ipl-logo

Identity Crisis In The Color Of Water By James Mcbride

1451 Words6 Pages

Have you ever felt that you didn’t know what type of person you were, or maybe have even felt like you were going through an identity crisis? In the book The Color of Water, by James McBride, the main character, James, has the struggles of having to realize who he is and where he fits into the world. The main issue he has is that he is black, but his mom is white, and at first he doesn’t understand why. James goes through an identity crisis because of his race, his life on the streets, and living in a world run by whites. In the beginning of the book, James finds that he is often embarrassed by his mother, Ruth, due to the fact that she is the only white in a black community. After her second husband dies, Ruth copes with it by riding a bicycle around town, which embarrasses James even …show more content…

It also helps them realize that they have made mistakes in the past where they wish that they would have listened to their parents’ advice. Even though he wished that his parents would have had a different parenting style, Bonestroo has often respected their decisions and beliefs. “There was never really a time I wish I had listened to my parents,” Bonestroo said. “I usually listened to what they told me to do.” Because of this, Bonestroo never got into big trouble in school or other areas of life. It has also helped him become very successful in life, as he is now a pastor at Alton Reformed Church in Alton, Iowa. Now having four children, Bonestroo has made time to spend with them so that he can be a good father to them. “I don’t think that the way I parent my children is similar to the way that my parents raised me and my siblings,” Bonestroo said. He would like to have spent enough time with his kids before they are off to college, especially with his two oldest in high school, and his third getting ready for high

Show More
Related
475 Words | 2 Pages

James loved to read and play the flute, he even received a scholarship. Ruth was a mother of twelve so it was hard for her to dedicate her time to just one child, James craved for her attention and love. He loves to visit his older sister Jackie’s house, he even got kicked out of summer school three times in a row just to go over there. Also, he was a cautious person he knew what he was doing was wrong but he still did it anyways. Ruth was a Jew deep down inside but converted over to christianity right along with her kids.

Read More
661 Words | 3 Pages

The Color of Water is a memoir written about and by James’ McBride. Throughout the book James’ switches the point of view between him and his mother, Ruth. By this the reader learns about both Ruth’s and James’ life as well as the progression of the United States. Though Ruth and James’ were separated by countless years, the audience can compare their lives through similar struggles as well as similar victories. For some, growing up in the 1930’s was much different than the 1960’s, but others it was quite the same.

Read More
332 Words | 2 Pages

"The Color Of Water" is a memoir, written by James McBride about a biracial man, his white Jewish mother, their family, and their struggle from the early 1900s till the mid 1900s. The main characters in the memoir are the author and his mother; they tell their stories and alternate chapters throughout the memoir. the memoir begins with the author's mother explaining her earliest memories of her parents, the details of their marriage, and their coming to America. James's life was a chaotic mess, the only order in his life came from his stepfather, who was named hunter, Hunter was a strong good natured man who was the only father figure James had ever known.

Read More
401 Words | 2 Pages

James observed that all the mothers of his friends had parents who looked similar (skin tone) and became curious because his mother had a different skin color than him. When he asked Ruth all of his questions, she consistently refused to give any answers. This made James’s need to know increase. Another change that James went through

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

Ruth tells James about her past although she avoided and ran away from it for many years. She passed on her actions and reactions to her children, especially James, as she formed a family. James learning about his mother's past made him realize that he resembles Ruth in many ways. They both grieved on their own, but how they grieved was similar. Whether it was drugs or a bike ride, they both had their own way to run.

Read More
1102 Words | 5 Pages

James was always confused on his own race during his upbringings. He expressed confusions on his own race towards his mother in many ways. Constantly James was questioning Ruth whether he was black or white. Ruth told James that he was neither but instead he was just a human being.

Read More
494 Words | 2 Pages

The Color or Water is a memoir about a multicultural family. This book is a memoir about James McBride’s life having a white mother. Looking at the family so far with the family life cycle, the family is in the preschool age (Allen & Henderson, 2016). The mother, Ruth is on her second marriage due to her first husband’s death. The family consist of 12 children, 7 where from the first marriage and 4 from the current marriage.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

According to Ruth, she states, “ My life was the store” (107) discussing that she was not able to love, have nice clothes, or even a date. Religion was also significant part of James life growing up. He is require to go to church and Sunday school every Sunday. According to James it says “Mommy loved god. She went to church every Sunday”(45) explaining that Ruth was extremely religious.

Read More
1365 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the book, The Color of Water, the author- James McBride depicts how females in mid-1900’s were experienced “otherness” in the society. As Dr. Zuleyka Zevallas states in “What is Otherness?” that, “otherness...is controlled by groups that have greater political power. He also says, otherness is the construction of social identities which are “often thought as being natural or inhale…” In other words, the society is controlled by a group or groups of people who have greater political power.

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

Someone 's identity defines who they are. There are no two identities that are the same. , Everyone is unique in different ways. Finding oneself may take time and might not be exactly what you are expecting. In the novel “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli, the protagonist Jack assumes many identities but ultimately does not know who he is.

Read More
541 Words | 3 Pages

Despite her strength, however, a layer of Ruth’s personality retains the sorrows and regrets of her childhood. The other major figure in The Color of Water is Ruth’s troubled but curious son James, who senses

Read More
1170 Words | 5 Pages

“When I asked her if she was white, she’d say, “No. I’m light skinned,” and change the subject again.” (Ch.4, pg.15) Ruth’s changing the topic of racial issues caused even more perplexity and insecurities within James. Because of his uncertainty, it was very difficult for James to decide how he fits into his conservative society. Also, in his community it was only the McBride siblings who seemed to come from the interracial family which made them partially feel like

Read More
1624 Words | 7 Pages

So, what makes a person themself? Children are very influential, and many factors of daily life can impact the construction of their identity. The identities that we form as children will stick with us throughout adulthood while altering slightly along the way. “Sonny’s Blues,” a short story by James Baldwin, highlights the endeavors of an African American boy on the path to finding his true self. Although there are countless influences on Sonny’s identity, the circumstances that his parents place him in as a child are the largest impacts on his road to finding his identity.

Read More
1437 Words | 6 Pages

Identity is defined as “the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others.” Knowing and understanding one’s identity is something has been denied to African-Americans throughout the entire history of the United States, and is essentially the purpose of the Invisible Man’s journey in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. A lack of understanding of one’s identity is a cause for not knowing who you truly are, and therefore do not have the ability to form opinions, perspectives or a place in which a sense of belonging is felt. Ellison communicates the instability of the Invisible Man’s identity through changing states of water, and adjectives of water alike.

Read More
885 Words | 4 Pages

Self-identity is defined as the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context. In other words, self-understanding. Finding self-identity is more more difficult for some people than others. In the autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, the author reflects on her identity as a mixed raced individual which is illustrated through Walker’s reflections. People define themselves in many different ways.

Read More

More about Identity Crisis In The Color Of Water By James Mcbride

Related Topics

Open Document