The Color of water

James always wanted spend alone time with his mother. He wanted a chance to get to know her better and have a good conversation. “Me and Mommy alone. It was the first time I remember ever being alone with my mother.”(McBride 11)James was so happy that his mom told him they have alone time together to walk by his bus stop. As he was walking he was saying to himself that he will never forget this special moment with his mom. He loved when his mom brought him to the bus stop and picked him up at the same spot it meant so much to him.

James never truly connected with Jews. He also did not like to be a Jew.“Looking back, I realize that I never felt any kinetic relationship to Jews,” (McBride 86). James felt more connected to his black side. He was more ashamed of his mother’s side. Despite his relationship with his mom, James never truly felt he could relate to her side.

When James stepfather passed away he was involved with drugs and ditched school. It was hard for him to stay focused and his grades were dropping.“I quit church and avoided my deeply religious godparents. I was the first kid on my block to smoke cigarettes and reefer.” (Mcbride 138) He did not want to go to church anymore because he gave up on everything and he did not care any more. He lost all the desire to do anything in his life.

James was ashamed of his mom. “My own embarrassment overrode all other feelings. 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 siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that mommy were black,”(McBride 103). This shows how embarrassed James was because his mom was not black. He had black pride in him and he wanted everyone in his family to be the same color.

Ruth’s father was sexully abusive to his daughter. As a result she became claustrophobic of her father and she felt stuck and trapped. “ 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.” (McBride 42)It was hard for Ruth to keep these secrets deep down inside. She was being molested by her father and that affected her as she grew up.

Ruth lost her two husbands. She now is a single mother to twelve children. It was hard for her but she worked hard to get through the tough times. “It’s not alright! It’s not alright!” Ma cried, and she wailed and wailed, the sound of her cries circling the house like a spirit and settling on all the corridors and beds where we lay, weeping in silence.” ( McBride 128)Richie is trying to help his mom calm down of her recent loss. Ruth told all her children that it is not alright. She then continued to cry next to her children.

Ruth and her family traveled a lot because of her father was a preacher. Everywhere they went people at them. They were mostly the center of attention because they looked poor.“I was real conscious of that, being Jewish and having a handicapped mother. I was ashamed of my mother, but see, love didn’t come natural to me until I became a Christian.” (McBride 38) Ruth tells us how hard it was for her to have a mother that had poor health and could barely walk. She felt bad for her mother because she could not see her in this bad condition out in public. She also did not like others seeing her poor family as the center of attention and feeling embarrassed. They worked together as a family to do fun things during the hard times.

Growing up it was hard for Ruth to find friends because the people made fun of her religion and what she looked like. She found a friend who really accepted who she really was.“ I never starved for food till I got married. But I was starving in another way. I was starving for love and affection. I didn’t get none of that,” (McBride 83).Ruth was struggling with her personality. When she was growing up she found her true identity and her true friend. Her friend gave her love and were there for each other.

Ruth falled in love with a boy named Peter. She found out that she got pregnant and did not want to tell anyone. The next day she went to New York to see her aunt and get help. “It was a horrible, painful experience and the doctor used no anesthesia. Afterwards, I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk, so Aunt Betts and I sat on the stoop of the doctor’s office and I cried, and even through my tears I was apologizing to her because I was ashamed. “I am sorry,” I said “I don’t want to be a bother” (McBride 134) Ruth’s aunt told her to get a abortion and she did what her aunt said. While ruth was still in pain she could not believe what she did to herself. She told her aunt it would not happen again and that she is sorry for what she did wrong

As James was growing up he wanted to know about his mom and her life story. He kept on asking his mom questions but she did not answer him and he still wonders why he does not get answers. “As a boy, I always thought of my mother as strange. She never care to socialize with our neighbors.” (McBride 9) James’s mother did not like to talk to people because she felt that people might judge her and her family. She describes her history as a mystery and did not like to talk about it.

James and Ruth's Important turning points in their lives