Eileen H

Eileen Howard
The Color of Water
James McBride
Memoir
Just Right
Page 28

1.In my book right now James’ Mom, Ruth, is telling him about her parents and her childhood. Ruth’s parents, Tateh and Mameh, had an arranged marriage, but when Ruth was two they immigrated to America on account of WWII. In America, Ruth found living with a firm Orthodox Rabbi as a Father very restricting. The one thing she hated the most about being in an Orthodox family was how they responded to death, they ignored it. Ruth’s grandparents, Bubeh and Zaydeh, also immigrated to America with them and Ruth remembers with great fondness. When she was young her Zaydeh died which started her lifelong fear of dying.
2.So far I am really enjoying this book. I haven’t read much of it yet but what I have read so far I have thoroughly enjoyed. I like how the chapters will switch off from James telling the story to Ruth telling the story. This way you learn about both of them when they were the same age. Even though he follows this pattern of switching sometimes he doesn’t go chronologically which keeps the book from being predictable.
3.A theme I have noticed so far is racial exclusion. Both James and Ruth receive racial exclusion during their lives. Ruth is often ridiculed for being a white woman who lives and raises her children in a black community. Also she was excluded by her family when she married Andrew McBride, a black man. Throughout James’ adolescence he experiences stereotyping of being black and living in the projects. Even though they are both excluded they both learn not to exclude people because of their race.
4.My favorite character is Ruth. Ruth is a very strong woman who went against all standards in order to marry the love of her life and raise well-rounded kids. She wasn’t afraid to be ignored by her family when she married Andrew McBride and moved away. Also she does everything in her power in order to get all eleven of her children through college and lead successful lives. She reminds me a bit of Angela, from Angela’s Ashes, in how they will do whatever it takes to provide for their children.
5.My least favorite character is Tateh, Ruth’s father. He was “as hard as rock” and never let anyone express love in his family. Their conversations never were about feelings but more were to keep it from being silent all of the time. Tateh was very racist and was the main person that despised Andrew and Ruth after she married a black man.
6.I think that Ruth will talk more about her new life in America before she married Andrew and hoe much she hated her family life. James will start realizing more about the racial stereotypes that surround him.