The+Color+of+Water+fall_2010

 

Setting: The author’s mother name Ruth McBride, she was born in Poland in 1921, and she arrived in the U.S. at the age of two. On this time of the U.S., the American stock market crashed in October, 1929, the U.S fell into a depression. People were laid off, banks collapsed, and people lost their homes. Farmers in America were hurt by the dust bowl, and were forced out of their farms. In 1933s, the U.S. had a huge famine that killed nearly 7 million people, and it occupies about 7% in American people, and Ruth lived with her parents in this time. In the 1940s and 1950s, Ruth moved to New York, and married her first husband Andrew McBride. They lived in Harlem. At that time, Civil Rights happened in Harlem. Many violence and declarations made conflicts between Ruth and her children, because her children can’t solve the problem for their own identities as biracial members of society. When her children finally confronted these issues, they understand Ruth why she didn’t talk to them in their childhood Besides Civil right, Black Power Movement is also an important sign on that time. For Black Power Movement, We know “Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee” .The committee developed in the 1960s, many member of SNCC, among them Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King. Jr, they are important figures in that movement. Although the concept remained imprecise and contested the people who used the slogan ranged from business people who used it to push black capitalism to revolutionaries who sought an end to capitalism, the idea of black power exerted a significant influence.

Summary: While growing up, James McBride never knew where his mother had come from. When he asked her if she was white, she simply replied that she was “light skinned”, which caused a long-standing confusion about his own racial identity. As an adult, James McBride offers the reader his story by alternating between his mother’s voice and his own. Ruth McBride Jordan was born in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family that immigrated to the United States when she was two. Her name then was Rachel Deborah Shilsky, and her father was a traveling rabbi who abused his family and forced them to settle in the small town of Suffolk, Virginia. After graduating from high school, Ruth moved to New York City and began working in her aunt’s leather-goods factory. She returned to Suffolk when she learned that her mother was sick, but in the end refused to stay. Upon resuming her life in New York, she fell in love and married a black man named Andrew McBride. By the time Ruth learned that her mother had died, she had been disowned, considered to be “dead” by her family. She became a Christian to deal with all of the problems and found a new life. She and her husband raised eight children after moving from Harlem to Brooklyn. James McBride was born after his father had died. Ruth remarried a man named Hunter Jordan, and gave Ruth more children. The importance of school and the church was instilled in each of the children. Ruth insisted that they go to Jewish public school and perform well, as they were the “token” black students in the classrooms. Later in his life, James McBride wrote his autobiography and his mother’s biography, which is known as the Color of Water.

What we learn from the color of water: The book the color of water says that we shouldn’t hate someone just because they are different color. We all should have right to do what other people do. It doesn’t matter what our skin color is. What matter is our beliefs and how we are raised, and what we achieve in life? Discrimination couldn’t solve any problems, and it just creates hate and violence in our heart and our lives. We shouldn’t have racism in our lives and our world, because we are all the same. In the book The color of water, black and white were hating each other, discriminating each other and fighting each other. However, it couldn’t stop anything. Education is a very important key to everybody, a key to open the door of success. The way James’s mother Ruth McBride sent her children to school was want them to become success in the further.

What `s interesting about it: “The Color of Water”, it talks about an interesting story to readers. In the book, there are four places we can find out. The best one is the title: “The Color of Water”. It can’t be thought that it detail about bi-race in a family when people look at the title first. However the author uses a appropriate material, water instead of this condition. All of us know that water has no color, as the same to author’s family that has no race in their lives. The second one is about author’s life. The age lived is a serious racial discrimination society. But his mother was a white and his father was a black. And this book states that how they live in a black neighborhoods with their white mother. It displays a series true image to readers about life in that time. The next one is author’s mother. Although this book talks about the race in the author’s family, it is also a very personal story. It expresses a encouraging attitude in life. Although the author‘s family was so poor, his independent mother always stressed education. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud. The final aspect is the organization of this book, this story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother.

Slide : <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">Setting: <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">1. In 1920s to 1930s (Ruth arrived in the U.S and lived with her parents) l __ The American stock market crashed __ in October, 1929, the U.S fell into a depression. l In 1933s, U.S happen __a huge famine__, the famine killed nearly 7million people, and it occupies about 7% in American people. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">2. In 1940s to 1950s (Ruth moved to N.Y and married with her first husband) l __ The Civil Rights __ happened in Harlem. Many violence and declarations made conflicts between Ruth and her children. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">3. In 1960s to 1970s (The black power happened in Harlem) l __ Black Power Movement __ is also an important sign on that time. ü SNCC developed in the 1960s. ü Martin Luther King. Jr and his speech “I have a dream”

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">We learn two things for the book: <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm; tabstops: list -18.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">1. Discrimination couldn’t solve any problems. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm; tabstops: list -18.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">2. Education is a very important key to everybody.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">Summary: <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">1. While growing up, James McBride never knew where his mother had come from. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">2. Ruth McBride born in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family that immigrated to the United States when she was two. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">3. Ruth moved to New York City and married a black man named Andrew McBride. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">4. Ruth moving from Harlem to Brooklyn. James McBride was born after his father had died. Ruth remarried a man named Hunter Jordan. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">5. Ruth insisted that her children go to Jewish public school and perform well.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">What `s interesting about it: <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">1. The Title “The Color of Water”: water has no color, as the same to author’s family that has no race in their lives. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">2. The author’s life: it is a family that have mixed race. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">3. A very personal story: the author’s mother’s attitude to life. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1.25pt 0pt 0cm;">4. The organization: two distinct, parallel perspectives that of the author and that of his mother.

** By: ** ** Ryusuke Kodama ** ** Jina Saint ** ** Shihao Wu ** ** Quankun Yan ** ** Chen Yang **