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.

50 Comments

Audrey CW

4/21/2013 01:09:46 am

When the author James McBride discusses more about how his mother raised his siblings and himself, it becomes very essential to understand this part because it is the bases of his family's identity. McBride discribes his mother's family ethic as that of " the immigrant mentality:hard work, no nonsense, quest for excellence, distrust of authority figures, and a deep belief in God and education." I can relate to this very much because my father, who was an immigrant, still stands by this standard in our household very well. I think anyone who has immigrant parents will experience this sort of thinking from their parents in some form or another. The fact that this part of McBride's life is so revelent to myself, makes me think that other concepts in his book may be revelent to modern society as well.

Mehak Mahmood

4/22/2013 04:10:43 am

I agree to Audrey's response that anyone who has immigrant parents will expect there children to have the sense of mentality, hard work, deep belief in God and education. I feel that our parents have learned from there parents and so there teaching us the same in a hope that we will carry this as a tradition.

Ishrak Elamri

4/21/2013 03:32:54 am

In chapter 4, James McBride explains how his parents were barely materialistic and believed that getting an education was the most important component in life, his mother especially. He discusses how his parents claim that without knowledge you have nothing. McBride also mentions his mother telling him, "What is money if your mind is empty! Educate your mind!". I found this interesting because its surprising to believe that a mother during the 1960's and my own mother have the same opinion. However, I then noticed that both his mother and my mother are immigrants, which made me think that it's probably just the mindset and hopes immigrant parents have for their children when they come to America.

Saima Rehnuma

4/22/2013 04:16:12 am

I agree with you Ishrak. My parents being immigrants have that mindset also, that without education money has no value and I believe that it is similar for all immigrants since they are accustomed to working hard for their dreams and goals.

Christy De La Rosa

4/25/2013 09:00:26 am

I really liked that quote too ishrak ! it made me really think people now a days are so materialistic and don't have minds of their own.

Jasmina Lukolic

5/12/2013 12:00:48 pm

In this day and age, without acquiring an education you are labelled as poor in our society. That's another similar reason in which why I think our parents push us to finish school successfully in order for us to become the successor in life.

Victoria

6/6/2013 08:08:24 am

I agree with Ishrak this s a great quote, I think every parent, not only parents that are immigrants want their kids to do better than they did & want their children to strive to become the best. My dad always tells me he wants his kids to be better than he could ever be.

Alisa M

4/21/2013 03:35:23 am

In The Color of Water, I'm most interested when the author, James Mcbride goes into detail of his mothers childhood and family life. After taking my two week holocaust intensive, I had learned a lot about the Jewish culture, especially their death rituals. In the first chapter, McBride quotes his mother saying, "My family mourned me when I married your father. They said kaddish and sat shiva." In my intensive, I learned that kaddish is a prayer said by the Jews when a family member's soul departs their life. It's said so that that member would go into eternal rest. I found this interesting because in most conditions, a marriage is a time of great joy, however, for the authors grandparents, it had upset them as a death would.

Saima Rehnuma

4/21/2013 07:13:01 am

It is clear in Chapter 4, that James McBride's education was defined by his mother's views; "money without education was worthless." In the views of McBride's mother, being successful without knowledge and education has no value, and that is very much so my parent's views. As immigrants from Bangladesh, my parents learned to work hard and strive to reach where they are today. Goals in life do not come easily, but you have to learn and educate yourself along the way to achieve it. I agree with Ishrak, that most immigrants /parents carry that mindset and hope for their children. All parents want the best for their children, and education is the route to do so.

Aldina K

4/24/2013 03:57:52 am

I agree with Saima because it is difficult to survive a world where great things come from education or background information. I also agree with James's mother view because I was also raised with that phrase. If I did not complete my education I would not have a successful life. Saima makes a good point about having hope for children when they complete their education because it is true. Parents do want the best for their children and James should appreciate that a parent during his time believes so too.

Mehak

4/21/2013 07:23:46 am

In Color of Water, the author James McBride is described as a curious and questionable child. In one of the chapters James asks his mother why she's white and she responds by saying "No. I’m light-skinned." This leaves him left in curiosity and to make it worse his older brother Richie plays around with him and tells him he's adopted "You're adopted anyway" which leads poor little James into believing that he is adopted. As it states, "...within my eight year-old reasoning was a growing fear that maybe Richie was right. Mommy, after all, did not really look like me. In fact, she didn't look like...any of her children...we were clearly black, of various shades...Mommy was, by her own definition, "light-skinned..." James also states that his brother keeps bothering him with the joke that he is adopted; until he himself breaks out crying and Richie cracks himself to sleep. I thought the pages 21-23 was written beautifully in a sense that it showed James curiosity as a child and his feelings through writing. It showed me a sense of imagery and I myself put myself inside of James shoes and I felt that type of connection. When I was reading pages 21-23 I thought of a time when me and my brother used to get into fights and he would tell me that I was adopted and so I would cry to my mom and ask her If really was and so I thought James McBride did a wonderful job of showing imagery, curiosity, and empathy in just 3 pages.

