Character Analysis Of Aubrey Rubenstein In 'Chapter 22' By James Mcbride

In chapter 22, James encounters Aubrey Rubenstein as he goes along his journey to where Ruth once lived. McBride speaks with Rubenstein, in wanting to know about his family and their story from where and what Ruth is. McBride learns from Rubenstein that his dad and his mother already had a complicated relationship; as he says, “me and another fella went to see him about buying the piece of property next door to his store. He was up in Brooklyn,” (McBride 225). Rubenstein refers to his dad cheating on Ruth, already having another woman that he visited as he would leave to Europe. Furthermore, McBride learns of how Rabbi Shilsky treated his family. Rubenstein was not too fond of wanting to inform McBride of how he treated others, but he let he

let him know how he was ‘tight with his money and they could have been doing better than they looked,” (McBride 226). McBride was able to know more about his mother and the rumors that were heard about her, also he was able to know a little bit of his Uncle Sam and Aunt Gladys. He had been looking for closure as to how Ruth was living and how she was treated. Mcbride says, “the Shilskys were gone. Long gone,” (McBride 228), shortly after he says that he found what he was looking for. He had figured out the reason as to why he was different and why his mom acted the way she did; she didn’t want them to live the way she did, as Jews.