The Color of Water- Post 1 (after ch.4)

4/19/2013

After you finish chapter 4, please pull an "essential" line or two from the chapters you have read and explain why you think this is interesting or essential. Maybe it's a connection to social studies or your own life, maybe it's just some beautiful writing.

20 Comments

Brooke Lopez

4/21/2013 03:14:19 am

"The image of her riding that bicycle typified her whole existence to me."

When I was reading, this quote stuck out the most to me. This is how James McBride defines his mother by her old blue bike. Usually when you define your parents you mention their characteristics. But this is how he chose to write about his mom, because this is how she chose to cope about his towards his fathers death. The bike was symbolic to both of them.

Michelle Bravo

4/21/2013 11:02:49 pm

I didn't think of it that way...

Noura Mahmoud

4/21/2013 05:21:28 am

"I remember two black women pointing at us, saying, "Look at that white bitch," and a white man screaming at Mommy somewhere in Manhattan, calling her a "nigger lover."
This quote stuck out the most to me because it shows how his mother was discriminated from both light skinned and and blacks.

Soad

4/22/2013 04:08:53 am

I agree with you....I also chose a similar quote...it is also sad to think about people treating others that way...and thats why it is hard, even until this day, to get rid of stereotypes...you can never have full control over a person's mind...however you can still have some sort of influence on them...

Rwan Elsanhoury

4/21/2013 06:32:32 am

"Mommy's not your real mother. Your real mother's in jail."pg 22
This quote stood out to me because I could relate to it. I used to do the same exact thing to my sister Rania when we were younger. I would tell her she was adopted and that we found her in the trash can outside.She had the same reaction as James McBride. She would ask my mother if it was true and she would cry instantly. I would get in trouble later for it though.
"I remember two black women pointing at us, saying, "Look at that white bitch," and a white man screaming at Mommy somewhere in Manhattan, calling her a "nigger lover."pg31
This quote also stood out to me because it made me realize that a mixed race family in James McBride's society is frequently discriminated by both races. I didn't realize that having a white mother would be a conflict till that moment.

Mariam Moustafa

4/21/2013 11:00:56 pm

I agree with you about the second quote (not the first one ;D). When I read it I thought a mixed race family would be discriminated by one race: either the black or the white not both races. But how, do you think, did this conflict affect James McBride life and identity? What were his thoughts about both races? These are the questions that came to my mind after reading your post.

Salsabil Hena

4/21/2013 11:31:06 am

The quote, "...immigrant mentality:...distrust of authority figures, and a deep belief in God and education" seems essential as is appears to be Baldwin's mother's goal, a universal goal that most immigrant parents tend to have when raising their children in a foreign country, especially a multicultural one like America. Baldwin further describes his mother's internal struggle with her race and thereby, his family when he beautifully writes, "Yet conflict was a part of our own lives...and to see how contradiction lived and survived in its essence, we had to look no farther than our own mother."

Salsabil Hena

4/21/2013 10:54:20 pm

**Correction
The quote, "...immigrant mentality:...distrust of authority figures, and a deep belief in God and education" seems essential as it appears to be McBride's mother's goal, a universal goal that most immigrant parents tend to have when raising their children in a foreign country, especially a multicultural one like America. McBride further describes his mother's internal struggle with her race and thereby, his family when he beautifully writes, "Yet conflict was a part of our own lives...and to see how contradiction lived and survived in its essence, we had to look no farther than our own mother."

Michelle Bravo

4/21/2013 10:50:25 pm

"Look at that white bitch," and a white man screaming at Mommy somewhere in Manhattan, calling her a "nigger lover."
This quote stood out to me because it reminded me of the amount of racism that there was during the civil rights movement. Whites and blacks socializing was frowned upon, especially if it was romantic.

Mariam Moustafa

4/21/2013 10:51:35 pm

"The incident confirmed my fears that Mommy was always in danger." This quote led me to think about the relation that the author will have with both races: Blacks and Whites. He is black but his mother is white; a wired relationship. He was scared from Blacks who shouted "Black power" because he thought they would kill his mom. He thought that his mom put herself in danger by being the only white with black surronders. I was thinking: can the author hate the black race because it formed kind of danger for his mother? Or will he respect and love both races due to the way he was raised up?

