Just by reading the back cover of The Color of Water, I think that it’s about a boy who would always wonder if his mother and he were white or black. Since his mother never gave him an exact answer when he was younger, he might have not learned how to appreciate people of different colors. I chose this book because the title caught my attention. I wanted to find out what James McBride meant by “The Color of Water.” I wanted to explore its deeper meaning to see what is really meant. At first when my teacher was going through all the books and she started talking about The Color of Water, I thought it was going to be about an African American boy who had to struggle with being made fun of because he has a white mother. After reading this book I think that it would also make me appreciate my background more and all colors of people because we are all one. Also, based on the back cover, I think the boy’s mom wanted to protect her son from thinking he was different because he is bi- racial. She probably wanted him to focus on his life and education rather than the color of his skin. I think that later on in the book the boy will learn that he is bi- racial and thank his mother for not telling him because he would've been concerned that he wasn’t the same as everyone else living in Brooklyn. The boy can now appreciate other people of color and realize that no matter what color you are, you are still human.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Passage Analysis
“As I walked home, holding Mommy’s hand while she fumed, I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn't want to be white. My sibling has 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. My view of the world is not merely that of a black man but that of a black man with something of a Jewish soul” (103), this quote was said by James McBride because when he was younger he didn't want to be seen with his white mother being a black child. He didn't appreciate the color of her skin because he was the only one that had a white mother and he thought that he wasn't the same as everyone else so he was ashamed of her.
James McBride wishes he was one color when he was a child but then he is very happy about it when he is an adult. He grew up being ashamed of his mother and he was afraid of being seen with her. Now he calls himself a black man with a Jewish soul. He also felt sorry for all of those Jews who had to suffer through Anti- Semitism because he was able to somewhat relate to it because he faced discrimination of being black. This quote is an example of flashback because James McBride is going back in time to show his true feelings of his mother when he was a child. He is comparing how he felt then to how he feels now about his mother’s skin color as well as his own.
The quote is significant because we learn that as a child James McBride wanted to be one color but as he got older he didn't mind being bi- racial. James McBride defines himself as a black man with a Jewish soul and this tell us that he is going beyond his skin to show who he really is. He is looking past his appearance but looking at his inner self to define and describe who he truly is. He has the advantage to be open to more than one culture and have a better understanding of what it means to be bi- racial. 
Emotional Reaction
After James McBride visited a synagogue in Suffolk, Virginia he gets to look at his ancestors. He was surprised when he was treated like a Jew because he was darker than everyone else there. He looks past his Jewish mother and black father and realizes that both sides of his family suffered either discrimination or Anti- Semitism. While at the motel, McBride wakes up and takes a walk along the Nansemond River and begins to reminisce about life and his grandmother: “There’s such as big difference between being dead and alive, I told myself, and the greatest gift that anyone can give to anyone else is life. And the greatest sin a person can do to another is to take away that life. Next to that, all the rules and religions in the world are secondary; mere words and beliefs that people choose to believe and kill and hate by. 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 not died for nothing” (229). This quote touched me the most because McBride does not want his kids to go through life worrying about the color of their skin. Even though he married a black woman they wouldn’t have to wonder why they aren’t the same color as Mommy or Daddy. He wants them to go through life knowing that they are the same as everyone despite skin color. Also,McBride is talking about how the Nazi’s took away the life of many Jews and how their lives were taken away because of their religion and beliefs. After I read this quote I smiled because McBride doesn’t want what happened to his grandmother to happen ever again. He doesn’t want to live in a world of racism again. He wishes for his kids to be able to play and get along with all colors of people. Although his children would be black in skin color they will be Jewish at heart. That’s all that matters because they are all equal.
Title Significance
“God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color” (51): James McBride’s mother, Ruth McBride, told her son that God was the color of water when he asked her what color God was.
