applied for it despite our need, but championed those who availed themselves of it.” Do you think these contradictions served to confuse Ruth’s children further, or did they somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses?
3. While reading the book, were you curious about how Ruth McBride Jordan’s remarkable faith had translated into the adult lives of her children? Do you think that faith is something that can be passed on from one generation to the next or do you think that faith that is instilled too strongly in children eventually causes them to turn away from it?
4. Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
And that’s it…for The Color of Water.
388 Comments
June 11, 2008 at 3:16 pm
This is a great book. Have fun reading it, dudes!
June 18, 2008 at 1:06 am
“As I sat on the bus peering out the window at Mommy, the only white face in a sea of black faces…” (35). This quote stood out to me as McBride constantly brings up the child being confused about his white mother. In my eyes this women is so strong to just ignore everyone and only worry about her children. Shes a role model, I can see why James Mcbride wrote this for mothers everywhere.
June 18, 2008 at 1:21 am
I agree with you, Tiff! She is very strong, and not only that, but she has a work ethic like no one else I’ve ever known or read about. We should all aspire to live as independently and unapologetically as McBride’s mother does!
June 21, 2008 at 8:54 pm
“I remember when a white man shoved her angrily as she led a group of us onto an escalator, but Mommy simply ignored him” (31).
Wow, it must be so hard to just ignore the white man. I know a lot of people gets piss when someone shoves them by accident. They would go ballistic if someone were to intentionally shove them. James McBride’s mother must have a lot of control. Like the old saying, it takes more courage to walk away from a fight than it does to fight.
June 21, 2008 at 9:58 pm
“…hold [Ruth] close to [Tateh's] body part near his sexual parts and he’d have an erection” (42).
That was just plain disgusting. I thought this book was just about the hardship James and his mother went through, but not this. James’ mother’s father molested her. This is just really weird and disturbing. I would’ve never thought this would have happened. Still amazing how she have the power and control over her kids and herself. Must be a really strong woman.
June 22, 2008 at 8:51 pm
“Peter and I…one night we were…arguing about what to do and I dropped my bracelet…the next day, it was gone. Mameh came up to me in the store…and placed the bracelet on the counter. Real quiet…Why don’t you go to New York this summer to see your grandmother? she said” (114-5)
This scene was touching because Ruth’s mother found out about her pregnancy and her relationship with Peter. She tried to save their lives by sending Ruth up to her mother’s home. This shows the relationship between mothers and daughters. They are more caring and softer than the father. There’s this kind of understanding and love between mothers and daughters. No matter how bad the situation is, they try to make the best out of it and protect her daughter. If Ruth’s father was there, he would’ve probably killed them both.
June 23, 2008 at 7:00 pm
“My friends became my family, and my family and mother just became people I live with” (140).
This is the point where James McBride starts to lost the bond and connection between his mother and family members. When his stepfather died, it tore his family apart. The love James and his mother once had was gone.
What he’s doing right now, stealing, smoking, dropping out of school, lying, getting in trouble with the law, etc. will probably kill his mother if he continues down this path.
June 23, 2008 at 9:40 pm
“…Aunt Betts opened the door, saw who I was, and slammed the door in my face…Then I called my sister Gladys…her husband picked up the phone and said, She doesn’t want to speak to you. Don’t ever call her again” (246).
I thought this part of her life was kind of sad because when she need help her own family ignored her. Although her actions as a teenager did cause this to bring about, like leaving her sister during a time when her family was in turmoil. I don’t know why Gladys didn’t just forgive her. I think she doesn’t know what her father did to Ruth nor her situation at the time being.
June 24, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Writing Prompt Question 1
I think Ruth’s refusal to reveal her past influenced her children sense of themselves and their place in the world. She didn’t tell them because she didn’t want sympathy. Sympathy shows that you are weak. It taught her children to be strong and independent. It is basically, do what you have to do and move on.
Also, I don’t think my knowledge—or lack thereof—about my family background shaped your own self-image at all.
June 25, 2008 at 12:01 am
Writing Prompt Question 4
I think Ruth McBride would have achieve in today’s society, though it would be a little harder. It’s not that easy in today’s world. Gas prices soaring to 5 dollars a gallon, MTA fare hike, Con Edison bill hike, food (especially milk), and rent increases, soon a loaf of bread will cost a million dollars. When the pay check comes, after paying for rent, clothing, kids, transportation, food, and a large chunk to Uncle Sam, you basically have a nickel left. Back then, finding a job was a breeze, now teens and adults are competing for it. Nowadays, it is very complicated, but certain people managed to do it. With food stamps, WIC, Economic Stimulus Payments, scholarships and grants, she’ll make it, considering she’s such a strong person.
July 3, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I agree with mike about the book. This book explains the struggles of raising 12 childern by yourself and the struggles she went through being a Jew.
July 4, 2008 at 12:03 am
“…Huey Newton or one of those young black militant leaders, screaming to hundreds of angry African-American students,”‘Black power! Black power! Black power!”‘ while the crowed roared. It frightened the shit out of me. I thought to myself, these people will kill Mommy. Mommy on the other hand, seemed unconcerned.” (27) This quote really caught my attention because it showed a significant amount of stenght that James’ mother possesses as a Jewish women who mothers black children. I expected her to feel some bit of fear due to the fact that she was living though a time period when black power was an upcoming threat to white America. I also found this quote to be powerful because James actually found the black panthas to be a threat more than his mother found them to be. The quote shows a bit of irony because James who has dominant black traits felt fear that white America felt and his mother who is obviously white, Jewish, but white nonetheless, showed a strong amount of courage that black America was feeling with the black panthas supporting them. The quote was great overall.
July 4, 2008 at 12:28 am
“When I was in the fourth grade, a girl came up to me in the schoolyard during recess and said, “‘You have the prettiest hair. Let’s be friends”‘ I said “‘Okay.” (81) I thought this quote was adorable. It shows the simplicity of childhood during a time period where friendships were often complex due to racial differences. It shows that in the mist of solemn times there are some who can bring others up. I thought this quote epitomize the innocence that lies within children. It also shows that whenever something goes wrong in Ruth’s life she appears to find someone that helps her throught tough time. This quote represents a reoccuring theme that appears to exist in Ruth’s life, which is the support from unexpected races.
July 4, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I agree completely with MTA’s comment about how it takes courage to walk away from a fight. In a society like the one James’ mother lived in, the temptation to fight back had to be strong. And like MTA said it shows a lot of strenght on Ruth’s part.
July 4, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Comment-KATZ
I totally agree with you Katz. James McBride’s mother has a lot of courage. She has threats and enemies coming from all sides. The White people, the Jewish people, and the Black Panthers. Yet, she lives through them and doesn’t show any signs of fear. The irony was a great point.
Usually people would lock themselves at home with the lights off, listening to the radio and for footsteps by the door while holding a skillet in the hand, waiting.
July 4, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Comment-KATZ 2
Your right, children are so innocent, they have a world of their own, at least for certain ones. The factors of race or image doesn’t come into play. They usually excepts them if they are friendly and are willing to play. The friends they accept can be their savior. In Ruth’s time of need, she found a friend. Actually, a friend found her.
There are also the selected few who are just plain EVIL.
Like the students at school who ridiculed Ruth because of her religion. (usually the White Christian kids) They judge her by her physical appearance, wealth, religion, family status, etc. Not so innocent, I would say.
Anyway, most of them are pure.
July 5, 2008 at 5:22 pm
“It was the only time I heard him ever refer to race in any way, however vaguely, but it didn’t matter, because right then and there I knew he was going to die and I had to blink back my tears, I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I hoped with all my heart that he would get better, but I could not formulate the words in my mouth.”(128) This quote stood out to me because it had a melancholy tone that the reader, in this case me, could feel. It, to me, represented something that most people go through in every day life, which is the desire to express their true emotions to someone they love. Unfortunately like many, James felt that desire and did not follow through with it. This quote had a lesson within it and that lesson is to express your feelings as much as possible because you never know when you will loose someone special. A short time after James wanted to express his feelings to his step-father, his step-father passed away. I took that as a shocker because I know that had I been in James place I would have felt some sort of regret like I’m pretty sure James actually did feel.
July 5, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I agree with MTA’s comment about Ruth’s family turning their back on her in her time of need. Although Ruth may have hurt her family in the past, those decisions were made to benefit herself. None of Ruth’s relatives really understood the adversities that she had faced while being at home. According to Ruth, her family wasn’t really strong on expressing their feelings so none of her family would understand why she made the decisions she made. It’s unfortunate that her family did not forgive her but in actuality she did absolutely nothing wrong. She just decided to escape a life that was not for her. And with that said, MTA’s comment was true because forgiveness is pertinent to a happier life.
July 5, 2008 at 6:18 pm
“Part of me died when Dennis died. I loved that man more than life itself and at times I wished the good Lord would have taken me instead of him, because he was a much better person for living than me. He just had so much to give to the world than me. He brought me new life”(244). I found this quote to be touching yet so sad. It showed how important someone can be to another. Ruth felt that a part of her died when Dennis died and that showed how he played such a significant role in her life. It’s unfortunate that someone who played a major role in the dvelopment in Ruth’s new self passed away. He was responsible for her new found spirit and strenght and I could understand why losing him hurt so much because he played a major role in who she is. The quote also touched me because Ruth went through the same feelings that she felt upon losing her mother. She felt as if it should have been her who died. This represents the many adversities that she face that allowed her to become a stronger wiser women.
July 5, 2008 at 6:56 pm
“Mommy’s children are extraordinary people, most of them leaders in their own right. All of them have toted more mental baggage and delt with with more hardship than they care to remember, yet they carry themselves with a giant measure of dignity, humility, and humor. Like any family we have problems, but we have always been close”(276-7). This quote stood out to me because it kind of shows that although Ruth and her children have struggled it seems to be worth it at the end. Her children have become well accomplished adults who in the mist of their problems developed the strenght to become the successful adults that they are. This quote allowed me to see that if the McBride-Jordans can get through all of their issues and still become successful anyone can do it. They represent a bit of hope for everyone in the world. This family epitomizes the resilience that is needed in life and this quote clearly sums all of that up.
July 5, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Writing Prompt Question 2
I believe that Ruth’s contradictions allowed her children to see the different views that are found in society. In a way Ruth represented the different ideas that everyone in that time period was feeling. A bit of every stereotype and opinion located within her. She was a portal to reality and I believe that helped her children. Her contradictions most likely inspired her children to seek their own views and reality of life.
July 5, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Writing Prompt Question 4
I think what Ruth accomplished would be looked at as something simple to accomplish in todays society. During the period in which Ruth was struggling to achieve what she accomplished the world was against what she represented. She was a white women with a black husband and black children who survived on a very low income. Everything about her was consider to be taboo during that time. In todays society interracial marriages are accepted, there are still narrowminded people who don’t quite agree with them but they are accepted nonetheless. There are associations that aid people financially nowadays and that allow people to live in better conditions than they would without assistance. So I believe that in todays society it is possible to accomplish what Ruth accomplished but it would still be a struggle nonetheless.
July 7, 2008 at 4:13 pm
“Mommy held on to her purse, spinning around in a crazy circle with the mugger, neither saying a word as they both desperately wrestled for the purse, whirling from the sidewalk into the dark empty street like two ballerinas locked in a death dance” (34). … This quote really touched me, because I can clearly understand that this would be tough for any child to watch. I know that if I were to see my mother struggle and fight for her purse I would never let her out of my sight alone. This quote also shows that Ruthie is not a quitter, and she does not give up no matter what. After the robbers left Ruthie continued their walk home as if nothing happend. In today’s craziness of the world we cannot afford to be weak, even in extremely hard times. We must do as Ruthie did, which is to keep our heads up high with God in our hearts.
July 7, 2008 at 4:28 pm
“Dennis. You could hear the sighs all through the house when she mentioned that name” (70). I can completely relate to James and his siblings when Ruthie starts rambling on about her eldest son Dennis. My parents do the exact same thing when it comes to my younger brother. Infact, just as Ruthie thinks that James can do no wrong, so do my parents when it comes to my brother. It gets extremely annoying. I honestly think that in every home there is one child who gets treated like royalty. Unfortunately, the other children like James and myself get penalized for every little thing done wrong. Talk about unfair!
July 7, 2008 at 4:54 pm
“But it didn’t matter, because right then and there I knew he was going to die, and I had to blink back my tears” (128). I can’t even began to imagine what James must had been feeling inside. I also feel bad for Hunter, because knowing your going to die soon must be a hard pill to swallow. James shows that he is a man a strength, because he managed to hold back in tears. Though this is only a book I was touched by this quote, because the family has to deal with losing someone they’ve let into their hearts and have grown to love.
July 7, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Writing prompt question 4: Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society? Yes, I think that the chances of achieving what Ruth McBride achieved is more possible today than it was back then. In today’s society interracial couples are way more accepted. Therefore, anyone following Ruth McBride’s footsteps wouldn’t be criticized as much. There are a lot of big families who struggle and make it, so yes that can be acheived too. Personally, I think that anything Ruth McBride did can be acheived because it would be a lot easier to complete.
July 7, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Writing Prompt Question 1
Ruth’s choice to keep her identity to herself has caused her children to become lost souls. It’s almost as if she took their sense of identity too. James and his siblings have to go one in life feeling as if a piece of them is missing, and to be completely honest that was not fair at all. That has influenced her children to go out in the world looking for things that make them who they are. I had never known what it was like to say “my family is from this country” and so on. It was always a mystery I wanted an answer to. Luckily, I found out two weeks ago that my family is from Liberia. I feel a sense of being complete and knowing who I am. I think it is safe to say that knowing who you are and where your from is one of the best feelings in the world.
July 8, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Comment # 1: KATZ
July 5, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I agree with you completely, because that quote is very touching. I have yet to loose someone very close to me, but I have often thought about what it might be like. The thought of loosing a loved one seems unbearable. I think I would lose my mind! Unfortunately, Ruth had to go through this process with two men who she had loved. Since death is something you cannot avoid, I hope I will become strong like Ruth is when that time comes (which I hope is in a long, long time).
July 8, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Comment # 2: MTA
June 23, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I also agree with you when it comes to this quote, because that was very unfortunate. I felt really bad for Ruth, because it must hurt for anybody to have a door slammed in your face. Personally, I think that people should be forgiven. Ruth’s sister should have been more understanding, and understood that nobody wants to live with Tateh more than they had to. Thankfully, Ruth didn’t have to depend on her sister and made it through life depending on only herself.
July 8, 2008 at 4:34 pm
“She got up and announced breezily, “We’re not moving,” and walked out of the room (178). This made me laugh, because it was as if she really dropped a bomb off in the room. Usually, something like that would really annoy me, but since I wasn’t there I just found it funny. I can relate to James and his siblings for arguing alot, because I do the same with my own brothers. A lot of times siblings can be a huge pain. This quote did make me feel a little sad, because it was like Ruthie didn’t have any more strength to even care. Sometimes it seemed like Ruthie wasn’t even really there. This made me feel bad, but luckily she snapped out of the greiving process.
July 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm
“She yawned and said softly, ” I want to eat”. The movie was instantly forgotten. Now that’s what I call power” (278). I loved how James McBride ended the book showing how his mother still remained powerful after all these years. I really praise Ruthie for having the strength she had, because with twelve kids I’m sure it can be hard to still remain control of all of them. Ruth is the epidemy of what a mother should be. This is simply because she did what she had to do without ever complaining. Ruth has inspired me to become the best mother I can be when my time comes around.
July 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm
“ If you throw water on the floor it will always find a hole, believe me.” (135) This means to me that no matter how hard you try to cover something up it will always come back to you. You can never run way from who you are, you have to except yourself the way you are.
July 8, 2008 at 11:21 pm
“He said,’ I’ve been waiting for you. I still love you,’ and I was swayed, because I still felt a deep love for him.” (153) This line shows just how young and immatre Ruthie was. She believed everything he said because she loved him and because she believed he loved her. As Ruthie grows up she begins to realize that not everyone can be trusted, and that not everyone is going to be considered of your feelings. I think this is a lesson that I personally still have to learn, and that many others do too. I feel bad saying this because i try to see the good in everyone, but sometimes its hard, and i think
July 8, 2008 at 11:35 pm
sorry guys i pressed the enter button i know really lame. So back to were i left of i think that Ruthie has been hurt so many times that after awhile she just began to loss faith in people. Thats sad because everyone should have a positive out look on life. Now i’m done.
July 9, 2008 at 6:04 pm
“I GOT ENOUGH FOR A BASEBALL TEAM”(6). WHEN THE DAD SAYS THIS IT MAKES ME THINK THAT HE LOVES HIS CHILDREN BUT WITH AS MANY CHILDREN THAT HE HAVE THEY CAN FORM A BASEBALL TEAM. HE HAS 12 KIDS. THATS ALOT FOR 2 PEOPLE. THIS FAMILY REMINDS ME OF MY UNCLES MOTHER SHE HAS 13 KIDS WITH OVER 90 GRANDCHILDREN. THATS A HUGE FAMILY.
July 9, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I ACTUALLY LIKE HOW THIS BOOK IS NARRATED. IT GOES BACK AND FORTH. JAMES MCBRIDE LETS HIS MOM TELL HER STORY FROM WHEN SHE WAS GROWING UP AND HER CHILDHOOD. AND THEN HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIM GROWING UP WITH A “WHITE” JEWISH MOTHER. THEY BOTH EXPERIENCE THE SAME OUTCOMES BUT WITH DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
July 9, 2008 at 6:20 pm
“SHE NEVER SPOKE ABOUT JEWISH PEOPLE AS BEING WHITE SHE SPOKE ABOUT THEM AS BEING JEW”(89). SHE NEVER EXPRESSES TO HER CHILDREN ABOUT HER OR THE JEWISH PEOPLE. AND ITS HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHY SHE DOES NOT LIKE TO.IF MY CHILD ASK ABOUT MY LIFE GROWING UP I WOULD TELL THEM. AND TELL THEM SOME OF MY EXPERINCES SO THEY WOULDNT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES AS I DID. I DONT THINK YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR PAST NO MATTER HOW BAD IT WAS.
