Every person goes through phases that change their personality. James McBride has gone through many transformations throughout his life. The people in his life and the environment he lived in had a lot to do with his transformation of a person. He started off a curious, worried, confused child to a rebellious, high school drop-out, bum teenager. Luckily he got control of his life again and became a successful, accepting, proud adult. Every child is a curious child who seeks answers to satisfy their curiosity. James curiosity made him ask his mother questions that she never really answered. For example, “I began to notice something about my mother, that she looked nothing like the other kids’ mothers” (McBride 12). Here James noticed …show more content…
His curiosity made him ask the following question to his mother: ‘Then why don’t you look like Rodney’s mother, or Pete’s mother? How come you don’t look like me?’ (McBride 12). James noticed that his classmates were the same skin tone as their mother, however since James was dark skinned and his mother was white skinned he questioned if she was his biological mother but she made established that she is his mother. James never understood why his mother chose to live amongst the black community until he became an adult, but as a child he had no clue why but he knew she was at risk because she was a white woman. Here James 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. I had swallowed the white mans fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole” (McBride 27). A black kid usually wouldn’t be worried about their mother living in a black community but given James circumstance, he had a white mother which was not seen too often at that time so out of love, he was worried that his mother would be harmed for being a white person living amongst the black community. For having a white mother he was often teased. Wanting to live a …show more content…
For example, Jack who was his sisters husband gave him some words of wisdom to start changing himself for the better, ‘Put yourself in Gods hands and you cant go wrong’. I knew Jack was right and when I got back to New York in the fall of 1973 for my junior year in high school I resolved to jump back into my studies and rebuild myself… I lay in bed at night praying to Him to make me strong, to rid me of anger, to make me a man, and He listened, and I began to change” (McBride 161). After spending some time with Jack, James wanted to fix his life. So he resorted to God for help just like his mother did and God came through for him. James is now on the road to a bright future. Later in time he managed to get accepted into Oberlin College for his strong musical abilities. After a couple of years he decided to track down his mom’s side of the family, the Whisky’s. When James did some research he came across some answers and he had an epiphany. For instance, “A penetrating loneliness covered me lay on me so heavily I had to sit down and cover my face. I had no tears to shed. They were done long ago, but a new pain and a new awareness were born inside me” (McBride 229). He thought of his mother’s family as another family. However his sudden realization of all the pain that his mother went through because of her family was his family too. James has accepted his mother’s
Jim is a dynamic character because he is a runaway slave. Also at first he didn’t really want to risk anythings, no adventures for Jim. I feel that Huck has been influencing Jim with taking risk and starting new adventures.
Unknown, to James at this point he did not realize that he was having a problem with a psychological theory called behaviorism. Now this theory is one that is saying human behavior is developed through learning experiences which in this case would apply to James. His behavior as an adult was reflected by the way he was treated as a kid by his father and mother because they fought all the time. They never truly paid any attention to him, which in terms taught him how to stay out of their way and learn how to steal and burglarize places without getting caught. Therefore, within the psychological theory of behaviorism Behaviorists saw crime as something that is a learned response to life’s situations such as James situation which led him to a life of crime because of his parents. Although, he was never truly mistreated, he did not receive his father attention due to the fact of the way his father was treated as a child growing up an abusive household. Therefore, he did not want to place his son in the same situation. There is also the fact that James could be suffering from the psychodynamic theory which says that a person’s personality can be controlled by their unconscious mental process and that is grounded in them in early childhood. These entire things such as the id, ego, and superego
In the memoir, The color of Water, the author James McBride's life is rawly laid out for the reader. It discusses his life and his search to understand his mother's identity. In understanding who she is, he believes that he will better be able to identify himself and who he is. His memoir involves stories from his mother's and his own point of view, that help the reader understand the hardships that both individuals encountered, and overall how similar their perspectives truly are. Throughout the book, James tells the reader about many different events that took place over the course of his life. There are a select few that truly influenced the path his life took, and the way he sees himself. These major events include James' step father passing
In O’Brien’s story “The Things They Carried”, Jimmy Cross thinks the death of his comrades, Ted Lavender is his fault but it’s not. Jimmy Cross was only 22 year old too young to be First Lieutenant. Jimmy Cross’s obsession with Martha reading and a daydreaming about her letters. In which Jimmy Cross’s mind could escape from the ugliness of the war. In Vietnam War, being a strong leader over the troop is impossible the war’s mission are undefined. Ted Lavender’s death was a great tragedy of the Vietnam War, and not the fault of Jimmy Cross.
