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.
Growing up, Ruth had a rough childhood growing up in a very strict jewish household. Her family was poor, her mother was physically handicapped, her father was verbally and physically abusive, and she faced prejudice and discrimination from her neighbors and classmates because she
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was jewish. As Ruth is matures, she realizes that she is becoming more and more unhappy with her life, especially living with her family and practicing the jewish faith. She says, (1.) “There are too many rules to follow, too many forbiddens and you can’ts and you mustn’ts, but does anybody say they love you? Not in my family we didn’t,” expressing her grievances about her living conditions. So, she decides to leave her family in Suffolk, Virginia and move to New York for a fresh start. However, when she gets there she overwhelmed with her newfound freedom and completely loses sight of why she came to New York in the first place. That is until she meets Andrew “Dennis” McBride, who introduces her to Christianity. She says, (2.) “[Andrew] changed my life. He taught me about a God who lifted me up and forgave me and made me new. I was lucky to meet him or I would've been a prostitute or dead,” emphasizing how significant Dennis’s impact on her life was. Living in New York, Ruth faced a lot of obstacles but because of her strong faith and devotion to God she was able to overcome every problem that she encountered.
For example, Ruth and Dennis faced a lot of hate and racism as an interaical couple in the 1940’s, when segregation was a dangerous line to cross. Ruth recalls, (3.) “Me and Dennis caused a riot on 105th Street once. A bunch of white men chased us up the street and surrounded Dennis and tried to kill him, throwing bottles and hitting and kicking him..,” demonstrating the severity and the danger of their situation. Yet, in this circumstances and any other time she was faced with adversity, Ruth found comfort in her religion. Despite the consequences, they eventually get married and start a family together. Even though she and Dennis were poor with a growing family, the more her life revolved around God, the happier and more content she was with her life. She says, (4.) “ After we had our first baby in 1943, we moved across the street to a one-room kitchenette that cost six dollars a week. We had a sink, bed, dresser, stove, and a little ice box that the guy came around and put ice in once a week, All of our furniture was stuff we found or we brought from Woolworth and could be fold… The bathroom was in the hallway and it was used by all the tenants and there were roaches everywhere. We had four kids in that one room. We used the dresser drawers as cribs and the kids slept was us on or on fold out cots. We lived in that one room for nine years, and those nine years were the happiest nine year of my life,” conveying that even though she lived a very simple lifestyle and did not have many material things, Ruth and her family were happy and loved each other
regardless. The main focus of this novel is the relationship between Ruth and her 12 children. Throughout the story, James is constantly reflecting on what it was like growing up in their household. They did not have a lot of material possession but Ruth worked hard to make ends meet and provide her children with everything they needed. Throughout the years,Ruth and her kids shared a very close bond that kept them closely together even when they were all grown up and went their separate ways. At the backbone of that bond is the strong faith, morals, and dedication to God that Ruth instilled in her children. This is what helps the family overcome the many trials and tribulations that they face. For example, After the lost of his stepdad, James begins to rebel and grow distant from his family in an effort to cope with his grief. After a while, he realizes that acting out is not the correct way to deal with his problems. So, like his mother did, he turned to God. James writes, (5.) “For my junior year in high school I resolved to jump back into my studies and rebuild myself. LIke my own mother did in times of stress, I turned to God. I lay in bed at night praying to Him to make me strong, to ride me of anger, to make me a man, and He listened, and I began to change,” portraying how he followed his mother’s message about how powerful it is to put your faith in God and how it helped him get through a very difficult time in his life. Ruth went through a lot of difficult times throughout her life. With everything she went through it would have been easy for her to give up and succumb to all of the negativity happening around her. Instead she chose to stay strong and preserve for her well being and for the sake of her children. It was her amazing faith and dedication to God that provided her with the strength and courage to fight against against and overcome all of the adversity that she faced.