July 9, 2008 at 6:36 pm
“I NEVER HEARD THEM KNOCK ANYBODY FOR BEING WHITE OR BLACK OR GREEN OR CHRISTIAN OR JEW OR CATHOLIC”(226). THIS SHOWS THAT HIS PARENTS DONT JUDGE ANY ONE.THEY TAKE EVERYONE FOR WHO THEY ARE.YOUR ETHNICITY OR NATIONALITY DOES NOT MATTER TO THEM. EVERYONE IS HUMAN AND EXPECT TO BE TREATED AS SUCH AND NOTHING ELSE.
July 9, 2008 at 6:41 pm
OVER THIS BOK WAS AMAZING.IT SHOWED ME THAT GROEING UP WITH DIFFERENT TYPE OF FAMILY BRINGS YOU CLOSER. ALSO THAT YOU SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED OF WHO YOU ARE.
July 10, 2008 at 2:32 am
“God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color” [51] This quote really stood out to me because his mother is trying to tell him that God is like water who is clear and “welcomes” anyone in any size, shape, color, and religion. As well as that God is a color anyone thinks he is.
July 10, 2008 at 2:36 am
“Mommy’s house was orchestrated chaos and as the eight of twelve children, I was lost in the sauce, so to speak. I was neither the prettiest nor the youngest, nor the brightest.” [165] This quote is really amazing, because what he is sayings is that he is like the “invisble” child and that he can’t say what he wants because he is very diffrent from all of his brothers and sisters.
July 10, 2008 at 2:43 am
I like what Weirdo Hippie [on July 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm] said that covering up a hole that it will always come and bite you in the butt and it will be an abberation in someone’s life. Very good and very well said
July 10, 2008 at 4:23 am
“Thats why i dont have no arguements with no woman” (152). I found this quote to be particularly amusing as the chicken man paid his life to one of the sayings that he has stuck to as he died later on due to an arguement with a woman. I enjoyed the many ironies this book covers.
July 11, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I agree with BLADYCHAS on the diffrent points of view. It makes the story more interesting and fun. We find out that in alot of ways James and Ruthie faced alot of the same problems growing up.
July 13, 2008 at 11:23 pm
so fa so good. im enjoying reading this book. i like how the author writes the book from the point of view of the boy and him mom. you get a look at both their lives. i vant wait to finish it.
July 16, 2008 at 1:04 pm
“She insisted on absolute privacy,excellant school grades, and trusted no outsiders of either race.” This qoute shows how strict she had to be back then to keep her kids in check.She tried her best to not let them get carried away by Black Panthers or any political group.She wanted to establish in their minds that everybody is equal black or white.
July 16, 2008 at 1:05 pm
“I dreaded him and was relieved anytime he left the house. But it affected me in a lot of ways, what he did to me. I had very low self esteem as a child.”~{P.42} This qoute is an example of what James mother had to go there in her life, the pain she endured as a child because her father, someone who suppose to protect her instead he sexually abused her. This situation depicts one of her struggles which broke her down but then made her stronger as a person.
July 16, 2008 at 1:09 pm
“Never Ever ,Ever tell your business to nobody”(p13).
BasiCially in Chapter 2 James mother Ruth McBride never wanted anyone in their families business.So she carefully instructed her kids to keep their lives private.This quote stood out to me because it shows how Ruth wanted to protect her kids from society.
July 16, 2008 at 1:13 pm
“There was something inside me, an ache I had, Like a constant itch that got bigger and bigger as I grew” pg 23
This Qoute stands out to me because it lets the reader know how badly James wanted to know about the truth of his mother. It describes him as a person seeking the truth about his mysterious past. This is the fist time in the novel that he describes how much he wants to know
July 16, 2008 at 1:21 pm
“I never saw mommy…get the spirit and lose control… they were mostly big mamas… [they] would burst out of there seats like a Pittsburg Steelers linebacker…they’d cry, arms outstretched dancing in the isles slithering around with the agility of the pink panther…purses flying one way hats flying another.”
When I read this part of the chapter I started to laugh because this sound like the church I use to go to. I know exactly what James is talking about. I can see all the “big mamas” jumping and acting crazy. So many people would get the spirit and jump, I would think that the floor would collapse.
July 16, 2008 at 1:22 pm
“you’re a human being , educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody”. this quote showed me that the mother does not want them to think that they are diffrent from anyone else because they are another color, she wants them to think good about themselves because they are the same as everyone else in the world no diffrent from no one and they should not let what other people say bring them down, she tells them that as long as they get their education they will be someone important in life no diffrent from no one else.
July 16, 2008 at 1:25 pm
“God is the Color Of Water”.
This quote stOod out to me beCause this quote was shown in the boOk as James continued to ask his mother why they were different and what color she was..And said she was the color of god, and god is the color of water. As a child growing up James was diScovering himself he was trying to decide wheather he wanted to be black or white.
July 22, 2008 at 12:31 am
Jazmine dude keep on reading cause trust me the end totally rocks.
July 22, 2008 at 12:41 am
“He said, ‘ Ruthie,your parents haven’t done nothing to you that was so bad as to make you run around with that man. That man’s a pimp. He’s a pimp and hes leading you around by the nose.’ And he sat there and he was kind of fumed. He wasn’t angry. He just seemed disappointed. I felt so ashamed then. I got up and said, ‘ They don’t have to look for me anymore. I’m going home.’” (176) This shows that Dennis is a good person and that he really cares about Rutie. He told her the turth and he made her see that she could have a better life. Ruthie as stubborn as she is realized that what Dennis was saying was real. I’m glad Ruthie listened to Dennis because i think that this is were her life started to change.
July 22, 2008 at 12:59 pm
“I had no feelings. I had smothered them. Every time they surged up I shoved them back down inside me the way you stuff clothes in a drawer and shut it.”
I like found this quote very interesting because I do the same thing. I hide what I feel inside just like James in this quote so I can relate to how he feels.
July 22, 2008 at 1:02 pm
“I had seven kids and was pregnant with you and I called one of my aunts to ask for help and she said, “Your brother died in the war.” I asked her what happened, and she said, “Stay out of our lives. You’ve been out. Stay out.” And she hung up on me, so there was nothing I could do for sam but pray for him.”{p.63} This qoute relates to my other quote because not only is she not excepted in the African American or White community, she’s not excepted in her own family for who she really is and what she has done with her life. Everywhere she goes she’s jugde based on her life or race. She has no place in society. This quote depicts the pain she endured in her life not only as a child but as an adult.
July 22, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I agree with the Hippie, Ruth has always been stubborn and depressed so hopefully she is happy with the decision she made.
It always seems like Ruth is always hiding something from somebody. That’s probably why James is always hiding something as well
July 22, 2008 at 1:22 pm
“God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color” [51] I agree with kevreader69 because James mother is trying to her sons that God excepts everyone as they are and this sterotype that everyone has of God being white isn’t true.
July 22, 2008 at 3:46 pm
“And if there was one thing he didn’t like more than black floks in general,it was black men in particular.”(107)
this quote shows how there was racsim between the two. There is not a good answer for why her dad doesn’t like black men,its just something that was happening in the time period.
July 22, 2008 at 3:50 pm
i agree with kevreader69 when he said she is almost seen as the invisible child. when i read that line i thought about the invisible man. it shows how they both feel out of place and dont have somewhere to fit in .
July 25, 2008 at 2:46 am
The quote “so you’re my real mother ?” “of course I am.” Big Kiss. (24) it shows us what a big deal it is for James to know his mothers past and why she is not the same color as he is.
July 31, 2008 at 5:05 pm
“She was already white, that was bad enough, but to go out and ride an old bike that went out of style a hundred years ago? And a grown up no less? I couldn’t handle it”.(8)
This quote shows me the kind of environment that James and his siblings live in. James is seriously embarressed by his mother being white, even though she is his mom and he loves her. I think the bike isn’t embarressing to James, I think the bike makes James’ mother stick out to the neighborhood and he doesn’t want people to see his white mother.
July 31, 2008 at 9:12 pm
“You want to talk about my family and I’ve been dead to them for fifty years.” (1)
I really like this quote alot because it shows that James is going through a very rough time with not talking to his family for fifty years and it shows that they don’t care about him. No one should be alone in the world without their family because in the end they’re all you have.
August 1, 2008 at 2:54 am
Before reading the book, I read the back of the book and i saw a quote “God is like water”. This quote stood out like the title of the book because its true God can mean many different things, he can be anything you imagine him to be… You cant see God but you know he’s there..
August 1, 2008 at 2:55 am
I meant to say “God is the color of water”
August 1, 2008 at 3:04 am
“She was pretty about the face. Darh hair, high cheekbones, but she had polio. It paralyzed her left side and left her in overall poor health. Her left hand was useless. It was bent at the wrist and held close to her chest. She was nearly blind in her left eye and walked with a severe limp, dragging her left foot behind her.” This quote stuck to me because even though she had this problem she still took care of all her kids and worked hard to get to where she is even if its just something little. With this problem she had problems cooking right for her kids but that didnt stop her she did what she had to do.
August 2, 2008 at 2:48 am
“She was already white, that was bad enough, but to go on and ride an old bike that went out of style a hundred years ago? And a grown-up no less? I couldn’t handle it”. (8) This quote just shows us how embarrassed James is of her mother. He is ashamed of her appearance, background and actions. As a black kid, he feels different from all of friends, who are also all black, and the rest of the black kids because unlike him, they all have black mothers and their mothers are all very advance. He wants to have a mother like them so he can be in common with them, but unfortunately for him his mother is not like that. Now as a result , he thinks he’s not accepted in the black society and will be look at in a condescending way. As the book progresses, I predict that this issue James faces will definitely hinder him from succeeding and lead to a lot of struggles and obstacles for him.
August 2, 2008 at 5:11 pm
“Helen. I want you to come home. Whatever’s wrong we’ll fix. Just forget all of it and come on home.” (78)
This quote by Ruth perfectly demonstrates how important her daughter is to her. After Helen refuses to go to white schools numerous times, Ruth fiercely beats her up. Later on she gets into more trouble with fights among her siblings. Finally Helen can’t handle all the issues she faces and decides to leave home. As weeks and months passed, Helen still haven’t come back. Ruth ultimately really missed her and became really concern about her. She finally realizes what’s most important to her. She came to her senses that without her child, nothing else really matters anymore. In this scene once Ruth founds out where Helen is sheltering, she goes there immediately and tries to do everything she can to talk her into coming back home.
August 2, 2008 at 9:53 pm
(Last quote was from pg.
“We attracted a lot of attention when we traveled because we were poor and Jewish and my mother was handicapped. I was real conscious of that. Being Jewish and having a handicapped mother”.[38]
In this quote, James’ mother was ashamed of her handicapped mother. This is interesting because in the previous chapters James talks about how he was embarressed how his mother was white, handicapped, and she used ride an old bike slowly around the neighborhood so everyone can see her.
August 3, 2008 at 3:59 am
“As she revealed the facts of her life I felt helpless, like I was watching her die and be reborn again (yet there was a cleansing element, too), because after years of hiding, she opened up and began to talk about the past, and as she did so, I was the one who wanted to run for cover I can’t describe what a shock it was to hear words like Tateh and rov and shiva and Bubeh coming from Mommy’s mouth as she sat at the kitchen table in her Ewing home. ” (269) This scene was the first time Ruth revealed anything of her past to James. After hearing all this, James was in total shock and amazement. He never expected all this of her mother’s past coming from a Jewish family. Prior to this, Ruth never revealed any of her past to any of her child. Her past till this point was a mystery. None of her child had any clue of her background and identity. It all came to James all of a sudden and it’s extremely difficult for him to accept all this at once.
August 3, 2008 at 10:12 pm
“let’s go to the movies! Instantly the room sprang into overdrive. Good idea! Yeah…let’s go. I’ll drive” From another room; Wait for me! Mommy was sitting on the living room couch while all this was happening, her feet resting on the coffee table. She yawned and said softly, I want to eat. The movie was instantly forgotten. Yeah! let’s eat!! I sure am hungry! Let’s order out! From another room: I been waiting to eat all day…! Now that’s what you call power.” (278) This scene truly depicts how much power Ruth has in her family. From here, we could sense that she has full authority and control over everyone in the family. Even though everyone else in the house wants to go out to see a movie, they all have to try to please her and satisfy her desire of wish of eating. As long she voices, what others say doesn’t matter at all. It always comes down to what she says that will ultimately decide what’s going to occur.
August 4, 2008 at 5:28 am
“The teacher says to the class, ‘Tell us about different kinds of beans’. The first little boy says, ‘There’s into beans.’ Correct says the teacher. Another boy raises his hand. There’s lima beans. very good,’ says the teacher. “then a little girl in the back raises her hand and says, we’re all human beans!” (93) This quote to me will play a critical role in Jame’s success in the future. In this scene when James was questioning his race and identity, Ruth tells him of this story. As she tells James of this story, she’s symbolizes the beans as regular human beings, trying to tell him that in this world there are all types of human beings. She’s implying to him that all these human beings are accepted in this world and have every opportunity to be successful. It doesn’t matter what kind of race, culture, religion, gender you are. After grasping these touching remarks, James will gain vital knowledge about this world and society. With these knowledge, he will know how to act, leading to be more successful.
August 5, 2008 at 5:18 am
I agree with Adam’s comment about how badly James want to discover the truth of his mother’s past. Ever since he was born, he noticed that his mother is different from all of his siblings, as they are all black and she’s white. This issue ultimately creates a lot of struggles and difficulties for him, as he is being teased and look down upon numerous times, eventually leading him to wander about his identity and who he is as person. In order to find out his identity, he has to unveil his mother’s identity. Time and Time again, he asked his mother about her past, but each time it came to no avail. Every time he asked her, her mother Ruth refuses to reveal any information.
August 5, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I agree with Shawtae. When you go through alot in a childhood when you become adult all that was, was a test to make you stronger. It makes you a better person. That shows that you can go through anyhthing & overcome it like it was nothing. good job
August 5, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I agree with davielee456.There is not just one type of human being.God made different people for a reason. There is not one specific race in the world if there were there will be no wars,no racism etc. I twill bea perfect world & we all know thats not happening in a million centuries.
August 6, 2008 at 5:02 am
I agree with BLADYCHAS’s comment about how Jame’s parents doesn’t judge people based on nationality and ethnicity. They would never treat a person a certain way based on their appearance. To them equal rights and equal opportunity existed for everyone. They would give everyone the same opportunity to be treated by how they act, who they are inside. Therefore for example, Ruth developed a sense of gratitude for blacks and a sense of dislike for whites based on their actions. Because majority of blacks were kind, friendly, and helpful to her, Ruth felt a feeling of thankfulness and likeness for them. Because the majority of whites were rude, and non caring to her, she held a grudge against them. She didn’t just randomly develop feelings for people based on their ethnicity and nationality. She didn’t look at blacks as inferior and think poorly of them. She didn’t look at whites as more superior and regard them more highly than others.
August 7, 2008 at 2:03 am
“I shouted “Watch out for him!” but we were too far away and my window was shut” (36). This is very interesting because I can only imagine his fear. It must be really hard for him being so different from his mother. Yet even though their so different he doesn’t show any shame or disgust, instead for the most part he looks over the fact that they have a different skin tone.
August 7, 2008 at 2:35 am
“The door had a peephole in it. The peephole slid back. A large black eye peered out. “Please come home Helen. This is no place for you to be. Just come on home” The peephole closed.”(78). This must have been really hard for their mom. I don’t know what I would do if my daughter left home and decided never to come back. Especially since she worked so hard to hold her family together . She is such a strong women to still be able to raise her kids after this happened.
August 7, 2008 at 2:43 am
“Then in 1969 he got a letter from the city of New York telling him to move out of his house in Brooklyn.” (125). I find it very interesting that their mom’s husband didn’t live with them. I don’t know how that worked for their relationship. When the dad had to move in, you could see that he was more happy living in his own home. I just don’t understand, how that could be?
August 7, 2008 at 9:29 pm
“I enjoyed my grandparents. They were warm and I loved them the way any grandchild loves a grandparent.” (17)
I love what the Mom is saying in this quote because she’s showing how much love and affection she has towards her grandparents, and it makes me think about all the loveable moments I had with my Grandma. She was someone who always looked out for me and cared alot and I miss her for that.
August 7, 2008 at 10:40 pm
“My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn’t tell anyone about.” (42)
This quote really stood out to me alot because the Mother here is revealing a secret that her Father used to molest her when she was little, and it shows how sick and cruel her Father is to do something like that to his daughter. I think from this experience that this is why the Mom doesn’t like arguing with anyone because she flashes back to her fighting with her Father. For example, on (p.34) the Mother was robbed for her purse and after she got up, she said “It’s just a purse, Don’t worry about it. Let’s just go home.” This shows that instead of her complaining about her purse, she just holds her emotions in and moves on becuase she didn’t want to put up a fight just like with her Father when she was little.
