The Color Of Water Mujahhid Analysis

Realizing the Truth Knowing one’s self is an essential part in a person’s life. If one does not fully know their individuality, it will lead to the longing for understanding. Ways of finding identity differentiate between each person, some situations being more difficult than others. James, from the novel The Color of Water by James McBride, is an African-American boy who is living during the times of racial segregation between blacks and whites and struggles to discover his white mother’s history to trace the lines to his identity. Mujahhid, from the stories of the book Santa Claus in Baghdad by Elsa Marston, is a Palestinian boy who is in a dispute between the Israeli soldiers and finds the meaning of God’s decisions that impacted his life and the truth of the people in Israel, using knowledge to face the Israel army. Both characters reveal their true selves throughout their life’s conflicts. Through facing their obstacles, James and

Though he was not physically fighting against the Israeli army with rocks and weapons, he found that one must do whatever he/she must “do-like picking olives- when [they] have to do it. Or standing up or what [they] think is right. Doing it no matter what” (Marston 89). Mujahhid believed that this was “the kind of jihad God really wants from” the people of Palestine who wish to make a stand for their country (Marston 89). His dissatisfaction that he could not fight against the Israeli soldiers near the border helped him understand that protecting their rights did not have to include violence. Mujahhid has discovered other ways to make a difference in their society, such as picking olive trees. He agreed that he shouldn’t create more fighting in the conflict, and was “proud” of the “battle scars” that he gained from protecting the olive grove (Marston 89). He accepted his place as a peaceful jihad, which contrasted from his