Audrey CW

4/22/2013 04:15:34 am

I completely agree because I used to ask my parents all the time were they were from and since i hadn't gone to those places till I was older, I always had wild imaginations on what those places were like =)

Lauren Soler

4/22/2013 04:16:43 am

I completely agree with you on McBride doing a great job on showing imagery, curiosity, and empathy on those 3 pages. I think that many people can somewhat feel a connection with McBride on the "you're adopted" comments which is great and makes people feel more intrigued in the book because they feel that they can relate to the author.

Tatyana

4/21/2013 09:40:50 am

In chapter 4 one sentence really caught my attention, "We were instructed never to reveal details of our home life to any figures of authority: teachers, social workers, cops, storekeepers, or even friends" This caught my attention because it made me feel as though James was never really able to trust anyone because from a young age he was taught to keep everything to himself, he missed out on a chance to really be a child because he always had to be a step ahead and worry about if he would reveal too much about himself. It made me feel sad for James because every child deserves an opportunity to be a kid and enjoy it.

JocelynR

4/22/2013 04:02:43 am

This quote caught my attention too and I agree with you that James seemed like he didn't enjoy so much his life as a kid, of being able not to worry about anything. Although there might have been some benefits to this when he grows up, you can never really trust no one and he learned that since he was a child.

Tatyana

4/21/2013 09:43:35 am

Soad

4/21/2013 09:57:21 am

In The Color of Water, I found it upsetting how James McBride mentioned that him, his mother and sibling were on the subway and faced insults, but the mother ignored those insults. James remembers when "...two black women pointing at [James, mother and siblings], saying 'Look at that white bitch'...a white man..calling [mother] a 'nigger lover'...mommy ignored..." I chose this quote because it demonstrates how blacks were treated during this time period. The fact that the mother is ignoring all of these insults demonstrates how much individuals feared to speak up and stand up for themselves. This quote catches my attention because it is interesting to think about.

Jasmina Lukolic

4/22/2013 04:17:56 am

I agree with your assumption Soad! However, I believed that instead of the mother "ignoring" the insults she was overcoming them and making her strive to be a bigger person in life.

Rosa

4/22/2013 04:19:13 am

I found it interesting that you thought she was scared to speak up about the insults she recieved. In my head I thought she just didn't want to answer to the people. I didn't think she was scared.

Michelle

4/21/2013 12:03:46 pm

In Chapter 4 in "The Color of Water" I was very much interested in line "I though to myself,These people will kill Mommy.Mommy,on the other hand, seemed unconcerned. Her motto was "if it doesn't involve your going to school or church, I could care less about it.." on page 27. To me the lines spoke more than anything because it was powerful and his mother was showing, that in life you should not bother what others think about you.I felt that if her attitude was any different, James and family would have fallen into what the society around them were saying about them.

Lauren Soler

4/21/2013 12:22:30 pm

The Color of Water by James McBride has many essential and interesting lines. I felt these lines in chapter 4 are essential... "When I asked her where she was from, she would say, "God made me," and change the subject. When I asked her if she was white, she'd say,"No. I'm light skinned," and change the subject again." I thought these lines were so interesting because I was shocked to see that this white woman does not see a difference in color of skin in this time period in the book. A great deal of this book so far is about this white woman, Ruth, who does not see how the color of skin makes a person different. I feel that the lines I chose from chapter 4 prove and show how Ruth does not care for a persons color of skin.

karina

4/22/2013 03:23:47 am

its obvious that she doesn't care about a person color, but i think that deep inside she has feeling towards all the discrimination.

Nancy Larcher

4/21/2013 12:22:48 pm

In chapter 3 of "The Color of Water", James McBride's mother, Ruth, talks about her feelings when her grandfather died. She tells her son, "...when my grandfather passed away I kept asking myself, 'Suppose Zaydeh isn't dead, then what?... the thought of being buried of alive... and surrounded by dead people... scares me to death." That part really jumped out at me. I'm really interested in Ruth's life and her as a person because she seems like such an enigma to me so far. McBride talks about how his mother was full of contradictions so any insight to her personality is greatly welcomed.