August 7, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Writing Prompt # 1
Ruth McBride refuses to reveal her past becuase she’s had a very rough life which includes dealing with lots of criticism for being light skinned, along with her Father molesting her which has her scared for life and she doesn’t want James to have to deal with some of the things she’s had tro go through in her life. The criticism Ruth has had to deal with in her life is incredible because people have referred to her as a “Nigger Lover” (34) and yet she just ignores it because she really cares about looking after and protecting her children. She tells her children that she’s alright all because she doesn’t want them to be afraid everytime they go out with their Mother. My family background relates to what Ruth is trying to do for her children becuase like Ruth, my Mother has always told me to ignore what people say about you and remember who you are as a person and let God take care of them. That advice given to me by my Mother has helped shape my self- image by whenever I hear someone trying to criticise me, I just take my mother’s advice and ignore that person if it’s that pointless to me because there are other things I have to do and I would be wasting my time dealing with nonsense.
August 8, 2008 at 2:23 am
“Then I called my sister Gladys, who was leaving in Queens. “you promised you wouldn’t leave,” she said. I told he I was sorry. But she wasn’t really pleased to hear from me.” (246). This must have really hurt her knowing that she no longer had family to turn to. I know it would have destroyed me because family is something you’re always supposed to be able to rely on. Her sister could have atleast tried to understand why Ruth couldn’t have stayed back.
August 8, 2008 at 2:30 am
“she stood there for a moment in the downpour staring thoughtfully, before turning and hurrying toward the car, her bowlegged waddle just the same as it always was” (285). Ruth must have been envisioning her life if she didn’t leave home and took the Jewish route. Even though she gave up everything her and her children seemed to live a pretty blessed life. She doesn’t seem to regret any of her choices and if I was her neither would I.
August 8, 2008 at 2:39 am
Writing prompt #1
Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
I think it would be a little bit of both for Ruth McBride to achieve what she did in today’s society. The idea of intergrated marriages is not looked down upon the way they were in her time. She wouldn’t have had received as much animosity from either race in today’s society. Yet raising twelve children in today’s economy would be extremely hard. With prices rising everyday she would have a grave struggle with the kids.
August 8, 2008 at 2:47 am
Writing prompt # 2
Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth McBride refusal to share her past I felt was in their best interest. She only did that so they could focus on their school work and not get caught up in race or the color of ones skin. Knowing about my family background has instilled a sense of pride in me knowing where my family is from. However having pride in your family background isn’t always a good thing because it can start problems with you and someone else who is also proud of their family background.
August 8, 2008 at 2:51 am
I agree with KB2191, I to believe that Ruth hide her background from her family because it was to painful for her to back track to. Also that Ruth satyed strong for her children so they would learn to ignore the comments of other people.
August 8, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I agree with Steve-o because Ruth was all this time while Ruth was ashamed of her Mother because she was handicapped, James was feeling the same way towards Ruth becuase not only was she handicapped, but because she was white and that threw James off because he was Black and she also used to ride her bike slow.
August 8, 2008 at 5:56 pm
To answer Jlab05, the reason why Ruth is always hiding something is because she’s had a past at which so much stuff has happened to her that she doesn’t want to talk nor think about it. To have her FAther molest her when she was little is a very big deal, and from that whenever she’s in a situation where she is in a argument with someone, she just leaves it alone because she flashes back to her arguing with her Father.
August 9, 2008 at 12:32 am
I like what nickm had to say because it shows that she is very strict but she also wants equallity in the world and will work with anyone of any skin color.
August 9, 2008 at 12:36 am
Writing Prompr Q#1
Ruth’s refusal about telling her kids about her past, makes the kids wonder who they are in life and if she is a part of them.
Like the idea of telling someone about their past it also starts to me wonder who I am in my family, given that my parents doesn’t tell me that much, just like Ruth’s family, I wonder who I am and makes me worry about my future at times.
August 9, 2008 at 12:39 am
Wrting Prompt #4
I think it is possible because she made a BIG diffrence in her childerns life very diffrent. The other reason is that she wasn’t looked at as “that white person” but as a regular human being. I feel that people of any shape and size can achieve what she has done, and be in “The Color of Water”
August 9, 2008 at 12:42 am
“We’re moving to Delaware. Pack up the house” [177]. I find this quote very cryptic becuase the’re moving so far from the “familys original home”. It also shows that their mother wants to move away from the disrepair of their home and life, and that she wants to have a new life in a smaller place.
August 11, 2008 at 7:23 am
“‘When I asked her if she was white, she’d say, “No. I’m light-skinned,” and change the subject again”‘ (21). I think she keeps trying to change the subject whenever her son asks her about her personal history because she doesn’t want him to think she is any different from the others in the family.
August 11, 2008 at 8:59 am
“The mugger got the purse and ran off….and Mommy fell to the ground” (34). I wonder if McBride’s mom’s trust in God is still as strong as before she was mugged. Maybe it might have lessened because she thinks God didn’t help her.
August 11, 2008 at 9:57 am
I agree with MTA. How can a father do that to his own daughter? It’s disgusting and horrible. A person like him shouldn’t even be living freely and not feel guilty or ashamed of what he did. Like MTA said, it’s miraculous how even though something this traumatizing happened to her, she’s still able to have the strength to continue on with her daily life. If this was to happen to other kids her age, they might not have been as strong as she is. Some might even commit suicide and not be able to have a normal boy/girl relationship with their boy/girlfriend.
August 12, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I agree with shawtae because not everyone can overcome taking care of a her children by herself. She must have had a hard childhood to still overcome what she goes through to bring her kids to good.
August 13, 2008 at 1:50 am
“Here is her life as she told it to me” (XIX)
This quote already foreshadows what the book will be about. It will reveal the past of a person’s life in the style of a memoir. It should be interesting to read about the mixing of race in a time where it was not accepted.
August 13, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Responding to “Snorlax”s comment, I sort of disagree. I don’t consider it to be a use of foreshadow. As a matter of fact, I consider it to be a use of Imargery. Due to the fact that he is picturing what “Her” life might be like. Therefore, his use of imagery allows him to depict for us, what her life was like, the way she said it to be,
August 14, 2008 at 4:42 am
I Agree with what snorlax had said about race not being accepted because before she became known as Ruth McBride, she was known as Rachel Shilsky who lived out in Northfolk, VA and she then moved to Brooklyn and raised a few children. She had changed her name because Rachel was a girl who was molested at a young age and grew up during alot of drama, and she wanted to change her name to Ruth to try and escape her past and hopefully be accepted in society. But that isn’t the case because even though she changed her name, Ruth still has people staring at her everytime she’s out with her children who happen to be a different skin color than she is.
August 14, 2008 at 4:57 am
I think Ruth McBride still has the same trust in God as she has always had her entire life because she may have been robbed by a mugger, but that shouldn’t nor does it change the amount of trust and faith one person has in God. Bad things happen to people all the time but if they keep their trust in God, whenever it seems like something bad is going to happen God will be out to look after them.
August 14, 2008 at 5:13 pm
i can relate to the main character because i to have siblings and i have to work harder to make sure they are taken care of
August 14, 2008 at 5:19 pm
i disagree with kb2191 because god is not a real person and everytime something goes wrong you shouldn’t trust something thats not real
August 14, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Last comment was adressed to Lily.
August 14, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Writing Prompt # 3
Ruth McBride has a quality that many people in the world should have but don’t want to accept it and that’s her remarkable faith in God. There should be nothing curious about how her faith in God is passed down to her children becuase that’s the special connection a Mother and a child have. Faith in God can definately be passed down from one generation to another only if the other person is willing to accept what is being passed down to them. For example, James get’s a bit of advice from Chicken Man saying “If you so smart then why you come on this corner every summer?” (150). James is someone who went from a good student in school to a dropout who hangs on on the corner and does drugs every day. This is because James I believe was starting to lose faith in God because he was hanging out with a different group of people and doing things he didn’t usually do. But the advice that Chicken Man gave him hopefully will put the faith in God back into James before he messes his whole life up over stupid reasons, and there are people who want to see James succeed instead of fail.
August 14, 2008 at 7:39 pm
The quote “I was never quite aware of the concept of “Father” (117) really stood out to me because this reminded me of how when I was little growing up without a Father and always having to wonder where he was. I could imagine how James was feeling because growing up without knowing your Father is rough.
August 14, 2008 at 7:50 pm
“When they go one way you go the other……. You stick to your brothers and sisters, thats it. Dont tell nobody your business neither!” (13) I find this quote very interesting because, I guess she feels thats how she was raised, not telling anyone her business so its her duty to do the same. Maybe she just doesnt want anyone to ask her children anything, or the wrong thing and they wont know how to answer it. Even a question about the difference between her skin color and her kids skin color.
August 14, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I kind of disagree with dikevreader69 about the moving to delaware quote. I think even though they are moving it is sometimes good to get away from everythign ans start over fresh. Im not sayin that your wrong, beacause everyone has their opinion im just saying that she doesnt have to be cryptic for wantign to move some where else. She wants a new environment.
August 14, 2008 at 9:03 pm
To the quote that KB2191 wrote about the concept of now knowing a father, I know that must of been hard for you, and also for James. Well I cant mearly say the same because thank god I actually have my father present in my life. Its a good thing to have a man figure in your life to guide you threw the right and wrong things that go out in the world. I know probably to James it would of have been good to have a male figure in his life that would have beeen a role model to him. I guess thats how it had to be.
August 14, 2008 at 9:45 pm
“When I asked her where she was from, she would say, “God made me”, and changed the subject. “When I asked her if she was white, she’d say, “No. I’m light skinned,” and change the subject again. I feel that she doesnt want to answer any of Jmes questions because she doesnt want to make him uncomfortable or uneasy. She wants to remind him that she is the same as him, even though shes not. She just wants him to know that she is the same like everyone else in the family.
August 15, 2008 at 5:38 am
“I remember when a white man shoved her angrily as she led a group of us onto an escalator, but Mommy simply ignored him. (31) I know how she must feel bad having to take all the insult for the kids thats not even hers, but she loves them like they were her own blood. To her it doesnt make a difference what people say because she is goin to love them regardless. Se doesnt ever want them to feel as though they or different or inferior.
August 15, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Admiradora’s comment August 14, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I agree. It is a very interesting quote. His mother is smart. She is very protective of her kids and wants to make sure that none of them gets hurt in anyway. She tells him to stay with his brothers and sisters so there won’t be any danger for him. She’s smart knowing that any information given to others can be used against her son and her family therefore she always reminds them not to give any information to anyone.
August 15, 2008 at 5:03 pm
“It became the high point of my day, a memory so sweet it is burned into my mind like a tattoo, Mommy walking me to the bus stop every afternoon picking me up, standing on the corner of New Mexico and 114th Road, clad in a brown coat, her black hair tied in a colorful scarf, watching with the rest of the parents as the yellow school bus swung around the corner and came to a stop with a hiss of air brakes.”(11,12) This was one of Jame’s happiest moment, being able to walk with his mother alone. He is a child of twelve kids, therefore it is obviously very difficult to spend time alone with his mother. Having that little time together every day makes James very happy, looking forward to going home.
August 15, 2008 at 5:29 pm
“My brothers and sisters were my best friends, but when it came to food, they were my enemies.”(65,66) This is very cute. Even though they go through hardships and struggles they still manage to be best friends. Unfortunately, they always have to fight and do everything best friends doesn’t do to each other because of their lack of food, but I admire how they can pass through it and still stick together.
August 15, 2008 at 5:34 pm
“She’d stop in midsentence and walk away silently, covering her face. At night she cried in her bedroom, though she always hid her tears from us.”(137) The death of his stepfather was very hard on everyone especially his mother. She was very affected emotionally by his death but still, she wanted to keep strong in front of her kids. I admire how no matter what she’s going through, she always tries her best to set a good example to the children.
August 15, 2008 at 5:36 pm
“I began to notice something about my mother, that she looked nothing ike the other kids’ mothers.” (12) This tells me that race was never something that was discussed at home or a problem. After living there for many years, he finally sees the difference in her color. Without a father figure in their life, keeping to themselves would probably be the best option when you are different from others. Life must be hard trying to fit in a place where you do not really belong in.
August 15, 2008 at 5:45 pm
“‘She often sat at the kitchen table in the evening, brooding, “What have I done? What was I thinking?” staring off into space, holding a cup of cold, untouched coffee.” I don’t think she should blame herself on everything. She stresses about the life that she and her kids are living and think of herself as the reason why it is this way. No one wants negative things to happen, but when it does, you can’t beat yourself up too much and take it all on yourself. I feel bad that his mom is going through all of this, but she’s a very strong women to be able to do it all. I can’t imagine any other person as strong as her.
August 15, 2008 at 6:47 pm
“Fortunately the doctors got the mole off in time, but the question of her own mortality is one she seems to be preoccupied with of late, probably because she knows death is the one condition in life she can’t outrun.”(260,261) It’s unfortunate that she has skin cancer but one always need to face reality. It’s a good thing his sister made her go to the doctor right away so they acknowledged it earlier than not knowing until it’s too late. I agree with this quote. It’s interesting that he knows that this is what is mother is thinking about, not being able to “outrun” death. You can drag the time, but you can’t avoid it, sadly, it’s true.
August 15, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Steve-O’s comment on July 31, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I agree with his comment. His mom is already looked at as different in their neighborhood. The fact that she’s outside riding an old bike grabs more attention upon her being white having kids who aren’t. In a way, I think James is protective of his mother. He doesn’t want people to think more negatively of his mother than they already after they see her riding a very old bike.
August 15, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Prompt 4
I think anything in life is possible. It is very possible to achieve what Ruth McBride is able to achieve in today’s society. It seems very difficult because of everything that is going on in the society today. Every problem has a solution and anything can happen. There aren’t a lot of people as strong and willing and eager as Ruth McBride, but the few with her personalities and experiences can surely do what she can do and possibly better. It’s hard to believe, but there are people in this society who will care enough to give someone less fortunate a hand.
August 15, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Prompt 1
Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past is simply because she doesn’t want it to affect the thoughts and emotions of her kids. I believe that because she didn’t reveal her past puts a question in her kids mind where they constantly wonder about who she is. My knowledge of my family shapes me to be better than they are. It makes me think that I can not fall into their footsteps and make the same mistake as me. This is a good influence for me because it allows me to learn from their mistakes and lets me apply it to myself to avoid situations to occur.
August 15, 2008 at 8:36 pm
“You dont need money. Whats money if your mind is empty! Educate your mind!” (33) When I read this, it caught my attention because i stop and taught like wow, this is kind of true. Its like if you dont have an education or anything in your mind, how is money really going to serve you a purpose. Money is materialistic, but educatin yourself can do you wonderful in your life.
August 15, 2008 at 8:48 pm
“Mind your own business, ” she said. “Never ask questions or your mind will end up like a rock. Some of these Jews cant stand you.”(86) This makes me think of when she used to tell them all the time never to tell anyone their business. At a point I taught that she jus didnt want the to know anythign at all. After i just noticed that she jus doesnt want to make them feel different or anything, so its like she hides anything that she thinks will make them wonder or have doubt in their minds. Eventually they go findign things out about her but since they were younger she felt like it wasnt the right time.
August 15, 2008 at 11:24 pm
“God is the color of water” When the mother said this, I believe she meant that god is however one may picture it. It can be black, white, or any other color. It also reflects back to what i said about James and his mother and about race. Racism is not something which they hold. She believes that all are equal and that god loves all.
August 16, 2008 at 1:40 am
Writing prompt question #4
Yes I think it would of been possible for Ruth McBride to achieve what she had achieved in today’s society. It would be easier because back then interracial relationships werent really much accepted, the world was against what she was representing. In today’s society it wouldnt of made much of a difference weather or not her husband was black, white, or asian. She wouldnt of had so suffer so much of the insult that she went threw. Even though the only little problem would of been like food and things like that because everything now a days is very expensive.
August 17, 2008 at 3:32 am
“He could walk into a nightclub and sniff danger instantly, backing out right way” (144). I think that’s pretty cool. If I am able to have instincts like he does, I can keep myself out of danger and trouble, and not get myself hurt.
August 18, 2008 at 2:40 am
After reading Tiff’s first post regarding James’ mother, I would like to say that I disagree. It is true that James’ mother is a strong woman but I don’t see hows that outstanding as she makes it sound. From my perspective, she was just fulfilling her obligation as a good mother. It would be disappointing if one doesn’t take care of their own child. I know my mother would. Instead of being seen as a role model, I think she is only an example how a good mother should be. I do know that the society that James live in is different from ours but, what the heck. She isn’t that special.
August 18, 2008 at 2:55 am
Apple
July 10, 2008 at 4:23 am
I would have to agree with Apple due how the quote actually made me chuckle. It is true that this book does have many amusing parts. But this scene does show that people do get judgment for their own actions. This teaches people not to follow the steps of a drunk who got himself killed by the very thing he tried to avoid.
August 18, 2008 at 3:09 am
“We thought he was God. But there was a part of me that feared black power very deeply for the obvious reason. I thought black power would be the end of my mother. I had shallowed the white man’s fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole.” I found this passage symbolic due how James thought of the force whom is being assumed to be the liberation force of African-Americans. In addition to the confusion James had to faced back then, he also feared for his mother’s life. This shows that some individuals might be placed in danger because of the color of their skin.
August 18, 2008 at 3:19 am
@My previous comment. The page to the quote was 26.
“Forget these whiteys. They’re all rich. They got no problems,” and I said, “Yeah, man, I hear you,” while inside my pocket was the folded letter holding the heartbroken words of an old white lady who had always gone out of her way to help me.”(187) I found this passage extremely saddening. From before he went to Oberlin College, he thanked Mrs. Dawson a lot for what she had done for him. But after a few years, he would say such a horrible thing towards her kind. “Yeah, man, I hear you.” What the heck, even if he had to lied, I still found this scene unpleasing.
