The Color of Water - Grant DeMello

The Color of Water by James McBride is a memoir of his and his mother's life. James was an African American boy who spent most of his life growing up in the projects of New York. His mother, Ruth, was a white Jewish woman who spent much of her childhood in Suffolk, Virginia and who dedicated the rest of her life to raising her twelve black children. The Color of Water won many literary awards, as well as spending more than two years on the bestseller list. James wrote only two other books, Miracle at St. Anna, and Song Yet Sung. He worked as a staff writer for several newspapers and magazines. Aside from his literary honors, James has received several awards for his work as a composer and is an accomplished saxophonist. In The Color of Water, James vividly details the struggles of his life and revisits the shadowed childhood of his mother.

Ruth McBride is reluctant to reveal her past because it was such a hard time for her to recall. Whenever her children ask about her childhood, she avoids the question because she wants them to have pride in who they are and to not worry about what other people think of them. She doesn't want them to be ashamed of their mothers Jewish heritage or the fact that she is white living in predominately black areas of New York. This makes the children's' lives like a clean slate. They have to make their own name for themselves and ignore any prejudices they may encounter throughout their lives.

At the beginning of the story, James asks Ruth about her family. She tells him that she is "dead" to them. She is trying to say that she has completely turned away from her childhood, and who she used to be doesn't exist anymore. This is like her way of forgetting everything that happened as she was growing up because it was such a hard time for her. She believes that when she left her family, she became a new person altogether, and that was her outlook on the rest of her life.


Ruth McBride's contradictions were definitely not intended for the sole purpose of confusing her children. They were just her set of beliefs that only seemed to contradict each other because of her mixed background with different races, religions, and social standings. It's not like they contradict each other so much that they don't make sense, because when you read them and think about it, they are perfectly logical. They definitely contribute to the view of humanity that both James and Ruth McBride possess.

Ruth McBride's birth name is Ruchel Dwajra Zylska. It is a very Jewish name which made it hard for Ruth to fit in as a child because Jews were looked down upon in Suffolk while she was growing up. She changed it to Rachel Deborah Shilsky in hopes to fit in more at her school which was already sunning her. Although it was a more American name, it did not make her life any easier or better. When she left her family and moved to New York, she changed her name for the last time to Ruth. This is significant because it serves as the point in her life when she completely closes herself off from her family and her old life in the south and begins her new life.

Both Tateh and Ruth ran their homes in a "tyrannical" manner, but Ruth was more successful, even with eleven children to raise, then her father. The difference between them was that Tateh had no love for his family. He was very controlling and demanding. He molested Ruth when she was young and was feared by his family. For that reason Ruth ran away from home and never came back, despite Her father telling her not to leave. Ruth, however, loved her children, and led them with complete authority, but also kindness and unconditional love. She was able to make ends meet even when times were tough. Ruth must have used her father's child-raising techniques as an example of how to NOT raise a child because there are no visible similarities between the two styles of parenting.

When James finally grows up, and his mother begins to tell him about her past life, many of his questions that have gone unanswered for so many years are beginning to be answered. He had always wondered about his mother's identity, and by going back to her hometown and learning how she lived, he is able to fill in the proverbial blanks in his past and in Ruth's childhood. When he met some of the people who knew Ruth when he was young in Suffolk, he learns that when she left home she became a completely different person.


The title of the book, The Color of Water, is important in regards to race and religion. When Ruth first uses the phrase, she is talking to James about Heaven. She tells him that in heaven people are the color of water. That is the best way for a young child like James to understand that race is nothing more than the color of someones skin, and on the inside everyone is equal. It gives Americans the vision that when you look beyond race, everyone is the same and everyone deserves equal chances and shouldn't be judged by skin color.


Throughout his life, James meets and learns about people in his life that serve as role models in his or someone Else's life. He also learns how historical events changed his family's life. When he goes back to the south to learn about his mother, he finds out that her brother was killed in World War II. Also, he meets many black men that use the acts of Jackie Robinson as inspiration for their everyday lives, including his father. Another major historical event that played a major role in James life was the civil rights revolution. It made somewhat of a divide between his family. His mother, although white, lived with and preferred the ways of black Americans. However, she could not stand some of the civil rights movements and talks and became angry when her children would ask about it at home.

I enjoyed reading this book because it makes you think about how lucky you are to not have to deal with some of the troubles that James McBride went through, but at the same time you are able to relate to some of the things he talks about. i would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

- Grant DeMello