(Also, that part of the book reminded me of another book that I read when I was younger, called "Mick Hart Was Here". There's a scene in the book where Mick goes to a relative's open-casket funeral and he flips out over it because Mick thinks that she's just sleeping; I can sympathize with that confusion.)

Mayar Mansy

5/11/2013 05:06:53 am

Nancy, I agree with you. This part jumped out to me as well because it is a scary thing and I also used to be afraid of people getting buried. It's true that James' mother has a very interesting and strange life. Her writings attract my attention.

Maisha S

4/21/2013 12:48:50 pm

In The Color of Water, James McBride records his observations on his mother's behavior and the way he speaks out about her is quite subtle and almost mysterious, as if he is learning about her identity and past along with us. This is why in chapter 4 when he mentions, "Yet conflict was a part of out lives, written into our very faces. hands, and arms, and to see how contradiction lived and survived in its essence, we had to look no farther than our own mother." I instantly folded the corner of this page knowing that I will come back and read it over again. First of all, it was amazingly written because that line is real and something we can all relate to. Second, it's something we as a reader can visualize. When he describes every contradicting thing his mother does, I can literally picture it in my head. It was very visual and a great depiction of imagery.

Tatyana

4/22/2013 03:58:02 am

I agree, that is something I would go back and re-read because it is so beautifully written .

Kristen

4/21/2013 12:51:00 pm

I really like this book. I didn't think I would, but I do. I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't like it but every page is more beautiful than the one before it.

It was really hard to pick a quote where my reasoning behind it's choosing wasn't "It sounds so pretty" I really connected with, "She used to talk about Czar or the Kaiser and how the Russian soldiers used to come into the village and line up all the Jews and shoot them in cold blood... She was terrified of Europe and happy to be in America." Every time I read those lines about Ruth's grandmother I think about what my mom just recently said to me. I wasn't as affected by the Boston bombings as she thought I should have been and she said something along the lines of, "I feel bad for you kids, this stuff happens everyday. When I was your age, I was terrified of this. It happened so rarely." It feels like each generation has a new understanding of fear and terrorism. Maybe our parents had the USSR to really fear, but we understand that fear differently than they did and they understand our fear differently too. It's really hard to explain. People don't truly understand an emotion until having experienced it themselves. I feel Ruth experienced it through stories straight from someone who experienced it. My parents don't really have stories of their dictators and I don't have a good grasp at all of what their people had to fear. It's too hard to articulate.

I also really like European (especially Eastern European) history so these lines held my attention.

Jocelyn R.

4/21/2013 12:58:16 pm

In chapter 4 of "The Color of Water", a quote that stood out to me was " Mommy had no model for raising us other than the experience of her own Orthodox Jewish family, which despite the seeming flaws -- an unbending nature, a stridency, a focus on money, a deep distrust of all outsiders, not to mention her father's tyranny-- represented the best and worst of the immigrant mentality : hard work, no nonsense, quest for excellence, distrust of authority figures and a deep belief in God and education." This quote stood out to me because it's words are very true and I can relate to it. I find it very interesting how this type of mentality was in the immigrant's minds back in those days and still on going today. Maybe America hasn't changed much after all. I can imagine already even more hardships that McBribe, his siblings and his mother faced later on. I am excited to keep on reading the book.

Aldina K

4/21/2013 01:45:46 pm

In chapter 4 of Color of water, James McBride states, "there was a part of me that feared black power...I thought black power would be the end of my mother." (26) I thought this was interesting because the reader can understand James's love towards his mother. James does realize that because of the racial difference between his mother and family is not safe. He knows his mother would receive the most hate because she is the outcast in an African-American family. James appreciates his race and the sacrifices blacks have made to earn freedom but, that comes with a price. He does not want to be against his mother yet, he wants to be the person he is. Another line that interested me was, "A Black Panther? Next to Mommy? It was my worst nightmare come true." (36) This line made me realize that James will always live in fear for his mother. He cannot trust the world around him. He doesn't believe his mother will come home safe once she leaves her home. It is understandable why he would feel like this. He barely had a dominate male figure in his life and he has trust issues. I just hope it doesn't get to the point where his fear overtakes him and then he will have problems with his future such as, not having any future relationships with others.

Rosa M.

4/21/2013 02:33:46 pm

I am enjoying reading the book. I've come to wonder many things as I read the book. Some of them are of Ruth's life. I was interested when I read the line,"He could throw up on the floor in his house and no one was allowed to say a word to him." It was interesting to me because Ruth had to leave home in order to marry her husband. It must have taken a lot of courage to stand up to him if the family couldn't say a word against the father. It was also interesting to me because in my family you can't really say anything to our grandfather. If you do you end up getting a lecture from him. (which is funny because we talk to him on the phone)

Veronica V

4/21/2013 03:16:10 pm

Reading this book again, I've come to appreciate James McBride's writing style more. I love how the novel switches perspective every other chapter and how Ruth's past unravels with each page. In chapter 3, she recalls the time when her grandfather died and how she "didn't know what death was." I felt a hint of sadness when I read that and thought of her innocence as a child for not understanding the concept of death. I can't exactly pinpoint what it was that made this situation stand out to me but it did.