August 18, 2008 at 3:33 am
“‘Am I black or white?’ ‘You’re a human being,’ she snapped. ‘Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!’ ‘Will I be a black nobody or just a nobody?’ ‘If you’re a nobody,’ she said dryly, ‘it doesn’t matter what color you are.’ ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I said.”(92) I liked how James’ mother explained the answer of the question to James. She ignored the racial content and gave a direct answer. Even though James continued to ask reinforce his racial question due to his curiosity, James’ mother forgives him and told him that skin color didn’t really matter. That shows how stiff James’ mother’s views towards James’ skin color is.
August 18, 2008 at 3:39 am
“You dont need money. Whats money if your mind is empty! Educate your mind!” (33) To reinforce what Admiradora said about this quote,
money couldn’t be spend wisely without the proper knowledge. Money is materialistic so you can lose it anytime. For example, spoiled rich kids in movies, usually lose all of their money to people who were clever enough to trick the kids. This helps teach the kids a lesson so they would start to use their brains and think. In conclusion,
money can’t buy knowledge but losing them can.
August 18, 2008 at 3:53 am
I think it is challenging but possible to what she did in todays society because living in this country is hard and there is always going to be people who are going to try and stop you from making and some people can’t take the pressure.
August 18, 2008 at 7:46 pm
“He could walk into a nightclub and sniff danger instantly, backing out right way” (144)
Well i agree with lily because I’ve always admired those who are street smart and know which fights you can pick or what fun is actually legal ;]
August 18, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I admired the quote “God is the color of water” for i couldnt agree more. To be fair to everyone, God has no true form nor is he any color. He is everywhere and he brings life to the lifeless. Such is also the characteristics of water and so makes a great symbolism to dedicate this book to God and the peoples beliefs.
August 18, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Adressed to lily’s quote on August 11, 2008 at 8:59 am
As the mugger snatched the mother’s purse and ran off, I believe her trust in God did not falter at all. There was a time where my mother had been held a gun to and got threatened to be killed unless she handed her purse and what not. As my mom handed her belongings, he ran off and all she thanked for was how nothing worse had happened. For the price of handing her purse, she kept her life. Everything I believe happens for a reason, and if the reason is not obvious to you then just think of it as God testing your actual faith in him
August 18, 2008 at 8:20 pm
A thing to laugh at is one of your mother’s embarrassing characteristics. Her “bowlegged waddle” can put James to shame for she is already white, but she is also weird, and the more it is easier for her son to be teased for(285). However as he grows, her bowlegged walk becomes something he treasures since it is her trademark and it is what makes her his mother.
August 18, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I loved the ending of how the author decides to sum up the family’s unity. As one of the children suggested to go to the movies, the rest “sprang to overdrive” with their agreements. The suggestion was instantly forgotten once the mother said softly “I want to eat” and they all then eagerly wanted to eat. Indeed that is what you call power (278).
August 18, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Writing prompt #1
Knowing where I was born and who I was born from certainly did save me time from “searching” for myself. Those who did not have the privilege in knowing their roots, have less to hold them grounded in sanity. So although it is understandable why Ruth shies away her past from her children, it does greater damage to leave the children in confusion rather then tell her not so great childhood. How can anyone be proud of who they are when they don’t realize half of what makes who they are.
August 18, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Writing prompt #3
Faith can certainly be passed on from one generation to the next. Although it is God’s decision to open ones heart to him or not, leading the children and opening the path into believing God is a duty Ruth McBride chose to follow. The message that the author chose to show in the irony that Ruth was born a Jew into a faithful Christian, is all depending on how the child was brought up. How shall anyone believe the religion one preaches when in the other case he shall molest his own daughter and contradict the rest of the religion’s teachings he finds inconvenient.
August 18, 2008 at 8:48 pm
“I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. [But] now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.”
I enjoyed seeing his transformation from a lost young boy into a man who can enjoy what he is privileged to. When in the younger days fun and simplicity is what it’s all about, and what you look like defines you of who you are. Yet as the time of maturity approaches, its all about the benefits. Knowledge is everything and knowing that you come from two different worlds is a blessing for it makes it easier to broaden your horizons and exapaaaannd.
August 19, 2008 at 2:06 am
Writing Prompt Question 4
It would be less possible for someone to achieve what Ruth McBride did during that time. Our current society is different from the society Ruth was in. The economies are complete opposites and there is now more competition to find a decent job. But despite all this, there are still people out there who shares a similar life with Ruth. Interracial marriages have became more popular since Ruth’s time. It is actually easier and simpler than it use to be. There wouldn’t be people who would show prejudices towards interracial babies or anything. So overall, I think it is possible to achieve what Ruth did.
August 19, 2008 at 2:15 am
Writing Prompt Question 1
Ruth’s refusal to reveal her past played a great part in her children’s childhood. Ruth most likely didn’t want to tell her children of all the hardships she had suffered. Being a light skin as herself, this would mostly likely cause confusion among their relationship. She didn’t want any of her mistakes or conflicts to be repeated among her children. This would help James and the others to develop a life different from their mother’s. Although this would leave the children confused and curious but it would also teach them to become even more stronger by facing their own conflicts in the future.
August 19, 2008 at 4:20 am
“….he’d invite them in and give them our last food or the shirt off his back if they asked” (236). People as nice as Dennis are hard to find. Not many would be this generous. Although being kindhearted is a good thing, if one is too kind, others might take advantage of this goodness and s/he might end up getting physically and/or mentally hurt.
August 19, 2008 at 4:48 am
I feel that Ruths refusal to reveal her past is just a barrier in which she needs to help protect her son. Although its not good to forget where you come from i think shes trying to teach James that the color of skin isnt what importance or what indivisuals in society should be categorized as. “Thats why im clastrophobic” is a quote from james, i belive his mothers ashamed attitude had catapalted him into feeling that he couldnt get close to anyone rather than scared to be closed in by objects
August 19, 2008 at 4:53 am
“He could walk into a nightclub and sniff danger instantly, backing out right way” (144). I agree with “Apple” somewhat but to some extent it shows that he is scared to live life. Hes walking around like hes made of glass and as long as that continues he wont be able to really see the true blessings in life. James cautioness is going to lead to his downfall and lack of experience as well as knowledge. Sometimes you jsut have to take risk. But like “Apple” said its a good quality to be able to walk away from trouble
August 19, 2008 at 2:04 pm
“Folks were poor and starving. And I have to admit I never starved like a lot of people did. I never had to eat turtles and crabs out of the wharf like other people did. I never starved for food till I got married.But I was starving in another way. I was starving for love and affection.”(83)
This quote touches me because a lot of people believe as long as you have the necessities like food and clothing you will be alright but this quote shows that that is not true. Your emotional well being also plays a role in how your life becomes. The reason Ruth fled to New York was because she starved for affection and love. That absence of love was what drove her to leaving her family.
August 19, 2008 at 2:36 pm
“I had reached a point where i was ashamed of her and didn’t want the world to see my white mother.”
(pg. 100)
This is interesting because not to long before this point, all James could hope for is a little one on one time with his mother. All of a sudden, James’ social life outside of his family is important. Also, I think that James is ashamed of his mom becuase she is white and not because he is embarressed like any other kid would be embaressed around their mom.
August 19, 2008 at 4:47 pm
“Aunt Betts was young and kind of with it, so when I come up to New York in the summer of ‘36, pregnant, she could see something was wrong with me.”
(pg. 134)
As I read through this chapter I forgot that Rachel had gotten pregnant in her last chapter. When I read this part my jaw dropped because I realized that the real reason that Rachel’s mother sent her to New York was not for a get away, but because she knew that someone in New York would be able to take her to a good doctor.
August 19, 2008 at 4:56 pm
“If you throw water on the floor it will always find a hole, believe me”.
(pg. 135)
I think this means that if you just forget about something that is troubling you and dont attempt to fix the problem, the bad memories will always stay with you. Cleaning up the water would be fixing the problem, and fixing the problem would be doing something that will make you feel better.
August 19, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I agree with Apple’s comment on August 18, 2008 at 8:48 pm. Maturity is a big factor in James’ change of opinion of his heritage and race. I also think that the life time that he lives in came a long way. As a child in New York being African-American was best for him but now the world is extremely diverse and most of the time, all types of people are accepted.
August 19, 2008 at 5:22 pm
To add to what Admiradora said on August 15, 2008 at 8:36 pm about how money is nothing if your mind is empty. I think that the reason why money is nothing without an education is that you need to know what what to do with money and when to spewnd and when to save it. Money without brains can all go to waste.
August 19, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Writing Prompt 1
Throughout the book Ruth hides her past from her children because she is a completely different person with a different name, religon, and lifestyle. She insists on raising her kids on her ideas and objections to the way she was raised by her father. Ruth’s childhood and the way she was raised was the main reason for her change and she raises her children the way she would have liked to be raised.
James was always very interested in his mother background and wen he would ask, he would always get an answer that didnt tell him much. James started to interigate his mom to get the best answers. James and his siblings grew up African-American following black power movements because of their lack of knowledge of their mother’s background.
When I was growing up, I was always extremely interested in my family background and where everyone came from. I always wanted to know the time periods in which people in my family lived in. I was so interested in that because I was curious about what was going on in society in their time. I learned all of the history in school and I connected it to what my mom told me about our family.
August 19, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Writing Prompt 4
I think what Ruth McBride acheived is definately possible to acheive in today’s society. Even though it is possible, things that Ruth went through either wouldn’t happen now or wouldn’t be as mind blowing. Ruth abandoned her original family, religon, and lifestyle to start a completely new life. This new life is what she was always comfortable with. She was brought up under strict Jewish rule and she didn’t see the point in it. For anyone to convert religons the way she did is amazing. She went from a strict Jew to a strong beleiving Christian. She also had gave birth to 12 kids and raised them all pretty much alone. 12 kids is a very large amount and most women dont have that many kids. This is possible to accomplish but not likely to happen in this way.
August 19, 2008 at 6:59 pm
“I didn’t want my friends seeing my white mother out there riding a bicycle. She was already white, that was bad enough, but to go on and ride an old bike that went out of style a hundred years ago? And a grown-up no less? I couldn’t handle it”.(8) From this quote, it shows how much James didn’t like his mother’s skin color. He didn’t want his friends to see his light skinned mother. Having a white mother makes him feel unique and different from other black friends. This makes James’ life a bit harder for him to get along with other people. In addition, this puts James in a position which he is between both the whites and the blacks. This is harder for him to be accepted in both of the communities due to the color of his skins and his mother’s.
August 19, 2008 at 7:40 pm
“The Jew in me was dying anyway, but it truely died when my mother died.” (218)
This quote reminds me of when my Grandma died and I was thinking about all the good time we had, and when she died a part of me had died also that will never come back. Ruth is having the same feelings I had when she lost someone she loved alot and she can never rekindle those moments ever again.
August 19, 2008 at 8:42 pm
i think that ruth did not tell her kids about her past because she felt it wasnt important to them. i feel taht she shouldnt hide her family or her past. i felt she should have been open with them. though it may not seam like it matters, i think its nice to know who are your family members. her kids grew up not knowing any family members. i feel it ran threw their minds a lot. not know what there mother was, why they where black but she was white. they learn to live with it and moved on with their life. i think they were shaped well in the sence that they went to school and did what was right for them. i do believe that the mother not telling them her past brought many hard ships to them. i know onli a few members of my father side and though i know where he comes from, it would be nice to know more of the people who are some what related to me. at the end they are still your family and part of you.
August 19, 2008 at 8:47 pm
i think faith is for anyone who wants it and believes in it. i dont think you should push someone to follow in faith, i believe you can hint it to them and tell them how it helps you and your life but you should not force it on someone because they can run away and never give it a chance. i think a person has to face something in order to make their own choice on faith and religon. i liked the fact that she rasied he family with religon but i do feel that she pushed it on them.
August 19, 2008 at 8:54 pm
i think you can achieve anything in todays society. it was a struggle for ruth but there is always going to be something in the way of what you want to achieve. if you work hard and stay strong i do believe that you can achieve it in today society. i think that ruth was a very strong woman and did everything for the sake of her kids and thier lives. as they say, you can do anything you put your mind to it.
August 20, 2008 at 1:54 am
“She wipes her memory instantly and with purpose; it’s a way of preserving herself” (271). It would be cool if I had the ability to erase any of the memories I don’t want to have. That way I won’t have to remember anything painful or horrible ever happening.
August 20, 2008 at 2:09 am
Writing Prompt #3
While reading the book, I wasn’t really thinking about how Ruth McBride Jordan’s remarkable faith had translated into the adult lives of her children, but after finishing this book, I am curious about it now. I think that faith that is instilled too strongly in children eventually causes them to turn away from it. They are being pressured too much by it and eventually become afraid of faith.
August 20, 2008 at 2:18 am
Writing Prompt #4
I don’t really think it would be as possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society. Kids today are more likely to try and pursue their own dreams than to follow their parents’ wishes. Parents might want their child to take over the family business when s/he graduates high school, but s/he might want to go to college instead.
August 20, 2008 at 3:08 am
Dont tell nobody your business neither!” (13) the wrong thing and they wont know how to answer it.
Comment on Admiradora’s comment:
The reason why James’ mother tells her kids to not tell anyone their business is because she doesn’t want them getting hurt and in trouble. If they say something like they are half white and half black, others might say something disrespectful back to them and a fight might break out because they feel disrespected and want to defend themselves and the whole family.
August 20, 2008 at 5:17 am
“But there was a part of me that feared black power very deeply for the obvious reason. I thought black power would be the end of my mother. I had swallowed the white man’s fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole.” p. 19
James has shown that he is afraid of “black power”. Black power has casue his mom to be exiled from the family, it has also created a since of fear in his heart casuing him to accept white ways and live the way he is told instead of being spontaneous. It also seems as if he’s learning progress as far as him abandonning the term “Negro”. He’s Maturing.
August 20, 2008 at 5:26 am
“The question of race was like the power of the moon…It’s what made the river flow, the ocean swell, and the tide rise, but it was a silent power, intractable, indomitable, indisputable, and thus completely ignorable.” page 94
I THINK THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL QUOTE IN THE NOVEL. IT SHOWS HOW ULTIMATELY RACE CONTROLS EVERYHTING. IT USES THE MOON AS THE HIGHER OBJECT THAT CONTROLS EVERYTHING BEANEATH IT SUCH AS THE TIDE. A SIMILE IS USED TO SHOW HOW RACE CONTROLS THE PEOPLE AND THEIRS ACTIONS. THE WHOLE NOVEL REVOLVES AROUND RACE.
August 20, 2008 at 5:32 am
‘It doesn’t have a color,’ she said. ‘God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color.’” page 50-51
The quote correlates with the title of the book. It dimisses color in general. Ultimately saying god is like water no color but of power. I feel the novel is trying to portray the image that color is of non importance compared to power.
August 20, 2008 at 2:46 pm
“Rachel Deborah Shilsky could drive a car and pull a trailer behind it but Ruth McBride Jordan had never touched a steering wheel before that day in 1973″(168)
To me, this quote shows the internal divide that Ruth has. She has separated herself in to two separate people:one whom she considers dead and the other is the one she identifies with today. It seems to extreme to separate oneself in to two separate people and show of one of them to the people you interact with on a daily basis.
August 20, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I like Shannon’s interpretation of the simile about race. The moon is a far a way object that we don’t often think about but, it controls more than we realize. Race is the same way because we accept race as part of everyday life and yet, it affects almost every aspect of our lives.
August 20, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Promt # 1
Ruth’s refusal to reveal things from her past all contribute to the way her children grew up, and the way they interact with other people. The fact that she would not tell her children her past left them asking questions about themselves for example, who thier grandparents were, and why thier mother was was exiled from her family. Knowing who my family is allows me to learn from thier mistakes, therefore helping me prosper as an indivisual, mentally and emotionally.
August 20, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Promt # 4
Anything is possible when you display the hard work and preservation that Ruth McBride did. The society will always be shaped to exclude certain people weather it’s because of race, religion, or gender. However when you have the will power to overcome those obsticals, you can find a way to provide for youself and even your family; just the way Ruth did.
August 20, 2008 at 6:24 pm
“In those days people didn’t linger and fool around like people do now, with tubes hanging out their mouths and making doctors rich and all this. They just died. Dead. Bye.” pg 18
This quote leaves an impression that attachments are a distraction in life. People can just die at any time and no one would grieve over their death. It prioritizes other things over life and reveals how truly fragile life can be.
August 20, 2008 at 6:46 pm
“Mommy’s contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably slightly substandard. She disliked people with money yet was in constant need of it…”
pg 29-30
Living between society can be difficult, wanting the best of both worlds. Life is unfair, but to be able to live by your morals in such a corrupted society is a great feat. Ruth McBride discarded her name and status to provide her twelve children the best under such difficult situations.
August 20, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I agree with Lily, things would be a lot easier for everyone if you could just remember the things that make you happy and forgot all the painful moments in life.
August 21, 2008 at 7:16 pm
“The cafeteria at the Chase Manhattan Bank where she worked served dinner to the employees for free, so she would load up with bologna sandwiches, cheese, cakes, whatever she could pillage, and bring it home for the hordes to devour. If you were the first to grab the purse when she got home, you ate. If you missed it,m well, sleep tight.” pg 67
It must be hard for a single mother to raise twelve children by herself. Money was scarce so food and clothing were limited. Ruth has to work most of the day leaving the children to take care of themselves. They do not get much of a chance to bond. The children lose a part of their childhood not being able to experience things other children do, with their mother always being busy trying to support the family.
August 21, 2008 at 7:44 pm
“My black friends never asked me how much money I made, or what school my children went to, or anything like that. They just said, “come as you are.” pg 110
Its good to find good friends that do not care about your background, but like you for who you are. A single mistake can cost them their lives with the Ku Klux Klan constantly at large and the law against them. Despite all these factors they chose to befriend Ruth, a white women.