the book i am reading is a novel about polio the book is called “Blue” by Joyce Moyer Hostetter it is a disease that is dealing with your bones and how they move. In this story a teen named Ann Fay Honey had to be the man of the house while her dad went to the war to fight. She did everything around the house helped her dad’s garden cleaned around the house like washing dishes and feeding her siblings. But also when her dad went to work she wasn't the only one doing work around the house she made her 2 sisters and her 1 brother do some work too. As the weeks go by the days got even more busier, her little brother named Bobby was outside one day working on the garden as well as the 2 other sisters and Ann Fay. Ann Fay was telling her little brother Bobby to work harder than he was doing because she didn't think he was working at all.
Overall, the use dual narration in this novel is very effective as it conveys the thoughts of both narrators. Furthermore, altering chapters also acquire momentum for the text, as well as foreshadow the events of McBride's life through that of his mother, plus suggest the similarities between them. Subsequently, by highlighting similarities between two stories due to the different narration, the novel, The Color of Water achieves complexity and nuance. While the parallelism of several issues and the rhetorical strategies further contribute to the meaning of the novel’s message, when Ruth and James finally came to terms with their past and when Ruth was able to help James understand his origin.
She connects stories of different multicultural relationships between a man and a woman, and then continues on to compare the women and men from each story to each other. Social class is also mentioned in the story of Ruth and Boaz. Boaz was very wealthy and Ruth was found in his fields taking food for Naomi and herself. Traditionally, an individual that is born into a family of wealthiness is able to take care of their loved one- which is what Boaz does for Ruth after
In conclusion, the use dual narration in this novel is very effective as it conveys the thoughts of both narrators. Furthermore, altering chapters also acquire momentum for the text, as well as foreshadow the events of McBride's life through that of his mother, plus suggest the similarities between them. Subsequently, by highlighting similarities between two stories due to the different narration, the novel, The Color of Water achieves complexity and nuance. While the parallelism of several issues and the rhetorical strategies further contribute to the meaning of novel’s message, when Ruth and James finally came to terms with their past and when Ruth was able to help James understand his origin.
Events such as the strange woman appearing before Grandma's death and Jim Casy's preaching reinforce the purpose of religion for the migrating poor in the novel of The Grapes of Wrath. Religion allows the migrating poor to continue their journey to a "better" life. Throughout the novel the people, such as the Joad family, encounter many hardships. Several other families who have already been to California, in search of the same "paradise" the Joad's are in search of, found exactly the opposite. The Joad's are advised of this problem, but because of their hope and faith that they will find the work they need, they continue on. Without religion, the migrating poor would not be able to keep on their way. Religion and Christianity do more helping than hindering for the migrating families.
On March 13, 1933, Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Celia Amster and Nathan Bader (Salokar & Volcansek, 1996). Ruth had an older sister, Marilyn, but she passed away at the age of six from meningitis; Ruth was one year old at the time. Cecilia, Ruth’s mother, stayed home and took care of Ruth while she grew up. Cecilia made sure that Ruth worked diligently in school and taught her the value of hard work. 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 si...
Ruth has an intriguing personality. She is very loving towards her family. She will do all in her power to improve the lifestyle of her family. When it appears that the deal for the house in Clybourne Park will fall through, she promises to dedicate all of her time to make the investment work. “Lena-I’ll work… I’ll work 20 hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago…I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors and wash all the sheets in America if I have to-but we have to MOVE!” she pleads to her mother-in-law (Hansberry140). Her plan is unrealistic and idealistic, but the well being of her family is more important to her than anything. Ruth is also witty and sarcastic at times. She cracks jokes to lighten the mood of her family when they’re worried. “Well that’s the way the cracker crumbles. Joke. (121)” When Beneatha and Mama are stressing over the neighborhood they are moving into, Ruth makes a witty joke to improve the mood. Ruth supervises the daily routine and well being of her family. She makes sure that everyone does what they are supposed to and stays on track. ...
