The+Color+of+Water+Group

=__**The Color of Water by James McBride. **__=


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=__**Members of the Group.**__=

=__**Contents**__=
 * * Yissel Almonte, || * Genesis Calderon || * Hong Li, || * Jessica Herrera || * Chris ||
 * * Rebeca Garcia Roca || * Iliana Guerrero || * Kane Fatoumata || * Sonam Lama || * Francisco Guzman ||
 * * Alok || * Natalia Ayala ||  ||   ||   ||

1.Character of the book. 2. Setting. 3. Biography of the author. 4. Themes. 5. Summary of the book. 6. Vocabulary. 7. Comprehension questions.

=__**1.Characters of the book**__= __**James McBride**__ James McBride is an American writer and musician. He was born in September 11,1957 in Brooklyn, New York. James is the narrator and author of //The Color of Water book.// According to the book, James is the protagonist in the story, which his mother being different ethnicity emphasizing him to explore Ruth's background history throughout the whole story. James Mcbride shows the conflicting emotions that he faced as he struggled to discover his identity and his mother keeping things secret throughout her whole life. Ruth McBride

Ruth McBride was born in Poland, in 1921. Ruth Jordan was a Jewish immigrant to the United States. When she was young her family migrated because her father was a traveling preacher ( Orthodox Jewish Rabbi). Ruth’s life was full of struggle because her father used to rape her at night. She was not allowed to talk to any black person. Ruth settled in Suffolk Virginia she married a black man named Dennis and had eight children ,but her husband has three already. Ruth converted from Judaism to Christianity after she moved to New York and married Andrew McBride.

=__Characters__=

__** a. Ruth's family **__ James: the narrator, her son Ruchel Dwajra Zylska aka Rachel Deborah Shilsky aka Ruth McBride-Jordan: mother of 12 children and the second narrator Fishel Shilsky aka Tateh: the father of Ruth Hudis aka Mameh: the mother of Ruth Laurie, Laura, Dotty, Bernadette, Mary, Rhonda, Betsy, Candis: aunts Schiffman, Hal, Dave, Isaac, Stein: uncles Gladys "Dee-Dee": her sister Sam: Ruth's brother Zaydeh and Bubeh: Ruth's grandparents Etta: Dennis' mother The McNairs, the Floods, and the Taylors: godparents __**b. James' family**__ Andrew 'Dennis' McBride:the biological father of James, the first husband, father and a pastor. Died of lung cancer. Hunter Jordan: stepfather, the second husband, died after having a stroke Judy, Henry, Hunter, Jacqueline, Kathy, Richie, David, Billy, Dennis, Helen, and Rosetta: James' 11 siblings Nash and Etta: his grandparents Henry, Walter,and Garland: uncles Clemy: cousin from down south Z and Maya: his nieces Becky: sister-in-law Karen aka Karone, Leander Bien, and Laurie Wesman: ex-girlfriends Stephanie: current wife Linwood Bob Hinson: cousin from North Carolina Paul, Azure, and Jordan: James' children

=**__Setting ( Kane Fatoumata, Genesis Calderon )__**=




 * Three important places that the book took place are Suffolk ( Virginia ), New York City ( Harlem , Red Hook project ) and Delaware. The setting in the Color of Water , debuted with James mother Ruth which begins in the 1920's . Ruth was born in Poland , afterward they lived in Suffolk , Virginia ( Ruth's hometown ) . After James stepfather Hunter Jordan died of lung cancer , her mother moved them to Wilmington Delaware . James spent most of his childhood in (New York City), Harlem .**
 * Place : Suffolk, Virginia, New York City, Wilmington Delaware **
 * Time : James wrote the book in 1960 to 1990 and he tells the story of Ruth that begins in the 1920's .**

=__**Vocabulary**__=

bounced-move up and down teasing-joking scoffed-made fun of light-skinned airborne-flying skidding-sliding tattered-worn bland- plain denizens-group wislded-controlled orchestrated-planned low key-trying not to be obvious teenyboppers-teenagers to boot- in addition ruined-destroyed

=__**Biography of the author**__=



James McBride was born in 1957. He is an author, musician and screenwriter. He was the eight of twelve children. He was a native New York. McBride is best known for his 1996 memoir, the bestselling //The Color of// //Water// which describes his life growing up in an large poor African America family led by a white, religious, and strict Jewish mother, whose father was an Orthodox rabbi but converted and became Christian during her first marriage to Andrew McBride. James graduated from New York City public schools. When he was twenty-two years old he studied composition at the Oberlin Conservatory of music in Ohio and he received his master from Columbia University. McBride is a currently distinguishes writer in residence at New York University. During his twenties, he was a staff writer in The Washington Post. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times. He plays jazz and he has written songs He plays jazz and he has written songs. He is married and he had three children and he lives between New York City and Lambertville New Jersey.

__**Plot.**__

Ruth had eight of twelve children with her first husband (Andrew McBride).He was a black man. Andrew and Ruth had eight children and one of them called James. he was growing up in chaotic family but he was very loving home. James's father andrew dies of lung cancer before he is born. After Andrew was died, ruth remarries to another black man (Hunter Jordan). They added four children. while Hunter Jorden died, James quit from school and hang out with friends. Ruth was sad because her second husband died. Because Ruth's education in Jewish, she expected her children who had to focus on eduction.

