The Color Of Water Analysis

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In the non-fiction book “The Color of Water” by James McBride, in chapter 4, James punched the boy on the bus in the face because when he tried to warn his mom through the window of where the black panther’s son was sitting, he couldn’t stretch out far enough to yell for her to hear, then the counselor came over and told him to “write her a letter” (36) as the bus drove off. James quickly became intimidated and very fearful when he noticed the Black Panther standing next to his mommy. James clearly shows that he is scared for his mother’s safety and is now irritated that he was told to sit down and be quiet. It all started when Ruth, James mother, was mugged in chapter 4, by two black men who got hold of her and stole her purse while James was with her. …show more content…

James quotes “The Black panthers were a force” (25). James also states “I thought to myself, these people will kill mommy” (27). After all, what he saw was a frightening image of who the Black Panthers were, that made his thoughts go wild and he thought that a black panther specifically would kill her because she is white. James seems to have built up frustration from when the blacks and the whites were mean to his mom and brothers and sisters, using racial slurs and being just down right mean and very tasteless. In chapter 4 James mentions “I remember when a white man shoved her angrily as she led a group of us onto an escalator, but mommy simply ignored him”. James mother Ruth shows that she isn’t scared by walking through the streets of the ghetto alone, she knows that GOD is on her side. James recalls “I Understand now, understand how she had her Christian principles and her trust in GOD kept her going through all her life’s battles”

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