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Racial Discrimination in Literature
Uses of rhetoric
Similes and metaphors
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Throughout the book The Color of Water by James McBride there were many quotes that had a significant meaning to me. But the one that had the most significant meaning was the one on page 51 which said “What color is God's spirit? It doesn't have a color, God is the color of water.
Water has no color.” This is what Ruth (James mom) told him after he asked her the question. This quote that was said by Ruth had a significant meaning and also a purpose for it being put in the book.
This quote has a significant meaning to me because of one main reason. That reason is because it is showing that God shows no discrimination between the reason or color that you are because he loves you no matter what. James eventually does figure out that race isn't a big deal at all throughout his journey in life. So that's why this quote has an significant meaning to me.
The author's purpose for having this quote is to say if God doesn't discriminate then you shouldn't either. To elaborate on this no one should be looked down
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Some of them were metaphor, simile, and personification. The purpose of the book was to be an tribute to his mother. “What color is God's spirit? It doesn't have a color, God is the color of water. Water has no color.”. This is an example of an metaphor in the book, what it's doing is compare god and how after doesn't have a color. What this did was show the meaning of the title of the book and about how race is an important topic in the book. “Sam was like a shadow.”. The author use of simile in this sentence to compare Ruth's brother to a shadow because he is a quite person. “Contradiction lived and survived in it essence.”. This is a example of his use of personification in the book. This is an example of personification because contradiction is not an living thing. So those are example of McBride using rhetorical strategies in the book to convey the purpose of
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
I must tell you…if you should settle down here, you’ll have to be either one thing or other—white or colored. Either you must live exclusively amongst colored people, or go to the whites and remain with them. But to do the latter, you must bear in mind that it must never be known that you have a drop of African blood in your veins, or you would be shunned as if you were a pestilence; no matter how fair in complexion or how white you may be.
Everybody on earth faces some type of hardship at some point in their life. Regardless of religious preference most people seek guidance and find comfort through practicing their faith. This is exactly the case for Ruth McBride-Jordan, James McBride’s mother. In the novel The Color of Water, James sends the messages that a strong faith in God can overcome any obstacle and is the foundation for a happy, prosperous life through the story of his mother’s life.
Before the murder, Ruth had concerns about her son Frank’s relationship with the killer’s estranged wife and fears the worst for her ...
Water is symbolic of the life cycle as the continuous, repetitive movement is symbolic of the Buddhist view of samsara. Within Buddhism, samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from one grasping and fixating one’s self and experiences. Specifically, samara refers to the process of cycling through one rebirth after another within the realms of existence. The uninterrupted cycle of death and rebirth without a choice is called ‘cyclic existence’ ("Buddhism Beliefs |About Buddhism”). In lê thi diem thúy’s The Gangster We Are All Looking For, water permeates through the life cycle concerning life, death, and the dual-meaning of resurrection representing both rebirth and the manifestation of ghostly
Whenever Ruth or James McBride face any forms of racism, especially for being related to each other, having different skin colors, they can always look to religion to aid them through these tough times. It appears so that in the book, religion knows no race, and therefore is very accepting to no matter who it may be. In this case, in Chapter 6, the author tells about his past experiences going to Church with his family, and recalling his mother’s true embrace of Christianity, her singing voice, the fact that she was the only white person there, and how odd and exaggerated Reverend Owen’s sermons were whenever going to Whosoever Baptist Church. One afternoon at Church, Ruth McBride was weeping after hearing her favorite songs, like “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” or “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. James McBride asks her mother why she cries in Church, and her response is that God makes her happy. He thinks about this a bit more and assumes that maybe God likes black people better, hence having her mother cry at Church. He then asks whether God was black or white. She responds saying that he is not black or white, but a spirit, leading into the main metaphor of the story, saying, “God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color.” The metaphor displays how God has no color, no race to him, and would accept anyone, no matter their race. This representative of how Ruth and James McBride were accepted as Christians solely, therefore avoiding any difficulties having to do with race, at least when speaking about it with religion.
Back when I was a little girl, I always fascinated over water. I remember that I loved to be able to go down to Lake Chatuge, which is directly behind my house, and sit there, thinking about how my wonderful God is to make such a beautiful thing that we do not appreciate like we should. According to Oxford Dictionary, water is “a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.” Ron Rash used symbolism, which is “something that represents something else” (Mays 205), in his book One Foot in Eden drastically in many different aspects of water. The symbolism of water in One Foot in Eden has many various meanings that are vividly expressed within
James Baldwin is one of the premier essayists of his time. He draws on his experiences in a straightforward, unapologetic manner, which helps achieve his purpose in The Fire Next Time. His style elucidates his arguments for racial harmony and for the understanding of other religions.