Angelica Syeda

4/22/2013 12:41:50 am

I am enjoying James McBride's book "Color of Water." His writing style is very unique, compared to my favorite author John Steinback. In chapter 4, when he states "On open school nights, the question most often asked by my schoolteachers was, Is James adopted,"(p23) this reminded me of how I would be asked if my parents were my adoptive parents. Since I did not look like either my mom or dad, and I felt defensive about this statement. James McBride probably felt very separated and almost annoyed when the question would be asked. This book really gives great specific moments on McBride's life, and imagery is used very efficiently.

Gisselle Flores

4/22/2013 12:44:07 am

When one is young one doesn't know everything about their surrounding. So far "The color of Water" is about a young boy trying to find out why he and his siblings are black while his mom is white. Whenever they go out there are people shouting at them. One day they were walking and women started to shout, "look at that white bitch, nigger lover" pg.31. If I were the mom I think I would have argued with the women. However, James mom decided to ignore them and walk away. Throughout the book I feel that the mom is a strong and wise character. She is raising her kids right and ignores any conflicts. I wonder if she will brake at any point of the book and fight back.

Amina Ksiyer

4/22/2013 04:07:52 am

In chapter 4 of The Color of Water by James McBride, The quote, " yet my Mommy refused to acknowledge her whiteness," (pg.23) stuck out at me. To me, it seemed as though his mother is refusing to acknowledge a part of her identity, creating a new one for herself. It is probably because she is angry and in a way disgusted in the history of the white race's history. His mother feels she is more apart of the black community than the white community. She feels as though she understands black people and vice versa but the white people do not understand her and she does not understand them.

Nashly Torres Paredes

4/22/2013 04:09:21 am

The quote in chapter 4 that stuck out to me the most is literally at the beginning of the chapter where the narrator James Mc bride says "when I was a boy ,i used to wonder where my mother came from ,how she got on this earth . when i asked her where she was from ,she would say "God made me ", and change the subject . This quote stuck out to me a lot because it shows us how she doesn't want to open up about her life to her children she probably also does it because she's gone through many things in her life and only wishes for the best in her children .

This book so far has interested me very much and I hope to finish it soon .

Alisha Mukim

4/22/2013 04:14:00 am

In the book "The Colors of Water" by: James McBride, so far it describes the provoking thoughts of young James. It also began to explain how the other people in the neighborhood always criticizes the mother of James and about who she chose and about her kids. In chapter 4, page.31. it demonstrates a clear understanding of some of the ignorant comments and criticisms the people in the neighbor her described or mentioned to other people around her, "Look at her with those little niggers."

Jasmina Lukolic

4/22/2013 04:15:28 am

"When I was a boy, I used the wonder where my mother came from, how she was from, she would say, 'God made me', and change the subject" (21) - The Color of Water by James McBride

The following quote really interest me and trigger my mind into asking myself- Did the mother really not know specifically who she came from? Or is she sacred? Does she know who her parents are but doesn't want to tell? Lets be given a different case, where you do know who your parents are and are asked where you are from, do you respond by saying God or your parents name? More preferable, people would answer back with their ethnicity or parents name. In conclusion, I believe that she doesn't her parents or ethnicity. The mother is a strong character because she blocks out every obstacle to take care of her kids.

Areeg Abdelhamid

5/13/2013 12:11:37 am

It's funny because whenever I used to ask my mom where we all came from, she'd say the same exact thing. And when I asked what God was, she'd say that he keeps us all going. Until, I became used to it.

Tabitha Delacruz

4/22/2013 04:18:38 am

The Color of Water by James McBride has surprisingly caught my complete attention. I admit i judged a book by it's cover once i first looked at it but it has proven itself to be interesting. The character i favor the most is the mother, when i think of women of her time i don't picture them as having the kind of personality she has. Therefor i believe when she explains her story is the most essential. When Ruth speaks of Jame's father she says "Folks will run with that won't they? They'll say, "Oh she felt low, so she went on and married a nigger." Well, i dont care. Your father changed my life. He taught me about God who lifted me up and made me new". I think it's amazing that she has such bravery to stand up for blacks even though she's white and I would really like to understand how she came to accept them unlike others of her skin color. Without people like her i think there would be much harder to fight against discrimination.