August 21, 2008 at 8:51 pm
“Deep inside I knew that my old friend Chicken Man back in Louisville was right. I wasn’t any smarter, or any wiser, or any bolder than the cats on the Corner, and if I chose that life I would end up on the Corner no matter what my brains or potential.” pg 161
James has now matured being about to accept the fact that he is nothing special and can end up on the streets at anytime. This takes a great deal to be able to see your own flaws and overcome them. From this point on James began to change himself into a respectable man.
August 21, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Writing Prompt #1
Ruth’s refusal to reveal her past just made the relationship with her children more distant. It made them wonder about their identity and how the world views them different. The children always knew that they were different, how others would despise their mother of different color. Ruth’s refusal to reveal her past also made her children stronger, to make friends not because of background but of character. The knowledge of my family’s background has not changed my self-image, because who my family is does not matter all that matters is the relationship.
August 21, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Gatsby16
1. Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth McBride came from a family which rejected her. She chose a path in which her family became a thing of the past. Her children (all 12 of them) always wondered where she came from and why she was white and not black. This difference caused the children to go through many difficulties during their childhood. Their mom to them was an unsolved mystery. As they grew up they found out more about their mom and her past. This caused them to fear society even more and worry about their moms safety. By the mom hiding her past it caused the children to be insecure about themselves and fear society. Which they do not know what part of society they belong to. This caused them to view themselves, the way society viewed them. My knowledge of my family background shaped my own-self image in a very influential way. My family back ground comes from a line of very dedicated and hard working family members. That information dedicated me to become that way as well. I acquired my family customs by just being raised by them. Meaning I am who I am today because of my family. Which therefor is my self-image.
August 21, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Writing Prompt #4
I think that anything is possible in today’s society. The world has changed so much that with enough dedication and hard work anyone can achieve their goals. Mixed-relationships and single mothers are so common that society does not harshly discriminate against them. Society will always be corrupt, but with enough strength one can overcome it. The world is full of people like Ruth McBride who strive for the nearly impossible and succeed.
August 21, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I agree with lily in that Ruth changes the subject every time James ask her about her race. It would probably be sad for Ruth if her children thought differently of her. Ruth tried her best to provide her children with the best and if they started to think differently then she would feel betrayed.
August 21, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I agree with apple’s comment on the “bowlegged waddle”, how one embarrassing characteristic can turn into a precious memory. When your young something may seem embarrassing, but when it is no longer present you start to miss it and realize that these little embarrassing moments brought happiness to your life.
August 21, 2008 at 10:48 pm
“I had very low self-esteem as a child, which I kept with me for many, many years; and even now I don’t want to be around anyone who is domineering or pushing me around because it makes me nervous.” (43)
This quote shows that as she was growing up, Ruth was sexually harassed by her own father and therefore she grew up with very low self-esteem. She also felt like she couldn’t tell anyone about her father molesting her because she was so scared of her father.
August 21, 2008 at 11:17 pm
“To further escape from painful reality, I created an imaginary world for myself. I believed my true self was a boy who lived in the mirror.”(90)
This quote shows how James tries to find himself through the mirror. He realizes that he is living a very painful life such as struggling to be accepted by society. When he sees the boy in the mirror (himself), he becomes jealous of him because the boy is free and doesn’t have a white mother like him. The boy doesn’t have to deal with all the obstacles of being black and having a white mother.
August 21, 2008 at 11:28 pm
“I had reached a point where I was ashamed of her and didn’t want the world to see my white mother. I grew secretive, cautious, passive, angry, and fearful, always afraid that the baddest cat on the block would call her a ‘honky’.” (100-101)
This quote shows that James grew up being ashamed of his white mother. He was a black boy and back in those days, it wasn’t normal or acceptable to be black and have a white mother. But when he refused to go to the grocery store with his mother, it’s not just because he was ashamed of her but also because he wanted to protect her mother from being verbally harassed by the people in the community.
August 21, 2008 at 11:45 pm
“Punk that I was, I did feel sorry for them, their screams echoing in my ears as I ran, my heart beating so hard it felt like a brick pounding against my chest, but not sorry enough. I was numb. I felt I was getting back at the world for injustices i had suffered.” (141)
This quote shows that James was not just robbing people to help his mother with her financial struggles but he also felt as if he was getting back to the cruel society. He felt as if he was getting revenge from all those people in the community who did not accept him and his family. He watched them suffer the same way James and his family had suffered.
August 22, 2008 at 12:03 am
“Mommy’s children are extraordinary people, most of them leaders in their own right… yet they carry themselves with a giant measure of dignity, humility and humor. Like any family we have problems but we have always been close.” (276-277)
This quote shows that despite all the problems and struggles James’ family had to go through, they always stayed close and best of all, Ruth raised twelve very successful children. They all went to college and followed their own career paths which made Ruth very proud.
August 22, 2008 at 12:28 am
I agree with “Admiradora” that there is no use of having money if your mind is not educated. You need to have education to lead a successful life. Also, anybody can take away your money but nobody can take away your education.
August 22, 2008 at 12:41 am
I agree with “NineteenHugs” that after all the struggles and obstacles Ruth had to overcome, she still remained powerful. She was a strong woman which encouraged and inspired her children, grandchildren and us, the readers to be strong no matter what. Ruth is a very strong and inspirational woman.
August 22, 2008 at 1:12 am
Prompt #1
I think Ruth refused to reveal her past because she didn’t want that to interfere with the lives of her children. She wanted her children to focus in school and maybe she was just ashamed of her own background. I personally think that children should know about their family backgrounds so they won’t make the same mistakes. As for me, knowing about my family’s background has helped me become who I am today. My family has taught me a lot about life and has influenced me to be a better person.
August 22, 2008 at 1:28 am
Prompt #4
I think that in today’s society, Ruth McBride would have been able to achieve everything she achieved back then. Although things are different now, it might of been hard to achieve everything Ruth has achieved because she has twelve young children and she is poor. Things are much more expensive now. But if she had the same strength and faith as she had in the past, she would definitely be able to overcome all her obstacles. She’d still be able to come through and raise twelve successful children.
August 22, 2008 at 5:32 pm
“Im dead.
you want to talk about my family and here I been dead to them for fifty years.”(1)
This quote caught my attention because while I was reading, the author’s mother describes herself “dead” to her family. She is basically seperated from her family because the fact that she married a black man. I feel that you shouldn’t judge people based on their skin color. This shouldn’t effect the relationship between family. The actions that Ruth’s parents and family took was unfair. Everyone should have the freedom of speech and choice on marriage. It doesn’t matter what nationality or skin color you have. Love and freedom is the most important because it is all based on the choice the person takes.
August 22, 2008 at 6:16 pm
“My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn’t tell anyone about. Such as getting in bed with me at night and doing things to me sexually that I could not tell anyone about” (42)
This must have been excruciating for Ruth. I find this horrible. If I was in ruth’s shoes I don’t know what I would have done. I feel the biggest mistake was not telling anyone about it. Ruth should of told somebody. On the other viewpoint, I think Ruth did not want anyone to know because her father supports the whole family. It must have been hard to work for your father and then be abused by him. This was very unfair for ruth and i dont agree to this such behavior.
August 22, 2008 at 7:30 pm
“I was what mommy called a little kid, one of five young’uns microscopic dots on the power grid of the household, thus fit to be tied, tortured, tickeled, tormented, ignored, and commanded to suffer all sorts of indignities at the hands of the Big Kids, who didn’t have to go to bed early, didn’t believe in the tooth fairy , and were appointed denizens of power by mommy, who of course wielded ultimate power. (65)
I felt bad for James because he was treated very strict by his brothers and sisters. He was bossed and most of the times there was no food. There was a lack of food and the apartment was very small, so it was hard to raise so many children. I like the fact that James loves his mother so much because he see’s his mother as sacred figure.
August 22, 2008 at 7:49 pm
“Am I black or white?” You’re a human being, she snapped. Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!”
James was very curious because he wanted to know if he was black or white. His mother tried to say your a human being so their would be no problem. I agree with ruth because its true we are all human beings. We walk, run, eat, smell, and hear. We are all the same, we are human beings that shouldn’t be judge based on the color of our skins. I agree that if you educate yourself you will be a somebody in the future. It important to educate yourself or you can’t survive in society.
August 22, 2008 at 8:05 pm
“Mommy was sitting on the living room couch all while this was happening, her feet resting on the cofee table. She yawned and said softly, I want to eat. The movie was instantly forgotten. Yeah lets eat! I sure am hungry! Lets order out! From another room: I been waiting to eat all day…! Now thats what you call power. (278)
I like the fact that everyone is working together. Ruth is lucky to have raised 12 children and they all are professionals. I look up to her actually, she was a poor mistreated woman who raised professionals and made herself a legend in society. I enjoyed this book so much, it makes me proud for Ruth. She been through a lot and at the end it all payed back.
August 22, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I agree with Shannon on “The question of race was like the power of the moon…It’s what made the river flow, the ocean swell, and the tide rise, but it was a silent power, intractable, indomitable, indisputable, and thus completely ignorable.” It is true that it is the strongest quote throughout the novel. Basically the moon like shannon said is the highest then comes the tide, and ocean swell. Its true that race controls peoples interactions with each other. Some people could act normal and others can show hasty actions.
August 22, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I agree with apple’s comment on ruth’s bowlegged walk because its true that james was ashamed when he was small but now as an adult he sees that her bowlegged walk is symbolic. This walk represents her. James is very proud of his mother and loves her very much.
August 22, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Writing Prompt #1
Ruth Mcbride refused to reveal her past because I guess she didn’t want her children to know about her past. She didn’t want them to know about the abusement she been through. She also didnt want her children to lose focus from school or make any hasty actions. Knowing my family background helped me be a great person. I learned how to act and live knowing my family culture. I became a very responsible and sweet hearted person.
August 22, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Writing prompt #4
I believe that its possible to achieve what Ruth Mcbride has achieved in today’s society. All you have to do is have faith and go for your goal. Don’t let any distractions lose your focus on your goal. Ruth worked hard and it depends on the person if they are willing to go for their goal.
August 23, 2008 at 3:57 am
“In 1942 Dennis and I were living in a room in the Port Royal on 129th Street between seventh and eight avenue” and one night after work I walked the hallway of our building and this black woman punched me right in my face. She hit me so hard I fell to the floor. “Don’t disrespect me!” she said. She was a raving lunatic. I never even knew who she was … she chased me up to our room and I slammed the door on her when he got home from worl. “That white woman don’t belong here” she said. That’s what she told him. Dennis didn’t attack her. He just said, “Leave my wife alone” and she did. (231)
I felt this quote shows how tough it is to be the only white woman there and shows that her love for Dennis is something that is very strong and powerful that it can’t make her leave.
August 23, 2008 at 4:04 am
“Mommy’s children are extraordinary people, most of them leaders in their own rights/ All of them have toted more mental baggage and delt with more hardship than they care to remember, yet they carry themselves with a giant measure of dignity, humility and humor. Like any family we have problems, but we have always been close. Through marriage, adoptions, love-ins, live-ins, and shack-ups, the original dozen has expanded into dozens and dozen more…” (276-277)
I feel this quote quickly summarizes the whole book because they have been through everything but in the end they are this huge family and also shows the future of the family with more and more kids from each side of the gene pool.
August 25, 2008 at 4:20 am
writing prompt #1
Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Prior to almost the end of the book, Ruth has constantly refused to reveal any detail of her past to her kids. As kids, her sons and daughters, who are black, has consistently struggled to understand the racial aspect of life, never seemingly able to grasp why unlike the rest of the blacks whose mother’s are black, their mother is black. This issue ultimately led them to wonder about their identity and who they are as a person. Trying to unveil their identity, they need to uncover their mother’s background and past life, but, each time they requested her concerning this matter, she hides away from it. Eventually this conflict generated them to face a lot of obstacles, adversity, hardships. In my opinion Ruth didn’t reveal any details of her past because she doesn’t want to be reminded of the sufferings she endure in the past. She wants all off her past life over with. and begin an entirely new life. More importantly, Ruth probably doesn’t want these racial issues to disrupt their daily lives. She wants them to believe that they can all succeed regardless of their race, nationality. My knowledge about my family background had shaped my self image. Their background influenced me to become the person I am today. They have greatly influence my interests, the qualities I have as a person, etc.
August 25, 2008 at 5:57 am
Writing prompt #4
Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
Yes I think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society. To me, anything in life has a possibility to be achieved. Nothing is entirely out of reach. To achieve what Ruth has achieved, I believe that hard work, determination, and commitment are absolutely necessary. Without those qualities, it would be almost near impossible to happen. In addition to all those, mental toughness is also crucial. Because of how corrupted society might be, you are bound to face a lot of obstacles and hardships. You can’t let those struggles discourage your goals. You have to able to handle it and fight through it.
August 25, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Quote #1
“In 1966, when I was nine, black power had permeated every element of my neighborhood in St. Albans, Queens” (25).
This quote stood out to me because it allowed me to visually depict what the scene looked like as James was growing up. From that sentence alone, I can tell that blacks were trying everything they could to get out the oppressed state they were in at that time period. I can also tell that James is very intelligent because he understood exactly what was going on between whites and blacks when he was only nine years old.
August 25, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Quote #2
“He only wanted money. That and to be an American. Those were the two things he wanted and he got them too, but it cost him his family, which he ran into the ground and destroyed” (41).
One thing I don’t understand is, why would anyone choose money or to be something they aren’t over their family? I feel that this action by Ruth’s father will eventually hurt not only Ruth but Ruth’s future family. A choice like the one Ruth’s father made can definitely change a person. I also believe that James will undergo something similar to what his mother went through.
August 25, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I agree with “Kevreader69″ when he says his quote quickly summarizes the whole book. Throughout the novel “mommy’s children” have experienced more than the average child would. They understood more and did more for them selves than most children ever did. They not only took care of themselves but they took care of each other.
August 25, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Quote #3
“You’re a human being… educate yourself or you”ll be a nobody” (92).
This theme of blacks being educated has showed up in other books I’ve read, such as “Black Boy” by Richard Wright and “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison. In all three of these books it was stressed that blacks should educate themselves in order to succeed in the oppressed society that they lived in. I think it is key for any person to educate themselves because a person can lose everything but their education. With education anything is possible no matter what kind of situation a person is in.
August 25, 2008 at 9:43 pm
“The question of race was like the power of the moon…It’s what made the river flow, the ocean swell, and the tide rise, but it was a silent power, intractable, indomitable, indisputable, and thus completely ignorable.” page 94
This qoute tell us how big of factor race is in this world.Its almost controls how people act, how they move, and what they say.Its a shame how it comes so natural to us that it isnt even pointed out but we knows it is happening.
August 25, 2008 at 10:13 pm
1.Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth McBride grew up in a broken home. As she grew to be an adult she has completley ignored her past and only focuses on raising her children. This was a challange especially in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights movement. They grew up clueless of why society was how it was making them scared of it.Because are scared of what they dont know. As they grew up they found out more about their mom and her past. They grew up perplexed about were they belonged in the segregated society. My knowledge of my Familys background has helped me alot completeley opposite to the Bride childern. My father is a American of Dominican descent who grew up in Washington Heights during the 1980’s which was a tough time back then.My mother is Dominican women who came to this country not knowing anything about the american life. Literally cluless. I know what mind state not to fall into.And has made me a very determined and happy person.N
August 25, 2008 at 10:15 pm
1.Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth McBride grew up in a broken home. As she grew to be an adult she has completley ignored her past and only focuses on raising her children. This was a challange especially in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights movement. They grew up clueless of why society was how it was making them scared of it.Because are scared of what they dont know. As they grew up they found out more about their mom and her past. They grew up perplexed about were they belonged in the segregated society. My knowledge of my Familys background has helped me alot completeley opposite to the Bride childern. My father is a American of Dominican descent who grew up in Washington Heights during the 1980’s which was a tough time back then.My mother is Dominican women who came to this country not knowing anything about the american life. Literally cluless. I know what mind state not to fall into.And has made me a very determined and happy person. Im not scared of anybody or being anywhere of society period. Are you?
August 25, 2008 at 10:26 pm
“She never spoke about Jewish people as being white she spoke about them as being Jew”. She establishes time and time again to her children that they shouldn’t classify people as white or black by color. This stands out to me.
August 25, 2008 at 11:40 pm
“You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself”
p(161)
I do agree with this quote because people around you may expect certin things from you.And may have certin expectations of you.But at the end it olny matters what you want to do and what you think.
August 26, 2008 at 12:41 am
Quote #4
“My anger at the world had been replaced by burning ambition. I didn’t want to be like them, standing around sipping wine and showing proper manners and acting happy when they weren’t…” (184-185).
I definitely agree with this quote because I don’t see the point of acting as if everything is okay when it isn’t. That’s just being in denial and eventually it will hurt you that most. For example, if a person sprains their ankle they will obviously be in pain and would need to see the doctor. They wouldn’t act like their ankle doesn’t hurt because the pain would just get worse. So if a person isn’t happy there’s really no point in hiding it.
August 26, 2008 at 12:41 am
“He knew God was powerful because when he went to church he saw that his mother acted different”.(50)
This quote was interested to me because it shows how his mother became a different person when she came to church.It was as if she felt free from all her problems there. And it didn’t bother her than the church she went to was predominantly an african american church.
August 26, 2008 at 3:25 am
Quote #4
“There’s such a big difference between being dead and alive, I told myself, and the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life” (229).
In my opinion, this is the most profound quote through out the entire novel. This quote can apply to any time period which makes it so universal. I believe that James finally understood this because of the events he lived through. It helped shape his mentality, thus resulting him becoming a mature individual.
August 26, 2008 at 3:32 am
Quote #5 (The last Quote #4 is actually #5)
“There’s such a big difference between being dead and alive, I told myself, and the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life” (229).