One highlight from Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Ruth, by Judy Fentress-Williams is loyalty. In the book of Ruth, Ruth states, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:14). Ruth says this to Naomi after Naomi tried to push her away. The commentary states that Ruth said this to Naomi as they were moving from Ruth’s homeland to Naomi’s homeland (Williams, chapter 1). I think this is significant because it shows that Ruth is actually following Naomi and not leaving her behind or abandoning her. This verse is a pivotal event in the first chapter which makes it even more significant (Williams, chapter 1). This is when the setting begins to change. It starts off in Moab and then they both travel to the land of Judah. It also
Cecilia was diagnosed with cancer while Ruth was in high school and the day before her daughter’s graduation, she passed away (Salokar & Volcansek, 1996). One of the greatest influences on Ruth’s life was her mother and the values she instilled in her from a young age. Two of the greatest lessons that Ruth learned from her mother was to be independent and to be a lady, and by that she meant not to respond in anger but to remain calm in situations (Reynolds, 2009).... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Powerful Symbol of Water in Beloved Water. It expresses its’ power in the form of hurricanes and flash floods. It displays its gentleness, washing dirt off a child's scabbed knee. Water has been used to quench the thirst of many longing throats; and it has been the cause of death to those who unfavorably crossed its path. It possesses the power of total destruction, yet it holds the bases of all life. Generally, is a natural purifier, washing the dirt from our bodies. Water is a symbol of transition from dirty to clean. In Beloved, Morrison uses water to introduce a transition between stages in a character's life. Water separates one stage of a character's life from another. Paul D.'s escape from Alfred, Georgia was directly helped and represented by the rain that had fallen in the past weeks. Paul D. was sent to Alfred, George because he tried to kill Brandywine, his master after the schoolteacher. In Alfred, he worked on a chain gang with forty-five other captured slaves. They worked all day long with "the best hand-forged chain in Georgia" threading them together. They A man's breaking point was challenged everyday. It was hell for Paul D. Then it rained. Water gave Paul D. his freedom. The rain raised the water level in the in-ground cell so they could dive, "down through the mud under the bars, blind groping," in search of the other side (p. 110). One by one each of the forty-six men dug through for the ground. They dug for breath, they dug for each other, and they three separate times to make the reader aware that water is the main cause of the transition in Paul D.'s life (p.109-10). Paul D.'s is now a free black man. A free black man traveling to 124. Water represents Sethe's transition from slavery to freedom.
“We all know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe- some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they’re born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others- some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men.” This quote is valuable to me because I know not everyone is equal. Everyone is created differently so each person can be unique in his or her own way. In school there are lots of different people that are smarter than you, but if there weren’t smarter people than you, than you wouldn’t push yourself to be a better person. Tom Robinson knew he was a Negro and that it was his word against two white women, but he was not giving up. He wanted the same opportunity the white women were born with and the only way he could get that opportunity was by not giving
...e to the audience that the Bible adheres to the deserved emancipation and support of African-Americans, rather than enslavement and oppression. For example, Douglass preaches, “ A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. The Bible addresses all such persons as ‘scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.” By using Matthew 23:23 to assert American Christians as righteously indignant, Douglass infers that if the White American people are truly Christian, they will obey the doctrines of The Bible and negate their duplicity by showing love and mercy to black people.
In Beloved, Toni Morrison portrays the barbarity and cruelty of slavery. She emphasizes the African American’s desire for a new life as they try to escape their past while claiming their freedom and creating a sense of community. In Beloved, "Much of the characters’ pain occurs as they reconstruct themselves, their families, and their communities after the devastation of slavery" (Kubitschek 115). Throughout the novel, Morrison uses color to symbolically represent a life complete with happiness, freedom, and safety, as well as involvement in community and family. In many scenes, Morrison uses color to convey a character's desire for such a life; while, in other instances, Morrison utilizes color to illustrate the satisfaction and fulfillment, which the characters experience once they achieve this life.
“I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.” Anais Nin wrote this quote. This quote symbolizes what Desiree’ thought she had in a husband until he disappointed her by kicking her out of the house upon the realization that their son had black in him. This was a big deal for a wealthy Caucasian man during the 19th century due to the fact that he had a status to uphold. Desiree’ had to obey by his rules and leave as he commanded.