Medina H.

4/22/2013 04:19:04 am

In The Color of Water, James McBride writes about his mother. When McBride asked his mother who she was and who her parents were she simply replied with "God made me". I picked this quote this because in the text I noticed that this theme is repeated throughout the book. I believe that the author repeats this so much because it portrays how his mother felt about the issue of race. I believe that the author uses this a lot because it shows that his mother was not racist, and judged people on their personality, not on the color of their skin.

Areeg Abdelhamid

4/22/2013 04:20:06 am

For many, death is a fearful term. In chapter 3 in The Color of Water, Mama tells her son how she fears death. She says, "Lord...anything that's too closed in makes me feel like I can't breathe and I'm going to die. Kick me and pinch me and make sure I'm gone, because the thought of being buried alive, lying there all smushed up and smothered and surrounded by dead people and I'm still alive, Lord, that scares me to death." I feel that this quote is important because it has imagery. Similar to mama, I also fear death. I never talk about it or show up to funerals. I feel as though this memoir hits close to home because we all have immigrant families so it's relatable.

Christina Poit

4/22/2013 10:34:54 am

I agree with you because when I hear the word "death" it fears me so I just forget about it and remember the important things I have in my life and that I am healthy and happy!

Mayar Mansy

4/22/2013 04:26:51 am

The narrative non-fiction, The Color of Water, written by James McBride describes the ways he discovers information about his family. It caught my attention the way his mother always warns him to not let anyone know what goes on with his family or in the house. It reminded me of how my mother would tell me "what goes on or happens in the house stays in the house" so that I would keep our issues/matters as a secret. It also caught my attention when McBride points out in chapter 4, "They believed that money without knowledge was worthless, that education tempered with religion was the way to climb out of poverty in America..." It is interesting how all parents are usually thinking and telling their kids very similar things. I liked this quote because although parents may annoy us at times but what they say is true. This quote is broad and can connect to everyone in a way which is why it may interest many people.

Christina Poit

4/22/2013 10:32:27 am

In chapter 4 of "The Color of Water", a quote stuck out to me and reminded me of US History. On page 26 states, "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." This quote represents racial discrimination, which the 11th grade is currently learning in US History class. This shows the hate between one race and another. The fights between one another because of race color is senseless. No one should fight no matter what color or what kind of person you are. Everyone is human and people should not just look at a person for their skin color. They should get to know the person before you judge the person.

Christy De La Rosa

4/25/2013 08:57:36 am

"God made me"
I found this quote really essential because it goes to show that his mother doesn't care about the color of his skin or anyone else's skin. This quote really caught my eye because it's repeated in the beginning of chapter 1 and 4, I feel like everyone should feel just like his mother because we were made all equally and we shouldn't be discriminated by the color of ones skin.

Noshin A

5/12/2013 11:08:50 am

"My own parents loved me"
"Then where are they?" (pg 24)

This is a hard hitting question to me because James is completely unaware about his mother's past and when he asked that question, it threw her off because she didn't want to necessarily say all of the truth but she wanted to protect her children from her past. It may have hurt her because of the way the question was asked. I was surprised when she didn't bark at him since she never likes questions about her past.

Stephanie Ramirez

5/20/2013 03:56:08 am

In the book The Color of Water by: James McBride the quote "my parents were nonmaterialistic. They believed that money without knowledge was worthless, that education tempered with religion was the way to climb out of poverty in America and over the years they were proven right." page 29. I picked this quote because I believe that this quote demonstrates a side of his parents that helps him over come the fact that he was poor. He was able to push through all the problems he faced when being a part of a large family. His mother made education be the only focus of his life.

Amanda Darsan

5/22/2013 08:22:54 am

The quote, “She couldn’t stand racists of either color.” in chapter 4, page 30 interested me because while reading, I noticed that Ruth has taught her children to ignore racism even thought she is a Jew and also a white wife in a mixed marriage. Because of the children being mixed with their black and white heritage, they have the ability to go beyond the "barrier" that separates nonwhite and white people in America.

Christy DeLaRosa

6/2/2013 10:09:08 am

A quote that really caught my attention was when the mother said "no I'm light skinned" This quote caught my attention because it was repeated twice in these 4 chapters. This quote goes to show how his mother knew there was a difference between her and her son but didn't think it was such a big deal because she says "god made me " and she's basically saying god made everyone and even if they look different there all the same.

jtyjftjryjucjuyftyjuyujyjuyugrthuy link

10/13/2016 02:24:20 pm

dtyujytyujytujyu

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

Leave a Reply.

Author

Archives

Categories