In my opinion, this is the most profound quote through out the entire novel. This quote can apply to any time period which makes it so universal. I believe that James finally understood this because of the events he lived through. It helped shape his mentality, thus resulting him becoming a mature individual.
August 26, 2008 at 3:47 am
This comment is addressed to: langie246 on
August 21, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I agree with “langie246″ that Ruth and her children didn’t get to bond as a family. It is tough for any single parent trying to raise children on their own. The children also suffer because they might not have that father-figure or mother-figure. This might eventually scar the children’s childhoods, as “langie246″ said.
August 26, 2008 at 4:05 am
This comment is addressed to Apple on
August 18, 2008 at 7:56 pm
That was a very good analytical perspective on the quote. I agree with “Apple” that God has no true form nor a true color and he is seen all over the world by different people with different perspectives. If “God is the color of water” then that means that he is the purest force that is able to give life to those in need of it.
August 26, 2008 at 4:15 pm
“I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black.”
I liked this quote because it showed how the author’s perceptions about race has changed. Back then, race was everything; it permeated most aspects of his life but now he realizes that race didn’t matter. It is also interesting that he doesn’t have any issue with being black but that his mother was white. Since every white person around him extolled whiteness and denigrated blackness, one would think that he would go with that widespread idea but it shows his strong family and will that he didn’t just accept those ideas.
August 26, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Writing Prompt #2
I don’t believe that Ruth wanted to purposely confuse her children or even confuse them at all. I think that Ruth wanted the best for her children even though she didn’t like white people. If she believed that the best future for her children lied in sending them to white schools, even if she was being hypocritical, then so be it. Any other mother would do the same because they too would want their children’s future secured. Moreover, Ruth not liking white people is her own opinion and not her children. She can’t force them to not like white people. So by sending them to white schools, they won’t be as closed minded as other people such as their mother Ruth.
August 26, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Writing Prompt #4
I think what Ruth has accomplished can be achieved today. People need the right mindset in order to get past obstacles that come up while trying to achieve their goal. Among other qualities, having a strong will to achieve a goal is necessary because if there is no motivation then trying to attain a goal is pointless. External factors play a role as well because they can help or discourage a person in achieving their goal. Knowing how too handle both internal and external factors increases the possibility of attaining a goal.
August 26, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I agree with kevreader69 about how the quote summarizes the whole book because it’s saying that the author’s family struggled and suffered but in the end they were able to progress and keep their family going instead of proving all the naysayers right and failing to accomplish their goals.
August 27, 2008 at 12:00 am
-Page 161
“You have to choose between what the world expects of you, and what you want for yourself.”
I Think this quote is very significant to every day life. Its a decision that many people face everyday. Sometimes the things you want in life, and the things you believe in, are not always what everybody else believes in. Thats where this quotation applys, Often , you have to make this decision. To choose what you believe in, Or what everybody else does. People may expect alot from you, but you have to remember to do what you think is right. Doing what you want in life only makes you happier, instead of doing what other people want from you.
August 27, 2008 at 12:16 am
“My friends became my family, and my family and mother just became people I live with” (140).
When james’ step father died, thats when his family started to fall apart, And thats where this quotation applys. James got into Many bad habbits, which just made his family matters worsen. And i think, becuase of the way james acted; breaking the law and so on, Just made his relationship with his mother disinigrate.
August 27, 2008 at 12:26 am
“They believed that money without knowledge was worthless” (29).
I agree with this quote because you can have a lot of money but it wouldn’t have a meaning if you don’t know how to spend it. People also need to have the knowledge to make the money anyways.
August 27, 2008 at 12:27 am
Admiradora, I agree with your response to the quote, “You dont need money. Whats money if your mind is empty! Educate your mind!”
An education can take you much farther in life then money ever could, you can alway loose money but u can never loose an education.
August 27, 2008 at 12:34 am
“I wanted to shout out, “Hey y’all, it really doesn’t matter!” I actually believed folks would accept that, that they’d see what a good person he was and maybe accept us, and I went through a few days of thinking this, after which I told him one night, “Let’s run off to the country and get married,” he said, “No way. I don’t know where that’s been done before, white and black marrying in Virginia. They will surely hang me” (113-114).
Ruth should face reality that whites and blacks cannot get married. But when she asked him to run away with her, he refused because he was scared that he was going to be hanged. But did he ever think about Ruth’s situation?
August 27, 2008 at 12:34 am
“I wanted to shout out, “Hey y’all, it really doesn’t matter!” I actually believed folks would accept that, that they’d see what a good person he was and maybe accept us, and I went through a few days of thinking this, after which I told him one night, “Let’s run off to the country and get married,” he said, “No way. I don’t know where that’s been done before, white and black marrying in Virginia. They will surely hang me” (113-114).
Ruth should face reality that whites and blacks cannot get married. But when she asked him to run away with her, he refused because he was scared that he was going to be hanged. But did he ever think about Ruth’s situation?
August 27, 2008 at 12:41 am
“When they tore down his house, it was like they ripped out half his arteries. He came to Queens and lived with us, converting a piece of the basement into his old-time headquarters; he squeezed in his antique furniture, his windup record player, and a small refrigerator in which he stored his jars of pig feet and cans of Rheingold beer, but his heart was back in Brooklyn” (125-126).
I cannot imagine moving into a new neighborhood where it’s not as luxurious as the place he lived in. It must’ve been uncomfortable and really misses Brooklyn.
August 27, 2008 at 12:45 am
“God is the color of water, water doesnt have a color”Chapter 6, page 51,
I Think this quote is saying that god doesnt look upon race, nor does he have a race. Its not about black and white. And i think this quote implies that color doesnt matter. I believe this is the message his mother is trying to send him with this quote.
August 27, 2008 at 12:48 am
“For me, the two weeks or so he was in the hospital meant I could hang out with my friends as long and as late as I wanted to, and I avoided going to see him until Mommy forced me to” (126).
I understand that at the age of fourteen, kids really wants to hang out as late as they want especially when none of their parents are there to nag them about coming home. But I still think it’s the job for the son or daughter to care about their parents.
August 27, 2008 at 12:49 am
I agree with nineteenhugs response to the quote, “But it didn’t matter, because right then and there I knew he was going to die, and I had to blink back my tears” (128). This quote really touched me and really gave me the sence of all the emotions james was feeling at the time. It really highlighted his strength.
August 27, 2008 at 12:59 am
“A few hours before, I had dropped off my ex-girlfriend, Karen, a black model who renamed herself Karone at her grandmother’s house in Petersburg. Also in a tow with her was her two-year-old son, Paul, a gentle, kind boy who seemed slightly confused as to who I was. Mommy hated Karone. “You got a ready-made family now,” she quipped. “Your whole life was in front of you. Now look at you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Bye-bye dreams!” she sniffed.
I ignored her. Karone and I had no plans to get married (203).
Parents always want the best for their kids. But sometimes, they just think too much when they see something, they’ll jump to conclusions.
August 27, 2008 at 1:05 am
Writing prompt #4
I think that many people Would not be able to accomplish what Ruth Mcbride did, in todays society. Things are alot more Free, and people are alot more accepting now a days. Interracial marraiges used to be looked very down upon, but now are common. There are alot more luxuries these days, and things come easier then they did back then. I think Ruth had to work extra hard to achieve what she did, and i do Not think that many people would be able to achieve that today.
August 27, 2008 at 1:10 am
Lily
August 20, 2008 at 1:54 am
I agree with Lily because why waste your time remembering the negative things that happened in life when you can remember all the positive things that made you happy.
August 27, 2008 at 1:14 am
Paulina
August 21, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I agree with Paulina because she’s been sexually harassed and will always remember it. That also made her vulnerable and also the lack confidence.
August 27, 2008 at 1:18 am
1. Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
I think Ruth doesn’t want to unfold her past because she wants to forget about it and move on. She doesn’t want her past to affect her children. For me, knowing my family background helped me become who I am today because I know I don’t want to live the way my parents did. Neither do they.
August 27, 2008 at 1:23 am
4. Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
I believe Ruth can achieve what she achieved in today’s society because she’s a very strong woman raising twelve kids in a harsh society. Even though today, things maybe much more expensive, but the society did improve, so she can definitely achieve it.
August 27, 2008 at 1:26 am
Writing prompt #1
I think Ruth’s refusal to share her brutal past, is completely understandable, consdering she was sexually abused. I think her children not knowing about the rape was for the better, becuase knowing that would change the way they looked at her. I know if i found out one of my parents were sexually abused as a child, i would look at them differently, not bad, but sympathetically. So i think ruth didnt want sympathy from her children.
August 27, 2008 at 3:39 am
” As a boy , i always thought my mother was strange. she never cared to socialize with our neighbors. her past was a mystery she refused to discuss. She could speak Yiddish. She had an absolute distrust of authority and an insistence on complete privacy which seeme to make her, and the family, even odder.” (9)
I cant imagine to be in James place at this point where he only knew just enough of the only person who he was supposed to trust the most. As he makes clear in the book , when he was growing up his mother made and broke the rules, she distributed power to her children based on age it was like a like a monarchy where she was the queen and they were like the disciples or students who had to follow her rules and learn from her. Meaning no questions ask just follow which seemed odd to james because he didn’t see his mother like he seen his friends moms she was different which made his family a bit different from others and that seems to make him eagerly interested in learning more about her and what she was about.
August 27, 2008 at 5:06 am
” The way we did it, you had different table settings for every meal, different table cloths different dishes , forks, spoons, knives, everything. And you couldn’t mix your meals. like you had your dairy meals and your meat meals. so you eat all dairy one meal and all meat the next. No mixing it up. No Pork …” (17)
Just like any other religion many rules occur i dont really know much about judaism but it seems a bit like islam, my mother is muslim so i know a bit and since ramadan is coming up muslims must prove to Allah that they are worth his benedictions for instance in a married couple the husband and wife cant really prove their love to each other when fasting or just this period of time otherwise it would be as if their sacrifice to no eating all day would just be going to waste and they wont really get the benedictions they were aiming for. For some reasons i think Ruth reallly got exicted to experience the American life because there are no rules, she could be free and do many things she never thought of doing. Also the fact that she’s dead to her family shows their remorse for her discorvering of a easier life made them feel betrayed and didn’t see her as one of them anymore.
August 27, 2008 at 5:22 am
“He hired a black woman to look after Mameh and that woman cared for Mameh more than he did. she’d stay late and look after Mameh even if he didn’t pay her , and he paid her so little as it was. he thought money he spent to take care of his wife would do it, you know, substitute for the fact that he didn’t lover her. But a wife wants love. She was a good Jewish wife to him, but… . That’s why I knew I was leaving home.” (155)
Ruth seems to always find refuge with black folks thats where she feels safe in peace and loved and i think it has to do with the fact that thru her experiencex they have always been the ones that rescued her that helped that gave good back, the ones that she fell in love with and loved her back instead of using her like her father did. the same way this woman helped her mother in needs because she wanted to. Tateh really frightened Ruth and manipulated the family, she felt under pressure and insecure and that was why she felt free when she left just like her brother did too.
August 27, 2008 at 5:37 am
“`I know you’re going back. Please don’t go back. Promise me you’ll stay.`” (201) Dee-Dee to Ruth
Dee-Dee was always the baby the naive one who had it a little easier then the other siblings and a bit passive too. But then she started to lose her innocence and seeing the true colors of her father as Ruth was getting ready to go back to New York Dee-Dee didn’t want to get left in that misery alone, but the problem was Ruth’s shame of dating a black male and didn’t want anyone to find out about it. So she couldn’t really bring her sister along and could not stay either because being in that house brought her spirit down. This caused a huge gap between the two sisters.
August 27, 2008 at 5:48 am
“… one of those young black militant leaders, screaming to hundreds and hundreds of angry African-American students,”Black power!Black power!Black power!” while the crowd roared. It frightened the sh*t out of me. i thought to myself, these people will kill Mommy. Mommy on the other hand, seemed unconcerned.”(27)
James knew his mother was very different and was really scared for her. Not really knowing what the Black Panthers rally were really about but he knew it has to do with his future as well as it was against people who looked like mommy.
August 27, 2008 at 4:00 pm
“Tateh couldn’t have cared less. He hired a black woman to look after Mameh and that woman cared for Mameh more than he did.”
To me, this quote shows why Ruth left because her whole life she felt unloved and saw her mother, brother and sister go through the same thing. She had to escape that environment even though it meant hurting her sister and mother.This ties into the fact that the author said her way of coping with something was to keep moving.Her leaving Suffolk was another example of that.
August 27, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Pg-42 “But it affected me in a lot of ways, what he did to me. I had very low self-esteem as a child, which kept with me for many, many years; and now I don’t want to be around anyone who is domineering or pushing me around because it makes me nervous.” I think that this was a good thing for her because if she did not have low self-esteem then she wouldn’t have went and broke Jewish rules and went out with a African American and with that started her whole life in the long run to treat all races the same way, in which she has done so when having 12 kids.
August 27, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Pg52- “Then how come they make him white here in this picture?” Richie said, and held up our Sunday school Bible. Rev. Ownes said, “Jesus is all colors.”
Like the title says The Color of Water is what the mom *Rachel aka Ruth* has told James when he has also asked that question. Richie is only foolish enough to believe what was written and shown in the book other then questioning the context of it.
August 27, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Pg 139- He lined us up against a freight car and searched us, then smashed one kid in the face with his blackjack-the kid had tried to say he wasn’t with the rest of us.
I assume it is around the 60’s or 70’s since this just sounds like a hate crime and James was still around the teens or twenties. I wonder if James is still alive and would be happy in the times that is now then when he was growing up and African American rights were still a shaky issue.
August 27, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Pg 138- As we approached the church I started to shake and sweat, and before we reached the church doorway, I stepped out of line. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t go inside that church. In my heart I was still a Jew. I had done some wrong things in my life, but I was still my parents’ child
Despite that she is Christan now, she still maintains a Jewish backround and it is hard to give up that backround because it is what you are from. It is like tossing your identity away and just not knowing who you are. It just doesn’t make any sense.
August 27, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Pg266-267 When I was in college and had to fill out a form that for some reason or other required Ma’s maiden name, I called her long distance, in Philadelphia, to find out, and she was suddenly evasive. “what do you need that for?” she asked. “How come?” She hemmed and hawed awhile longer before finally coming out with it. “Shilsky,” she said.
Again, another example that she is trying to forget about her past and where is is from. She probably knows and cannot escape it and has to deal with it cause its the truth. She should have her Jewish backround and her Christian beliefs co-exist with her.
August 27, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Responding to Jmb817’s comment
Well it did mention that Jewish marriages were arranged marriages and no love is ever made or even brought about so its just two people having to deal and live with each other whether they like it or not. Even Rachel aka Ruth has talked about how much Taeth doesn’t respect or love his wife, just used her to get him to America.
August 27, 2008 at 5:37 pm
kevreader69
August 23, 2008 at 3:57 am
I agree with Kev and I would like to add on that Dennis has kept Ruth strong in being a rare sighted white person in Harlem and he had done much things to make her strong and put her together and before they knew it they were together and she became Christian and ever regretted it.
August 27, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Writting Prompt
1. Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
I do enjoy how James reveled his mom’s past with his life story and his mom life story one every other chapter and it somehow relates to the previous or next chapter. She had probably did not want to say much about her past because she didn’t want to remember it or hated the fact that his dad was racist and it was a emotionally tragic and depressing time for her. With that experience she has hanged around with African Americans and saw through racism and color and has taught on her kids to not see life and people like that. I don’t think this is changed me by how I see my own backround at all, it has been the same throughout all the years that I can recall.
August 27, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Writing Promt
4. Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
It is possible for anything that she has done. Teaching kids that God isn’t a certain color but the color of water, color should not affect one’s judgment or actions to one another especially if they are another race or color and even being against the odds of being in financial problems is able to put kids into college no matter who they are. If I recall in Mrs. Tomaselli’s class some teacher was teaching kids not to judge people for a certain color, in this case eye color. Ruth McBride is just a extraordinary person to live through this hard times and taught her kids the best of her own self knowledge and they all became professionals in a certain field.
August 27, 2008 at 6:34 pm
“I didn’t want my friends seeing my white mother out there riding a bicycle. She was already white, that was bad enough, but to go out and ride an old bike that went out of style a hundred years ago? And a grown-up no less? I couldn’t handle it.” page 8
This quote shows us that James obviously does care a lot about image and what people think of him and his family. Not only does he not want his friends to know that his mother is white but he doesn’t want them to see the type of bike she was riding. Maybe as he gets older his mentality will change and he’ll realize that looks aren’t everything.
August 27, 2008 at 6:51 pm
“Mommy was for anything involving the improvement of our education and condition…”
page 87
Raising twelve kids on your own must not be easy. Yet Ruth has the ability to not only raise them but raise them properly. This quote shows that she cares for her kids and wants what’s best for them because she would want to improve their education as much as possible.
August 27, 2008 at 7:00 pm
” My friends became my family, and my family and mother just became people I lived with.”
page 140
It seems like James is losing hope and is just running to his friends which is not a good idea because he’s doing a lot he shouldn’t do and it’s going to get him into trouble. After the death of his stepfather that’s when things changed. If he were still around at this time during the book maybe the relationship between James and his mother would be different, for the better.
August 27, 2008 at 7:18 pm
In respone to Jazmines comment on August 19,2008 at 8:47 pm :
“i believe you can hint it to them and tell them how it helps you and your life but you should not force it on someone because they can run away and never give it a chance. i think a person has to face something in order to make their own choice on faith and religon. i liked the fact that she rasied he family with religon but i do feel that she pushed it on them.”
I agree with what she has to say about faith and how Ruth raised her family. Ruth did kind of pushed it onto them when she shouldn’t have because theres just so much you could do. But, I guess she was just trying to do what’s best for her children.
