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Otherness In James Mcbride's The Color Of Water

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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. They are the one who decides what should be or what should not be allowed in the society. In The Color of Water, we see women are not treated equally to men. Women are beaten and they can’t say a word to their abusive husbands. As the Feminist theory concludes that our culture are inherently patriarchal, meaning characteristics of a system of society or …show more content…

For example, “she was the commander in chief of my house.”(McBride, 112) “Playing in the street was discouraged and often forbidden… get your butt in this house before dark.” (McBride, 112) Ruth now applying the same formula to her children as her father, Tateh had applied to his children. Now, Ruth becomes the leader and controlling her family. As the generation pass by, the society gets better. Sexism and otherness reduces and equality becomes more transparent in the society. In conclusion, as we can see, “otherness” has a great impact in the society. In Society, men and women are never been treated equally. Women always have less rights in the society. But as the time passes by, conservative ideas are fading, and women are getting more rights in the society. As we have seen, Ruth is now controlling her family like her father did when she was a kid. All in all, there are more work to be done in this world. And Hopefully society will treat men and women equally in the near

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In the book the Color of Water, Hunter Jordan, James ' stepfather, died of a sudden stroke when he was younger. His mother first married a man named Andrew McBride, that was James’ biological dad, but was only alive to see the moment where his mother, Ruth, re-married to Hunter. When he had died each one of them had a different way of grieving. Ruth rode a blue bicycle Hunter had brought in before he died. For example, James explains how his mother rides the bike around everyday and “... what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what i perceived to be imminent danger from the blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world.”

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An awareness of one’s past is essential to the establishment of their personality and identity. James McBride’s, The Color of Water, is both a memoir and tribute to his mother, Ruth McBride Jordan. Throughout most of James’ life, he questioned who his mother was behind all her secretiveness and failure to educate him on her past life. Soon enough, she agrees to being interviewed by her son and continues by revealing every aspect of her identity. While being interviewed, she talks about the three names she’s lived by.

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