Rwan Elsanhoury

4/21/2013 11:04:22 pm

This part also interested me because I never realized that people could be afraid of their own race. This part also made me realize that having a white mother is going to be a great struggle.

Tenzin Youdon

4/21/2013 10:52:23 pm

"There was something inside me, an acheI had, like a constant itch that got bigger and bigger as I grew, that told me"

This is an essential quote because it expresses James McBride's curiosity about the difference between him and his "light skinned" mother.Knowing that his mother looks different from his friend's mothers, McBride wants to understand why. But his mother defines herself as "light skinned"

katherine remache

4/21/2013 11:02:29 pm

The quote, "Mommy's contradictions crashed and slammed against one another.. white folks, she felt, were implicitly evil towards blacks, yet she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education." This quote stood out to me the most most because it showed that James mother was well aware of the racism going on around her, but she is trying her best to let her children know that race doesn't matter. All she wants is the best for her children.

Suzy Lukolic

4/21/2013 11:03:36 pm

"As a grown man, I understand now, understand how her Christian principles and trust in God kept her going through all her life's battles..." Chapter 4, page 33.

Ruth McBride (the mother) converted from Judiasm to Christianity. When her husband died, he left her poor with eight children. She only trusted god to help her raise her family and that's what kept her motivated through days of struggles.

Nicolle Ponce

4/21/2013 11:04:18 pm

"White folks, she felt, were implicitly evil towards blacks, yet she forced us to go to white school to get a better education." pg.29

This quote tells about James' mother, you can see that she know that being white makes life easier.....

Ameera

4/22/2013 12:12:11 pm

So far, I find this book very interesting. I think it's very cool how James comes from a white/black mixed family. Him having a dozen other siblings is one of the challenges he is facing. But the biggest concern for him is his mother being white and living in a black community. James is always worried about her because she doesn't even act like as if she's around a group of people who have a passion of hate for her, deep down in their hearts. To prevent racial problems within the community, his mom would take James and his siblings to the Fresh Air Fund organization. In this organization, host families would be sent to camps. One day James' mom dropped him off to the school bus. Next to them, a man that represented the Black Panthers, came with his child to drop him off, too. Thus, he became so protective of his mother being near that black man, while she was saying goodbye to her son, as the Black Panthers' man did too, James punched his child,"When they were out of sight, I turned to the Black Panther's son sitting behind me and punched him square in the face with my fist." This quote really got to me because it showed how much James is concerned for his mother. This also shows how race means so much, no matter how someone might be in denial of it. Being surrounded by people one, who isn't amiable by others towards that individual, can lead to violence, and hatred, due to so many mixed emotions shown against one person.

Darija Stosic

4/24/2013 09:39:46 am

"The incident confirmed my fears that Mommy was always in danger." I picked this quote because James knows that his mother is "different" and doesn't belong. However just because he is a different race then his mother doesn’t mean he is not going to stop loving his mom, because of her race. And I just love his writing of how he described this love and respect for his mom.

Erika Lucero

4/28/2013 10:03:05 am

"Naw. If they put Jesus in the picture here, and He ain't white, and He ain't black, they should make Him gray. Jesus should be gray."p53

This quote stuck out to me because Richie at a young age already experienced that people were considered labeled as in white or black because of their color of skin, he targets this in Jesus also. Jesus being white in pictures, he thinks that he should be a color mixture so it can express everyone and this quote just stuck out to me because as I think of it now, who was able to picture Jesus with a certain color of skin

Jessenia Amador

5/22/2013 12:59:45 pm

"I'm your mother"... "Then why don't you look like Rodney's mother, or Pete's mother? How come you don't look like me?" pg.12

This quote is interesting because it makes the reader think on how not everyone looks like their family members. Even though one may tell you you look different, you know who you are and shouldn't pay attention to what society tells you. James didn't understand why he looked different compared to his mother, and it's through society that forced him to question and ask. Although his mother avoided the question, he slowly began to notice the differences between her and him;both physically and mentally.

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The Color of Water- Post 1 (after ch.4)

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