The Color of Water

             As Robert Terwillger, a novelist states, "Commiting yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying......". The Color of Water by James McBride raises such issue as he shows his struggle to discover his identity in life as he recounts the life experiences of a young boy born into an interracial family in New
             York, during a time in which having a black father and a white mother was something
             uncommon and highly criticized among American society. As he is on his search to
             acknowledge the adversities his mother Ruth had undergone, raising up James and his
             eleven siblings. James was prompted to ask his mother of his true identity when he began
             to notice the physical and social differences between himself and his mother and society.
             Although at a young age her responses always consoled his heart even if it didn't always ease his tensions or clear his confusions about his identity.
             McBride depicts his mother Rachel Shilsky struggles in life. "The daughter of a failed polish rabbi who grew up in the south, fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a church and put 12 children to college." (Color of water). She found her self in the black community with deep faith in god: "Because God makes me happy...Jesus was mommy's salvation...pressed her forward" (pg.50, 165) When asked "What color is god's spirit?", response "God is color of water". Living in a racially diverse world in which everyone is addressed and recognized by the color of their skin, one can interrupt her response as say water has no color and is reflexive. And water is indeed clear. Thus god has no color either. God does not discriminate nor favor any race because of color the skin. Her metaphoric response is the understanding to accept diverse people for who they are, not what group or race they belong to. She believes that no matter one's race, hard work de...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The Color of Water. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 19:39, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/3951.html