August 27, 2008 at 7:26 pm
In response to BLADYCHAS comment on
July 9, 2008 at 6:12 pm :
I like how the story is narrated also. They do both experience the same outcomes but with different situations. The story does go back and forth from James point of view to Ruths and I think that’s what makes the book more interesting and helps the reader get a better understanding of the book and makes it less boring .
August 27, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Prompt # 1
I think Ruths refusal to reveal her past is the reason as to why her children grew up the way they did. Not saying that they were brought up poorly but, maybe if Ruth was honest with them it could’ve changed the way they thought of things and the children would’ve probably had a different outlook on the world. Being able to know about and actually know my whole family is great. I think it helps me better understand my past and why i’m brought up to become the person I am today. Knowing my familys background and the things they went through just makes me want to exceed in this world even more.
August 27, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Prompt # 4
Yes, I do think it’s possible to achieve what Ruth has achieved. We live in a world in which people are criticized because of the way they look, the things they do, etc. But, you can’t let those things get to you you have to do what’s best for you and your family and I think that’s exactly what Ruth did.
August 27, 2008 at 11:15 pm
“”You’re going to have to learn to walk home by yourself,”… In my mind was Mommy’s warning, drilled into all twelve of us chindren from the time we could walk:” Never, ever, ever tell your business to nobody.”" (Page 13)
—– When i read this book, i found this intertesing quote. I think it is important. We can know Ruth’s opinion about race and society from it. She does not want anyone know her past, even her children. At the same time, she does not want others know anything about her children neither. They don’t know how to answer the questions about race and their family.
August 28, 2008 at 12:37 am
“Part of me died when Dennis died. I loved that man more than life itself and at times I wished the good Lord would have taken me instead of him, because he was a much better person for living than me. He just had so much to give to the world than me. He brought me new life”.I found this quote on page 244. I felt so sad and touching when i first read it. Since Ruth met Dennis and married him, Ruth changed a lot. She converted to Christianity, and became very involved with church activities. After Dennis died, Ruth mourned his death deeply. In her view, she can not accept this truth. This quote shows how important Dennis can to Ruth. I think this quote is touching because it shows her real feelings. All of these became Ruth’s past and affect her whole life.
August 28, 2008 at 1:04 am
“The question of race was like the power of the moon… It’s what made the river flow, the ocean swell, and the tide rise, but it was a silent power, intractable, indomitable, indisputable, and thus completely ignorable, and thus completely ignorable.” (page 94)
—— From this quote, the author reveals an important idea about race. I agree with this quote. As one of the important questions in this modern society, race gives a big impact on human being. This question affects people in thier actions and conversations. It’s powerful. People can feel it from everywhere. At the same time, the question of race is hard to solve.
August 28, 2008 at 1:25 am
Writting Prompt #2 :“Mommy’s contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably substandard… She was against welfare and never applied for it despite our need, but championed those who availed themselves of it.” Do you think these contradictions served to confuse Ruth’s children further, or did they somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses?
I personally think that Ruth’s contradictions of herself led to better the views her children have of the world. Showing both her likes and dislikes of both whites and blacks shows that she has the ability to see both sides. Also she wants her children to get the best of both worlds since they are both white and black, in that way they can find their way easier in and around the world the world.
August 28, 2008 at 1:37 am
Writting Prompt #4 : Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
It could definetly be possible in today’s society. Ruth McBride is a very strong woman who no matter how many times she has fallen , always got right back up on her feet, well first her knees. Because she always knew that things would get better somehow someday. Today there are very strong women and mothers just like her out there in the world who fight everyday to better their lives and the lives of their children. Women who possibly went through worst then Ruth herself. For instance in countries in war and very poor countries, where these women dont get it as easy because they get no help. In today’s society in the USA, it could be easier to achieve Ruth’s experience because the country is now segregation free, and single mothers and less fortunate families are helped a whole lot then before.
August 28, 2008 at 1:48 am
I agree with MTA (June 21, 2008 at 9:58 pm)
on {“…hold [Ruth] close to [Tateh's] body part near his sexual parts and he’d have an erection” (42).
That was just plain disgusting. I thought this book was just about the hardship James and his mother went through, but not this. James’ mother’s father molested her. This is just really weird and disturbing. I would’ve never thought this would have happened. Still amazing how she have the power and control over her kids and herself. Must be a really strong woman.}
It is very disgusting that a man would actually moleste his own daughter, I mean i think god i didn’t go through that and i pray i wont. Any man who does that should be ashamed. Tateh was married and he would leave his wife to moleste his daughter is really wrong. This doesn’t leave me wondering why she wanted to leave as her brother who did and never came back.
August 28, 2008 at 1:54 am
Responding to Lily (August 11, 2008 at 7:23 am)on {“‘When I asked her if she was white, she’d say, “No. I’m light-skinned,” and change the subject again”‘ (21). I think she keeps trying to change the subject whenever her son asks her about her personal history because she doesn’t want him to think she is any different from the others in the family.}
I definetly agree with her, Ruth didn’t want her children to think that she was not like them or her color was more powerful then theirs. So everytime when her kids try to find out the reason of her skin color being different from her. Frankly i think her children especialy james asked on purpose tryng to make her admit that she was white even thought they knew it.
August 28, 2008 at 2:44 am
I agree with { Cherry
August 28, 2008 at 12:37 am
“Part of me died when Dennis died. I loved that man more than life itself and at times I wished the good Lord would have taken me instead of him, because he was a much better person for living than me. He just had so much to give to the world than me. He brought me new life”.I found this quote on page 244. I felt so sad and touching when i first read it. Since Ruth met Dennis and married him, Ruth changed a lot. She converted to Christianity, and became very involved with church activities. After Dennis died, Ruth mourned his death deeply. In her view, she can not accept this truth. This quote shows how important Dennis can to Ruth. I think this quote is touching because it shows her real feelings. All of these became Ruth’s past and affect her whole life. }
I felt the same way when i read this part. Dennis was such a big part of Ruth’s life and had brought her so much. Losing him was like losing all that she had gained. He brought change and much more to her life. Yes, it showed her real feelings, something which Ruth has done rarely. She has concealed her emotions throughout the book
August 28, 2008 at 3:11 am
writing prompt #1
Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth has refused to reveal her past to children for most of the book. It wasn’t until the end that she started to reveal her past. I believe this is because she did not want her children to know about her horrid past and suffering. She wanted her children to life a clean new life, free from bad memories of the past. She didn’t want the them to be exiled or lack education. I also think because she didn’t want race to be a problem.
My knowledge of my background has shaped me as an individual and as an independent. It has motivated me to change the way I live and to make a better future for my family. It has also been a motivation in school.
August 28, 2008 at 3:55 am
“The greatest sin a person can do to another is to take away that life….My life won’t be lived that way, and neither, I hope, will my children’s. I left for New York happy in the knowledge that my grandmother had not suffered and died for nothing.”
James says this after he woke up in the middle of the night in the motel room in his mother’s hometown. He goes down to the river and his emotions overwhelm him he celebrates his hardships and appreciates them. I agree with him because without issues we as humans wont evolve mentally and become better beings.
August 28, 2008 at 4:15 am
“….death was always around Suffolk, always around. It was always so hot, and everyone was so polite, and everything was all surface but underneath it was like a bomb waiting to go off.”
Ruth explains the truth about Suffolk, Virginia. Ruth refuses to set foot in the South because of the hate that hides underneath everyone. It is horrible when a town feels so much tension. Everyone should be uniting to bring peace and happiness not hatred. People should love not hate.
August 28, 2008 at 4:19 am
“If it doesn’t involved your going to school or church , I could care less about it and my answer is no whatever is?
The mother is so strict about the school and she doesn’t want to know in anything else. His mother want her to focus in his study and have a good grades in school. Also he shouldn’t be responding anything about their life at home if somebody ask him about their life, they thought to respond i don’t know.
I don’t agree in this quotes because he just did what his mom said and for years that he grew up nobody knows about the story of their life.
August 28, 2008 at 4:27 am
“…I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black…”
James has difficulty embracing his true identity. His total personality changes through his progress of adulthood. As he grew he learned to accept his family and his many backgrounds. He should be proud of who he is. He is different everyone should be. It is easier and more adventurous. You learn more about other cultures and not just one.
August 28, 2008 at 4:41 am
“…Out of haze of relatives and authority figures loomed a dominating presence that would come and go. My stepfather worked as furnace fireman for the New York City Housing Authority. ”
He tells about how his father died how he experience being with his stepfather is new and trying to understand.
August 28, 2008 at 4:43 am
“…Mameh’s sisters were more about money than anything else, and any hurts that popped up along the way, they just swept them under the rug. They were all trying hard to be American, you know, not knowing what to keep and what to leave behind….”
Ruth depicts how her Aunt is very materialistic and how her opinions are affecting Americanization. They try to join the past and the present and with a new future. They should try because it will help them to move forward to bigger problems and become more independent.
August 28, 2008 at 4:51 am
“… She gave away Daddy’s clothes, his tools, his hats… gone to the Goodwill. She sent us off to school and tried to maintain her crazy house as usual, ranting about this and that, but the fire was gone.”
This quote portrays how the mother is giving away the clothes as if she was giving away her past she doesn’t want to think about anymore so she gives it away. Also her mother doesn’t wanna see his dad stuff because it brings back memories and it makes her depress.
August 28, 2008 at 5:06 am
“… He never judge me. That ’s the first thing i liked about him, in fact that’s what I like about black folks all my life. They never judge me.”
He feel comfortable about this boy because he didn’t judge his personalty and how he look. He met a friends who accept him of who he is and where he came from as long as you come as who you are.
August 28, 2008 at 7:26 am
“Of course I had something to run from. My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn’t tell anyone about. Such as getting in bed with me at night and doing things to me sexually that I could not tell anyone about… God, I was scared of him.” (page 42)
—— Ruth have a painful and horrible childhood. That’s the reason why Ruth does not want other people know anything about her childhood. From this quote, I can understand her feelings. As a rabbi, her father supports the whole family.When Ruth was a child, Tateh sexually abused her and made harsh demands on her to work in his store.
August 28, 2008 at 7:50 am
Responding to MTA (June 23, 2008 at 7:00 pm),
“My friends became my family, and my family and mother just became people I live with” (140).
This is the point where James McBride starts to lost the bond and connection between his mother and family members. When his stepfather died, it tore his family apart. The love James and his mother once had was gone.
What he’s doing right now, stealing, smoking, dropping out of school, lying, getting in trouble with the law, etc. will probably kill his mother if he continues down this path.
——- I strongly agree with this. From this quote, the readers can understand that James McBride have already lost connection with his family, especially his mother. The death of his stepfather made him feel so sad. And affected him in a great deal. At the same time, “…will probably kill his mother if he continues down this path.” I think it’s true.
August 28, 2008 at 8:08 am
“‘Am I black or white?’ ‘You’re a human being,’ she snapped. ‘Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!’ ‘Will I be a black nobody or just a nobody?’ ‘If you’re a nobody,’ she said dryly, ‘it doesn’t matter what color you are.’ ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I said.”(page 92)
—— Through this quote, we can know Ruth’s attitude about the race and skin color. By facing her son’s question, she did not give him a direct answer. In another way, she thought the skin color does not really matter. In her point of view, education is the most important thing. From the book, we can know that Ruth sent all her children to the college.
August 28, 2008 at 8:27 am
Responding to Admiradora
(August 15, 2008 at 8:36 pm)
—— I agree with this. In today’s harsh society, money is important. However, it’s also materialistic. People always try their best to get more money. Money can buy a lot of things, but can not buy the education or love. I think the quote is true. Only knowledge can entertain your life and makes it wonderful.
August 28, 2008 at 9:01 am
Prompt Question 1:
Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
—— In today’s society, the family background can affect someone a lot, in differewnt ways. It also shapes his self-image. I think Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past because all of her past experiences gave her damage. In the same way, Ruth does not want this affect her children, not only attitudes but also emotions. She wanted her kids can get enough education and live in a wonderful way. For me, my family background also shaped my own self-image. I always heard about my family members’ past. All of these things give me different influences. I understand that I can not make the same mistakes. I know how to avoid it. I think it’s good way for me to be a nice person in this harsh society.
August 28, 2008 at 9:08 am
Prompt Question 4:
Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
—— I think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society. In today’s world, anything can happen and possible. It’s not intending. As a strong woman, I think Ruth has ability to solve the problems and improve them, even they are harder. Living in Ruth’s way in this modern society is not easy. Through her special experiences and personalities, Ruth can find the solution of her problems. She is a different and very strong woman. The most important thing is that Ruth know the importance of knowledge. It is usefulness and powerful in today’s world.
August 28, 2008 at 1:03 pm
prompt question #4
I think that it would be possible to achieved what Ruth did in todays society. When you want something you will do almost anything to get but you have to really want it. I think that anything is possible as long as you try :p
August 28, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Prompt Question 1:
Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth refused to let her childern know about her past because i think she was ashamed and hurt by it. My knowledge of my family shapes my self-image alot. Because i know what my family approves of and how they work it makes me think twice of my actions.
August 28, 2008 at 5:48 pm
“I thought Jews were something that was in the Bible. I ‘d heard about them in Sunday school, through Jesus and such. I told Ma I didn’t know they were still around” (85)
I thought this was a very funny and ironic quote because he was unaware that Jews still existed. This is ironic because his mother is Jewish and according to Jewish law through her, he is Jewish too. While funny, it also shows how much the mother hid from her children, how much of their heritage was unknown.
August 28, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Writing Prompt #1
I feel like Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her allowed her children to create their own identities. If she had told them about her Jewish heritage, I think they would have tried to act in the way they though mixed children should act. They might have shunned one part of themselves and embraced the other instead of created the person they wanted to be.
I think that knowing my family background has made me more aware of how the world is. I know my great-grandma was in the march on Washington D.C. in 1963 . Knowing that i have ancestor and relatives who lived though those types of important events makes me realize that my place in the world can only be determined by my actions and everything else can fall by the wayside.
August 28, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Writing Prompt #4
I believe that Ruth McBride could achieved what she did in today’s society. Nowadays, there are a lot more types of public assistance and free programs for children. I think she could have managed better in this time period because the government is more effective in helping families in need that in the 50’s and 60’s. She could have gotten SSI or Section 8 which would have definitely helped her situation.
August 29, 2008 at 4:00 pm
“See, a Marriage needs love. And God. And a little money, That’s All. The rest you can deal with.” pg. 233
The narrator of the story is describing about how a marriage and love is suppose to function. Although, I dont quite agree with her because a marriage entells a lot more then Love, God, and Money. But according to her, that how she sees her Marriage to be like.
August 29, 2008 at 7:12 pm
“If there is one thing Tateh didn’t like more than gentiles, it was black folks. And if there was one thing he didn’t like more than black folks in general, it was black men in particular (107)”
This quote was interesting just for the fact that her father was racist and didn’t like black people but then she goes ahead and marries one. It shows that she is rebellious towards her father. To me her actions for marrying a black man could’ve been seen in two ways. Just to disrespect her father or actually finding true love.
August 29, 2008 at 7:13 pm
“He left behind no insurance policy, no dowry, no land, no money (251)”
This shows how Ruth was very independent after losing her husband. She went on to raise all twelve of her children correctly and send them off to college and to go on into the real world prepared. Even through the struggles of taking care of twelve kids is plenty, she managed to do a good job. Infact she was so awe inspiring that one of her son’s wrote a book about their life. Ruth did the best job that she could.
August 29, 2008 at 7:13 pm
“They believed that money without knowledge was worthless (29)”
This quote right here is the most interesting just because it is true. People without knowledge who have money don’t know how to save their money. Not knowing how to spend their money will get them broke. Money controls everything and without it you can’t go far but without knowledge money is just green paper to spend.
August 29, 2008 at 7:20 pm
“I had reached a point where i was ashamed of her and didn’t want the world to see my white mother (100)”
I understand that she was different from other regular mothers that his friends had, but this is what makes him different, unique. In today’s society there is a lot of people who tries to fit in with the crowd to avoid being noticed, yet there are plenty more making a label for them selves and struggling to stand out of the crowd. Being mixed is one way to be original.
August 29, 2008 at 7:24 pm
“We’re moving to Delaware. Pack up the house (177)”
Her household is full of chaos because she was so spontaneous. She doesn’t even have the right money or plan to be moving around with such luxury, especially when she’s single handedly raising twelve kids
August 29, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I agree with Roxxy (August 27, 2008 at 5:37 am) because Dee Dee felt abandoned once she was left to suffer alone. However it is abandonment if you really think about it because Ruth should be able to leave with her sister if she really wanted to. But instead of that she just left the burden of keeping the store and her father’s expectations on Dee Dee
August 29, 2008 at 11:41 pm
The comment on August 28, 2008 at 5:48 pm I found it to be a reflection of today’s society. the fact that James didn’t know about the jews was because he didn’t even know he was one. It shows the ignorance that our youth goes through and how they know little about the world just because it isn’t around (or related) to them.
August 30, 2008 at 5:44 am
“Punk that I was, I did feel sorry for them, their screams echoing in my ears as I ran, my heart beating so hard it felt like a brick pounding against my chest, but not sorry enough. I was numb. I felt I was getting back at the world for injustices I had suffered…” (141)
In this quote the author describes his feelings about robbing women in order to get money. In times of hardship and desperation people do foolish things. In this case, he is angry at the world for everything him and his family have been threw. The situation is also very ironic because he has witnessed his own mother’s purse being snatched. At this point, he has become so cold-hearted and careless that he does not stop to realize how horrible his own mother felt. The little remorse he feels within himself is not enough to make him do the right thing.