The literal meaning of the title is that the water changes situations because James McBride has to adapt to the world not knowing about his mothers past. The water is like a stream that continues on and one and symbolizes that life goes on in spite of everything that happens. Ruth had to deal with being Jewish and her association with black people and being Christian. James wants to move on from wishing his mother was black because now he knows the benefits of being bi- racial. His life went in, just like water, because it keeps on going despite of what goes on in life. James learned from his past and he knows that God is really the color of water because water has no dominant color.
The figurative meaning of the title is that when she told him that, she wanted him to understand that water is millions of colors and so is God. The color of water changed with seasons and locations. The color of water can be used to express the way a character changes because water has many colors. In the beginning of the book you could say the water was black, grey and any other dark shade because James did not appreciate his background. Later on in the book, the water could have been pink, yellow, sky blue and lots of other bright colors because James understood and appreciated his background. “Does he like black or white people better?” (51): James asked his mother this and she told him that he loves all people and he is a spirit. Water doesn’t discriminate against color and God doesn’t either. Basically, Ruth is trying to tell James that he shouldn’t go on through life worrying what color he is and what color his mother is because it doesn’t matter. James is worrying about what other people think and not fitting in. “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” (92). There again, James is worrying about what he is and he isn’t focusing on his life. Water moves on, and eventually he was able to look past the color of skin but deeper to realize that he is the same as everyone else.
Connections
The Color of Water relates to the song Changes by Tupac. The songs Changes talks about how black people have faced discrimination and it’s harder for them to go through life because of all the hatred. This relates to The Color of Water because James McBride also faced discrimination because he was black and because of his religious beliefs. Also, the song relates to the Holocaust because it talks about having peace for everything and letting everyone be free and loved.
One line in the song:
“We gotta make a change. It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we liveand let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.”
That excerpt talks about people needing to make changes so other people can live the free like them so they can do what they need to do to survive. James McBride faced discrimination and he also wanted himself to change because he thought it would make a difference. Those lyrics relate to The Color of Water because all the prejudice against the blacks caused them to lay low and not make any standards for their selves to get through life. Also, everyone should be treated the same way.
Another line in the song:
“You gotta learn to hold ya own.”
That excerpt means that you have to live your own life and simply focus on yourself. Bu the end of the book James McBride realized that he didn’t have to worry about what other people would think of him and his race because none of that mattered. All that mattered was that he kept his head held high and focused on making the best of himself in his own life. When James McBride finally accepted his color he was able to condone all of his thoughts about his mother when he was younger because now he is very happy to be a black man with a Jewish soul. Also, Ruth McBride also “held her own” because she didn’t care about living in Brooklyn being a white Jewish woman. She focused on her life and kids because she wanted the best things on life for them. She wanted them to be able to go through life without being discriminated, although she couldn’t do that for them, her children will do it for their own.
Final Reflection
I absolutely loved reading The Color of Water because it is very inspiring and moving. It inspired me a little because now I know that all that matters in my life is me. I don’t have to worry about other people and what they would think of me. Also, it helped me to appreciate being black more. Even though we still go through discrimination, I’ve learned to not let that get to me and that all I need to do is keep my head up and keep moving on. Some of the themes in the book such as hiding secrets and self motivation can help anyone with a family in life. Ruth McBride hid secrets about her family in her past to her present family now. That has tantalized her because she couldn’t really develop a stable relationship with her family. Self motivation helped James McBride a lot because he was able to accomplish many things. Those two lessons have definitely taught me two life lessons because know I know that I should share things that happened in the past to my family because I could develop a stronger relationship with them. Also, I will know now to keep motivating my family because they will and can do anything as long as they try and keep their head held high. My initial and final impression for this book were very different because I thought that this book was going to be able the average black kid who had to face challenges of having a white mother. I didn’t know there would be a deeper meaning to the title of the book and I’m glad I explored. The other memoir we read in class, Maus, had different initial and lasting impressions. My initial impression was that this would just be another memoir about someone’s life during the Holocaust. My final impression was that Art wasn’t a good son because he called his father a murder just because he burned his wife’s diary and now he wouldn’t be able to put it in his book about his dad. I didn’t really like the ending of Maus because it didn’t end happy. The only reason why I loved The Color of Water is because it ended with something uplifting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)