Facts: Chet is basically Gene's only real competition in school for valedictorian but Chet doesn't really notice it as competition because his love of learning is so sincere. Also, he is amazing as tennis and playing the trumpet, and was even asked by Finny to play at their winter get together when the band can't come.
As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of race issues. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the world. It is only when James uncovers the past of his mother does he begin to understand the complexity of himself and form his own identity. As James matures, issues of race in his life become too apparent to ignore. His multiracial family provides no clear explanations on prejudices and racism, and when "[James] asked [Ruth] if she was white, she'd say, No. I'm light skinned and change the subject.
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
Murderer, liar, manipulator; these are only a few words that describe the enigmatic Sergeant John Wilson. In the historical book, The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love & Murder, written by Lois Simmie, we get acquainted with the complex balancing act of a life John Wilson lived. We find out about his two-faced love life, the bloody solution, and the elaborate cover up. In Simmie’s thought-provoking book, John Wilson abandons his family in Scotland, for a better life in Canada on the force. John battles debilitating sickness along with the decision to double-cross his wife. His young love interest Jessie cares for him as he battles tuberculosis. While, “many young women Jessie’s age would have had second thoughts about commitment
The real-world connection here is a how White society has always used its economic advantages to render the Black population powerless to control its own destiny. The mother made him feel not only powerless, but set him into an uncomfortable vulnerability. And I feel like this is a commonality between many black people ,including myself, that feel they will never feel enough as whites. That's why I feel when the 2008 presidential election was going on, it was huge deal for not only black people ,but white people too. Many were caught almost “ dumbfounded” by the fact that that was even
Aldous Huxley’s, “Brave New World,” explores the roles of people in society, morals concerning sexual activity, and other controversies in our reality. One of the principal characters in the novel is ‘John the Savage.’ John is a unique character in the story because unlike the other characters in the book, his emotions and morals were similar to those of the majority of our society. He felt emotions in a way others did not, and his morals can be regarded as ethically right (for example, he did not consider sex to be meaningless; in fact, he considered it an intimate act. Unfortunately, by the end of the story, John develops into a corrupt and barbaric man- the novel even finishes with the image of John whipping both himself and others, eliminating our prior perception of John’s character. This paper will analyse the themes and importance of the final moments of “Brave New World,” and explore how a person’s sexual experience is heavily experienced by their environment.
Before going to Alaska, Chris McCandless had failed to communicate with his family while on his journey; I believe this was Chris’s biggest mistake. Chris spent time with people in different parts of the nation while hitchhiking, most of them whom figured out that McCandless kept a part of him “hidden”. In chapter three, it was stated that Chris stayed with a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. Although Westerberg was not seen too often throughout the story, nevertheless he was an important character. Introducing himself as Alex, McCandless was in Westerberg’s company for quite some time: sometimes for a few days, other times for several weeks. Westerberg first realized the truth about Chris when he discovered his tax papers, which stated that “McCandless’s real name was Chris, not Alex.” Wayne further on claims that it was obvious that “something wasn’t right between him and his family” (Krakauer 18). Further in the book, Westerberg concluded with the fact that Chris had not spoken to his family “for all that time, treating them like dirt” (Krakauer 64). Westerberg concluded with the fact that during the time he spent with Chris, McCandless neither mentioned his
He lived a life without parental guidance. His mother left him with his father when he was only 4 years old. James was often left alone while his father traveled to turpentine camps selling tar for a living. James recalls the times he spent alone walking around in the woods looking for doodlebugs, and playing a harmonica his father gave him. During this time alone, he never had anyone around to talk to but himself (Brenchley, 2003).
Christopher Johnson McCandless, a.k.a Alexander Supertramp, “Master of his Own Destiny.” He was an intelligent young man who presented himself as alone but really he was never lonely. However, he believed that life was better lived alone, with nature, so he ventured off throughout western United States before setting off into Alaska’s wild unprepared where he died. Some may say he was naive to go off on such a mission without the proper food and equipment but he was living life the way he wanted to and during his travels he came across three people: Jan Burres, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg. McCandless befriended these people, it is believed that he made such a strong impression on them that their connection left them with strange feelings after finding out about McCandless’ death.
James was an authoritarian parent. He was controlling, in-charge and no one questioned him. He would play the role of the doting father. When his children made mistakes, he made a point to criticize them. He often compared them to other kids that he felt were “more perfect.” When his often unspoken expectations were not met he would yell and scream striking fear into his entire family. “He’s not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy, and he’s not going to inspire feelings of intimacy. But when his system works, he can boast about one thing: His recruits tend to obey” (Dewar).