=__**Themes**__=

#|Education is an important issue in their family. Because Ruth’s education in Jewish, she told her children that they should go to white school to get best grade. Also, her children looked black people. In that time, if black people wanted to have high position, they should be having high education. She always said, “what’s money if your mind is empty! Educate your mind!”
 * 1. Education**

The most important theme is the discrimination and racism which is prevalent around 1920 even in today’s society. Why the author has to express the racism issue in this book because his mother is light-skinned and Jewish, but James is black. For example, Ruth got married with a black man when she was nineteen. Her family mourned her as if she were dead because her family could accept that her husband was a black man.
 * 2. Racism in 1960s.**

It's a network to connect every chapter in the book.Every story of this book is talking about the effect of elthnic groups in the society.Ruth's life shows several problems as a fruit of this race matter.Also James talks about his feeling and concerned of his special identity.For instance,James felt confused about his family background,it also wrote about his mother.He was afried of the fact that black people would possible hurt his mother.Ruth's life shows several problems as a fruit of the race matter.
 * 3. Race.**


 * 4. Family Relationship.**

In the book there is develop a lot of family relationships between the characters. Family relationships is the way a person behaves, acts, and feels with another family member. The relationship between Ruth and James is the main family relationship that is develop in the book //The Color of Water//, is a relationship that shows love and care to each other, but also with a lot of secrets. There are also other kinds of relationship between Ruth her parents and siblings. Also, James has family relationship between his stepfather and siblings. Family relationship is develop in different ways between each family member sometimes there are characters that show a cold relationship but there are also characters that show this feeling of care about the other no matter the distance or situation that they are passing through.
 * 5. Religion**

The theme of religion as shown in the book The Color of Water, appears in almost about every chapter of it. People not only neglect the color of the skin but beliefs also. It is a clear contrast between two religions, one of them changed the author’s mother radically to a loving relationship with God and therefore with people around her, specially her children; Christianity. On the other hand, James’ mother fell the heavy joke which is the law of the Old Testament. The book displays the difference in the motivation of obedience, in the chapter of The Old Testament the obedience was motivated by fear of an angry God, but in the chapter called The New Testament the obedience is motivated by love.

=__**Comprehension and Discussed Questions**__=

James felt it was his mother's way of grieving. She was riding her bicycle all over Queens, but she ignored all what she past. James didn't want his friends see his white mother out there riding a bicycle because that went out of style a hundred years ago.
 * 1. How did James feel about his mother riding a bicycle around the nerighorhood?**

Ruth first lived on 115th and ST. Nicholas in Manhattan.
 * 2.Where did Ruth first live in America?**

Ruth enjoyed her grandparents. They were warm and she loved them the way any grandchild loved a grandparents. They kept a clean, comfortable apartment, furnished with heavy dark mahogany pieces.
 * 3.How did Ruth feel about her grandparents?**

Hard work, no nonsense, quest for excellence, distrust of authority figures, and a deep belief in God and education.
 * 4.How did Andrew McBride and Mommy represent the best and the worst of the immigrant mentality?**

Because her father did things to her when she was a young girl that she couldn't tell anyone about, such as getting in bed with her at night and doing things to her sexually.
 * 5.Why did Ruth have low self-esteem?**

She ask," God is not black. He is not white. He's a spirit. He loves all people. It doesn't have a color. God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color." God loves all people even black or white.
 * 6.When James asks his mother the color of God, what does she reply? Why?**

She was always worried that Tateh's gun would go off and accidentally kill him while he was cleaning it.
 * 7. Why did James' mother worry about the KKK?**

He proteched himself and his property by using guns.
 * 8.How did Tatch protect himself and his property?**

Microscopic dots on the power grid of the household and were appointed denizens of power by Mommy, who of course wielded ultimate power.
 * 9.How was power determined in such a large family?**

A veritable petting zoo: gerbils, mile, dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, birds, turtles, and frogs.
 * 10.what pets did the kids have?**

=__**Summary.**__=



The book The Color of Water by James McBride is about that author's life and her mother's life experienced living in a black community when author was a child, author also struggled with questions about his mother's skin and his background.This story is set in New York and south of America and the story of main character is Ruth and James, they tell us their life stories. When he was a child, he often confused his skin color, he isolated by other people who around him. When James was a young boy, he used to wonder where his mother come from. As James asked his mother, she would say god made me, and James really wanted to know about his mother's past. He asked to his mother again and again. James's background is very different, he was born after his father died at the age of 45 of lung cancer, he recalls the orchestrated chaos of his childhood. Ruth remarried a man named Hunter Jordan who became like father to James and gave Ruth four more children. The importance of school and the church was instilled in each of the children, and they were strongly disciplined and well-loved. Ruth insisted that they go to Jewish public schools and perform well, as they were the token black students in the classrooms. As each of the children grew older, Ruth insisted that they go away for school so that they could learn to survive and flourish.


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