August 30, 2008 at 7:19 am
“She could not grasp exactly what to do next, but she kept moving as if her life depended on it, which in some ways it did. She ran, as she had done most of her life, but this time she was running from her own sanity.” (164)
This quote really touched me simply because I realized how McBride’s mother was suffering. As he told, she had always been disorganized and all over the place. However, the loss of her husband seemed to send her into a whole new level of insanity. I can relate to her because whenever I am upset about something, the next best thing is to constantly keep busy. McBribe’s mother’s constant moving was a way for her to avoid dealing with her feelings and new life.
August 30, 2008 at 4:21 pm
“Then why don’t you look like Rodney’s mother, or Pete’s mother? How come you don’t look like me? ” (12)
From this quote I felt that I understood to an almost full extent what McBride was talking about. His mother is white and he is black. She did not tell him of course that this was the case but as a child he realized that they were different. I related to him because as a child I asked the same questions. I was born extremely light and both of my parents are dark skinned “black” people. I always thought that I was white or adopted. They tried to explain it to me but it just did’nt make sense to me because when I look back at my skin, it would tell me different. McBride’s mother did not explain anything to him though. All he saw was that he looked very different from mommy and mommy looked different from all the other mommies. As a child he saw the difference which I tink is interesting because most of the time children don’t care about those things. They just know it’s there and accept it. McBride on the other hand was determined to find out why.
August 30, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Writing prompt #1
The refusal of Ruth McBride had affected her children because they didnt know exactly who they were or where there powerful mother had come from. This left her children in thought and constantly wanting to question the mother on her past. I know all about m background and where Im from so for me it is very easy to say I do things this way where Im from and I see my self as nothing else but what I am and I definitely represent it. For Ruth’s children they couldn’t exactly say the same which made somethings harder.
August 30, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Writing prompt #4
What Ruth Mcbride has done I think she might be able to achieve the same goals in society today but it will bring more of a challenge with money. The racial differences are not as daring as the setting in the book, so the children would not wonder. On a financial note it will have been harder, everything costs money with riding the subway Ruth might have not gotten away with much and all the children in college it is much harder for scholar ships. With the determination that Ruth had I think she can manage with just a bit more obstacles in her way.
August 30, 2008 at 6:41 pm
“If getting Mommy’s undivided attention for more than five minutes was a great feat in a family of twelve kids, then getting a midnight snack in my house was a greater thrill.” (25)
This quote shows how things have changed through time. Nowadays, kids do not want to spend time with their parents, they rather be out with their friends. The simplicity of this quote shows how content McBride is with just a few minutes alone with his mother. Among all the hardships his family goes through, it took very little to make him happy. In the chaotic home in which they live in, a few minutes alone with Mommy means the world.
August 30, 2008 at 6:48 pm
“one hand squeezing her eyes, as if the ears that flowed out of them could be squeezed into oblivion” (191)
This along with many other times in the book shows how Ruth tries to suppress her emotions. She does not want her children to see the sadness that is within her. She tries to suppress her sadness along with the sadness of her past. Not wanting her children to know of any of it. It seems as if she wants to block out all things negative to her children. She does not tell them of her sad past, her emotion, she tries to give them the best education, and more.
August 30, 2008 at 6:55 pm
“Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” (92)
The McBribe and Jordan children grew up with Mommy’s strict rules especially when it came to school. The children were mostly A students and always very well-mannered. She felt very strongly about their education. As this quote affirms, without an education you will be nobody in life. As our parents do for us today, she did for her children. She wanted to give her children opportunities she never had.
August 30, 2008 at 7:16 pm
“I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.” (103)
This quote caught my attention for many reasons. At first it shows McBride’s shame towards his white mother. Throughout the story, he was afraid his friends and others would find out about his white mother. However, when he grew older he realized how privileged he was to have her. Few poeple in life will experice what he did. Experiencing two different ends abled him to have unique views towards others and the world in general.
August 30, 2008 at 7:35 pm
“I spent all my life running from the south” (260)
When Ruth said this, it made me think about the past. It is something which one can never escape because your past is part of you. It has shaped and made you in to who you are. This can not be changed and your past will be there no matter how hard you try to run or hide. Ruth tried to run and hide from the past her whole life, yet in the end, she just came back to it. Without your past, you can not be who you are. Who will only be a lost person who will always be searching. It was only until James found his past that he finally realized who he was.
August 30, 2008 at 7:50 pm
[ blackberry
August 30, 2008 at 7:16 pm
“I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.” (103)
This quote caught my attention for many reasons. At first it shows McBride’s shame towards his white mother. Throughout the story, he was afraid his friends and others would find out about his white mother. However, when he grew older he realized how privileged he was to have her. Few poeple in life will experice what he did. Experiencing two different ends abled him to have unique views towards others and the world in general.]
Yes, I agree with you blackberry. Those who come from a more diverse background allow them to live a more unique life. I also think it allows them to be more mature about the subject of race and identity. They are different from those who are narrow minded about their own race. This difference in color allowed James to grow as a person and widen his boundaries. If I had had the chance, I believe that I would rather come from a more diverse background than just the one that I am.
August 30, 2008 at 8:10 pm
4. Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
I personally do not believe that it would not be possible for Ruth to achieve what she had achieved in today’s society. With the rising inflation of nearly everything and the high cost of rent, she would have a very difficult financial problem. The cost to raise her amount of children is too much for a single mother. Life in the past was always easier than it is now. And with the rising unemployment rate, she would have trouble getting a job.
August 30, 2008 at 10:48 pm
“They believed that money without knowledge was worthless…” (29).
I agree with his quote because without knowledge, someone who is smarter than you can easily steal your money. Moreover, without knowledge you will not know how to spend your money. I believe knowledge is more powerful than money because with knowledge you can gain money and it will make your life easier.
August 30, 2008 at 10:49 pm
“…Mommy held on to her purse, spinning around in a crazy circle with the mugger, neither saying a word as they both desperately wrestled for the purse, whirling from the sidewalk into the dark empty street like two ballerinas locked in a death dance” (34).
August 30, 2008 at 10:50 pm
“…Mommy held on to her purse, spinning around in a crazy circle with the mugger, neither saying a word as they both desperately wrestled for the purse, whirling from the sidewalk into the dark empty street like two ballerinas locked in a death dance” (34).
I felt sorry for Ruth because her purse got stolen and the foods were wasted. I was surprise how she just walk home without saying a word or complain. This show how strong Ruth is and how she didn’t ask anyone for help but to rely on herself.
August 30, 2008 at 10:51 pm
“Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” (92).
If you gain more knowledge, people will recognize you as an important person. With knowledge, you can invent things or become rich. However, those who are not smart will fail in the future.
August 30, 2008 at 10:51 pm
“The question of race was like the power of the moon in my house. It’s what made the river flow, the ocean swell, and the tide rise, but it was a silent power, intractable, indomitable, indisputable, and thus completely ignorable” (94).
The moon represents the white people and how they have the power to control the black people. They control how society goes and how it will benefit them Even though if they didn’t do any action, but facts that they are there makes the black people fear them.
August 30, 2008 at 10:52 pm
“I had reached a point where I was ashamed of her and didn’t want the world to see my white mother.” (100)
I think it was wrong for James to say that because his mom suffered and worked very hard for her family. Also, Ruth goes through a lot more racism harassment than he did. If I was the mom, I will be very sad that my son will say that.
August 30, 2008 at 10:53 pm
“Punk that I was, I did feel sorry for them, their screams echoing in my ears as I ran, my heart beating so hard it felt like a brick pounding against my chest, but not sorry enough. I was numb. I felt I was getting back at the world for injustices I had suffered…” (141)
I agree with blackberry because in times of hardship and fear people do things without thinking. I also agree of how James becomes a cold hearted person because when his mom was fighting the robbery, no one helps her.
August 30, 2008 at 10:54 pm
“He left behind no insurance policy, no dowry, no land, no money (251)”
I agree with Roy of how Ruth did a great job raising her children. She has been through a lot and work hard for her family. Both of her husbands died and yet she moves on her life.
August 30, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
I think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth has achieved in today’s society. Now a day, there are programs that help those who needs help or those who are poor. There are not much racism around, but it still exist somewhere in the world. In addition, there are more jobs available and the society is more safer than before.
August 30, 2008 at 10:55 pm
While reading the book, were you curious about how Ruth McBride Jordan’s remarkable faith had translated into the adult lives of her children? Do you think that faith is something that can be passed on from one generation to the next or do you think that faith that is instilled too strongly in children eventually causes them to turn away from it?
At first I was not curious at all, but at the end of the book I was a little curious. Ruth’s remarkable faith makes her children into a strong person and also makes them strong. I don’t believe that faith is something that can be passed on from one generation to the next because it all depend on the next generation on if they accept the faith or not.
August 31, 2008 at 3:12 pm
“I had reached a point where I was ashamed of her and didn’t want the world to see my white mother.” (100)
I do not agree with Twilight, it was not wrong of him to be ashame. It was not even his fault, since his mother had told him nothing about her past or background. You can not blame someone when they do not even know the real situation. Yes, his mother did suffer a lot, but she had never told her children about her sufferings. So it is wrong to say that he could not say what he sad. It would be wrong if he knew the past of his mother.
August 31, 2008 at 6:26 pm
“I felt like a Tinkertoy kid building my own self out of one of those toy building sets; for as she laid her life before me, I reassembled the tableau of her words like a picture puzzle, and as I did, so my own life was rebuilt.”
This quote, from near the end of the book, comes from James’s description of the gap between how he imagined it would be to write this memoir, and how it actually felt to write the memoir. He says here that his own life is inextricably bound up with his mother’s; when he rethinks her life, he necessarily rethinks his own. This sentiment echoes one of the main themes of the book: to understand the present, one must be familiar with the past.
August 31, 2008 at 6:29 pm
“I felt like a Tinkertoy kid building my own self out of one of those toy building sets; for as she laid her life before me, I reassembled the tableau of her words like a picture puzzle, and as I did, so my own life was rebuilt.”
This quote, from near the end of the book, comes from James’s description of the gap between how he imagined it would be to write this memoir, and how it actually felt to write the memoir. He says here that his own life is inextricably bound up with his mother’s; when he rethinks her life, he necessarily rethinks his own. This sentiment echoes one of the main themes of the book: to understand the present, one must be familiar with the past.
August 31, 2008 at 6:34 pm
“Mameh’s sisters were more about money than anything else, and any hurts that popped up along the way, they just swept them under the rug. They were all trying hard to be American, you know, not knowing what to keep and what to leave behind.”
Here Ruth explains how she views her aunts’ philosophies on life, and their emphasis on wealth. She makes the astute observation that their ethos may have been the result of the pressures of immigration and Americanization. Mameh’s sisters, like Ruth and James after them, were attempting to juggle past and present and somehow reconcile the new with the old.
August 31, 2008 at 6:36 pm
“I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.”
-Here James muses on the particular difficulty of being biracial. He says that he underwent a complete attitude transformation during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. He went from resenting his mother’s race to feeling blessed to have come from a mixed race union.
August 31, 2008 at 6:38 pm
“You know death was always around Suffolk, always around. It was always so hot, and everyone was so polite, and everything was all surface but underneath it was like a bomb waiting to go off.”
-Here Ruth discusses her upbringing in Suffolk, Virginia in the 1920s and 1930s, when racial tensions reached a fever pitch. She captures a particular quality of the South in this statement—the covert nature of death and hate that lay beneath sugarcoated Southern manners.
August 31, 2009 at 5:56 pm
what page was this qoute on
August 31, 2008 at 6:41 pm
“T]he greatest sin a person can do to another is to take away that life. Next to that, all the rule and religions in the world are secondary; mere words and beliefs that people choose to believe and kill and hate by.”
-He is restless and cannot seem to find what he thought he was looking for. He wanders down to the Nansemond River to gaze into the night, and sweeping emotions overtake him. In this moment James celebrates his past.
August 31, 2008 at 10:21 pm
hi
September 1, 2008 at 1:13 am
2.“Mommy’s contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably substandard… She was against welfare and never applied for it despite our need, but championed those who availed themselves of it.” Do you think these contradictions served to confuse Ruth’s children further, or did they somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses?
These contradictions serve to contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses. His mother gave him the chance to see the diversity between black and white within education and racism. Also, by his mother against welfare even though she needed it, she proved to him how strong her soul and mind was strong and embraced him with courage. This was a good way to show her kids the other side and how to add this contradictions to their everyday life as they grew up.
4. Do you think it would be possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society?
Even though it’s much harder out here for an single mother with the economic system vividly going down, I believe with faith and good manor, it is possible to achieve what Ruth McBride has achieved in today’s society. There are a couple of friends that I have that was raise by a single mother and they grew up to become a strong decent person. Ruth McBride made sure that her children had an education and prior knowledge to know the difference between right and wrong. Also how to be strong as she was for an Jewish mother with 5 black children. So if Ruth McBride could do it, I believe any single mother could achieve what she did in today’s society.
Quote 1
You know death was always around Suffolk, always around. It was always so hot, and everyone was so polite, and everything was all surface but underneath it was like a bomb waiting to go off.
Ruth discusses her upbringing in Suffolk, Virginia in the 1920s and 1930s, when racial tensions reached a fever pitch. She captures a particular quality of the South in this statement—the covert nature of death and hate that lay beneath sugarcoated Southern manners
Quote 2
I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.
In this quote, James McBride talks about his thoughts were when he was young when he used to get teased on because his mother was white. But as he grew to become a man, he felt that it was worth coming from a both diverse family because it made him a better person and aware of race relations.
Quote 3
“Her oddness, her complete nonawareness of what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what I perceived to be imminent danger from blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world. She saw none of it.”
In this quote, it talks about how Ruth McBride doesn’t pay attention to the negative perspective of stereotype and racism. Many people thought she was odd, because she lived uptown with 5 black children and she was white. But as quoted “…she saw none of it.”
Quote 4
“But there was a part of me that feared black power very deeply for the obvious reason. I thought black power would be the end of my mother. I had swallowed the white man’s fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole.”
In this quote, James McBride explains how even though he was with the black power movement because he was black, the love for his mother was too much not to give it up to protect her. He felt that his mother would be criticized and stereotyped upon so he had fear of the thing that he was down for.
September 1, 2008 at 1:18 am
In Response to {Twilight
August 30, 2008 at 10:51 pm
“Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” (92).
If you gain more knowledge, people will recognize you as an important person. With knowledge, you can invent things or become rich. However, those who are not smart will fail in the future.}
I agree with this statement. Education is the key to sucess. Intellegence plus character is the defenition of education. Many people with education will go far in life.
September 1, 2008 at 1:25 am
In response to{nickm
July 16, 2008 at 1:04 pm
“She insisted on absolute privacy,excellant school grades, and trusted no outsiders of either race.” This qoute shows how strict she had to be back then to keep her kids in check.She tried her best to not let them get carried away by Black Panthers or any political group.She wanted to establish in their minds that everybody is equal black or white.}
I agree with Nick. Around that time being strict was the only way to make sure that your children get there education to be something and go far in life. Even though stereotypes and racism stand in her way, she made sure that they were raised right.Some parents fail to do that in this society.
September 1, 2008 at 1:27 am
Writing Prompt #2
I believe that typically a parents contradictions can affect a child but in this case I believe that they helped McBride and his siblings. Due to Ruths “expanded” view on certain situations her children were able to get an idea of different opinions as if they were getting opinions from different people. I feel that McBride along with his siblings were put in a situation where they had to find their own opinions. They didn’t get a clear point of view so they were forced to develop their own. So I believe that McBride along with his siblings prospered from their mother’s contradictions.
September 1, 2008 at 1:27 am
In response to {“They believed that money without knowledge was worthless” (29).
I agree with this quote because you can have a lot of money but it wouldn’t have a meaning if you don’t know how to spend it. People also need to have the knowledge to make the money anyways.}
I also agree with this quote and person because many people that have money spend it on worthless things that they dont need. But with knowledge you could organize and concetrating on your WANTS and NEEDS. Many people fail to do this also in this society.
September 1, 2008 at 1:38 am
QUESTIONS.
1. Discuss Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past and how that influenced her children’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge—or lack thereof—about your family background shaped your own self-image?
Ruth McBride’s refusal to reveal her past caused a sense curiosity amongst her children. Due to the fact that she was white and some of her kids were dark skinned the question of appearance arose. I believe any child whos mother or father is clearly a different race would want answers to the things they often question. I never really had a problem with ’self-image’ because my parents made sure they gave me enough information about where i come from. My mom being from virginia and dad from Panama gave me a sense of what i am as far as nationality is concerned.
2. “Mommy’s contradictions crashed and slammed against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island. White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil toward blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education. Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably substandard… She was against welfare and never applied for it despite our need, but championed those who availed themselves of it.” Do you think these contradictions served to confuse Ruth’s children further, or did they somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses?
Ruth’s contradictions served a purpose which wasnt to confuse her children. The purpose of her contridictions were to show a sense of strength not physically but mentally and emotionally. She still sent her children to white schools because thats where they would get the best education to better themselves, even if they had to go through unjust matters. This taught them to keep focus on school regardless of what any other race opinionated. Also with Ruth having to struggle taking care of the family she still didn’t turn to welfare. Her reasoning for doing this was to show her dedication to making it on her own through all obstacles, illustrating the saying “When Theres A Will, Theres A Way”. Therefore, I feel Ruth exemplifying these ways of teaching was a great idea in rasing her children.
QUOTATIONS.
“I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds.”
This quoation illustrated James them of “Coming of Age”. Being biracial wasn’t an easy thing for him his ways of finding out wasnt neither. However, after growing into adulthood he appreciates his background. Even though when he was younger, and was programmed to think he was just a “black boy” and didnt want to be white, he reali