The story revelation is one that demonstrates and explains Human Worth, Religion, and Society in a very extreme, but very understandable way. Mrs. Turpin who believes that in society there are people like her and her husband ( home and land owners) who are above all others except people with more money and land. “On the bottom of the heap were most colored people […] then next to them not above just away from them were the white-trash, and then above them the home and land owners to which she a Claud belonged.”
John Steinbeck's epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, chronicles the struggles of the Joads as they join the thousands of fellow "Okies" in a mass migration westward. The Joads reluctantly leave behind their Oklahoma farm in search of work and food in California. While Steinbeck writes profoundly and emotionally about the political problems of the Great Depression, his characters also show evidence of a deep concern with spirituality. When they feel hopeless and are uncertain about their immediate future, their concentration on religion dwindles. On the other hand, when they leave their home, the Joads regain spiritual faith; they have something to live for: California. Once they arrive and find only more difficulties, they lose their sense that better things are ahead of them and gravitate back towards thinking politically. However, they finally return to the source of their original faith--religion-- at their most desperate time.
Ruth, whose dreams are the same as Mama’s, get deferred when the family are forced into there small apartment and there lack of money. Since she has no money she can not help her family as much as she would like to.
Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion. “She refused to divulge details about herself or her past,” says James McBride, in the search of his identity. James and his siblings are in an endless search to find their mother’s identity. James along with his sibling’s, trade and share information amongst each other like “trading playing cards.” Ruth is very discreet and enigmatic about her past, which sways her children’s place in the world. In James McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water, James writes about how his mother Ruth, refuses to reveal her past. James questions his race and speculates why his mother is “light-skinned”, but his mother never tells him why. He uses his mother’s denial to find his place in the world as well as
Through James McBride's lifetime, growing up he has always wondered why he and his mother didn't look alike at all since he was black and she was white, questioning the fact if she was even his real mother. As a young boy, James is often curious about the unspoken life that his mother once had, a secret perhaps, a unheard of life never talked about or perhaps a forgotten past. Since his mother never talked about her childhood and other basic information about where she grew up and what life was like, James grew up such a curious child because of the fact he and his mother were completely different skin colors and when he asks his mom if god was black or white, she says “God is the color of water, water doesn't have a color” ( 51). In James
When faced with difficult choices people are often times forced to make decisions while under pressure. When given a problem humans have the power to choose. The choice made reflects on the human's true self. Break Through! the Bible for Young Catholics, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, "Psychology Of Fraud: Why Good People Do Bad Things." by Maria Godoy, and "The Taking of Indian Lands:Perspectives of Native Americans and European Americans” all show how people react to difficult situations in both positive and negative manners. Break Through! the Bible for Young Catholics, In the book of Matthew shows the difficult decision that Joseph had to make when he found out about Mary's pregnancy. Man's Search for Meaning Focuses on
Ruth started to spend her time doing hobbies, two in specific, riding her bicycle and playing the piano. “Now she seemed intent on playing the piano, dodging bill collectors, forcing us into college through sheer willpower, and riding her bicycle all over Queens” (The Bicycle 2). After Hunter died, Ruth began to ride her bicycle regardless of her surroundings. James states that she seemed to be different before Hunter’s death, “I’d seen her go up to some pretty tough dudes and shake her fist in their faces when she was angry—but that was before Daddy died” (The Bicycle 2). As mentioned, James felt secure when his Daddy was around, and it is likely that she felt that way too, and that is the reason why she appeared to be brave enough to confront men if they bothered her. Now she is not like that, “She rode so slowly that if you looked at her from a distance it seemed as if she weren’t moving, the image frozen, painted against the spring sky…” (The BIcycle 2). We can assume that she feels depressed, in a way, because she ignored what is around her while riding her bicycle, and moves very slowly as if she was sad and
In The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Ruth’s relationship with her mother suffers because she knows very little about her mother’s history. As people grow up they often grow apart from their parents,