Urban sociology - Book Report/Review Example

Synopsis The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother published in 1995 is the autobiography of James McBride and also a tribute to his mother. As you read the book you get to read about the early life of James McBride and accounts of his mother Ruth, in first person before his birth. McBride vividly describes the emotional trouble he had as he was struggling with discovering who he really was as her mother narrates her woes of being a white Jewish woman married to a black man back in the year 1942. Ruth had a repressed childhood where she underwent torment such as being sexually abused by his father who was a failed rabbi but owned a grocery store where Ruth and her brother Sam worked hard before and after school. They would do their homework at the grocery store when customers were not at the counter. Her father prevented them from making friends with blacks and gentiles however Ruth secretly made friends with Frances, a Gentile with whom they hung out at school and at her home with secretly. Ruth also had a black boyfriend who was named Peter with whom she got pregnant with before running home after failing to be able to conceal the bulge any longer. She ran away to New York where she stayed with her aunt for the summer where her aunt Betsy helped her get an abortion and also got a job in a leather factory. Ruth converted to Christianity after moving to New York from Judaism which was pushed upon her by her parents which had made her resent religion at some point in life. However, she became involved in church activities increasingly and eventually opened her own church Ruth’s mother as she narrates was crippled on her left side of her body but however was an exceptionally loyal wife to her husband and a great mother to her children in spite of her husband being cruel to the extent of mocking his wife in public for her disability. Ruth talks of her sister, Gladys whom she was always envious of since she never had to deal with the negative stigma associated with Jews like she underwent. She was the only of the siblings who was born in America. Ruth’s brother, Sam ran away from home at the age of fifteen having had enough of their father and he died while fighting in the Second World War. Here is where he met a black man named Andrew Dennis McBride whom she slowly begun caring for more and more and they eventually fell in love with each other, got married and she bore eight children with him. However, Andrew succumbed to lung cancer which caused his death after being hospitalized. He died just before the birth of his eight children, James McBride. Ruth had to deal with the responsibilities of raising eight children on her own but however got married to another black man by the name Hunter Jordan later on. She had four more children with him. James McBride was brought up alongside his eleven other siblings by a black stepfather and her mysterious mother whose past he came to know when he discovered for himself after going out. He at first lived in fear of his mother and followed her orders to the letter though however as he grew older, he became somewhat rebellious and opposed what his mother used to say. James was hard hit by his step father’s passing whereby he dabbled in drugs mostly marijuana and eventually his behaviors and grades plummeted and as a means of straightening him out, his mother sent him to live with a relative. He still goes on with this lifestyle but eventually rediscovers himself and goes back to his mother. James in order to have an easier emotional transition into his future life decides to look into his mother’s past secret and mysterious life since he had always been confused about his racial identity leading to him being outrageous and lacking commitment to anything he indulged in. His family however was supportive and helped to put him in check and he was then able to find music and activities which reformed his life, hence giving it a new purpose. James was assisted to achieve his musical career by David and Ann Fox who helped him go to Europe where he was able to carry out his passion. His mother died at her home in Ewing, New Jersey on January 9, 2010. Ruth’s mother at one point sang a song about a bird being able to fly away swiftly where she was referring to Ruth who was able to move so swiftly while she herself was handicapped and was difficult carrying out a lot of tasks swiftly and she says that she deserved to be sacrificed and killed. Ruth also had a bicycle, which is seen to be symbolic of her constant need to move from place to another mainly as a means of coping with depression and stress culminating from her life experiences. Analysis In this book “The Color of the waters”, gives the account of Ruth as a widow left behind with the kids to look after when her husbands dies. Her life as a child depicts the separation she underwent from her family that show us the reality on why she always avoided to talk about her own family. Ruth all through the book she is not free to open up to someone about her family not even her son, James. James paints her mothers experience as embarrassing and sometimes charming too. He goes ahead to analyze his mothers differences from other adults and tries to find out what might be the cause of all this. There is an introduction of bicycle riding by Ruth. This clearly symbolizes that Ruth does not care of anything that people might think of her and it also helps her in her own movement from reality. For James, all he wants to know is about the happenings. He does not care about anything else rather than understanding the present in conjunction with the past. It is only in this introductory chapter that the author clearly shows James jumping back and forth and does follow the chronology of events. James does not directly talk about his past but he gives us his feeling throughout the event. James is too eager to understand his background and the family background too. He is too curious to understand every bit of their life. But in return they cheat on him, tease him or even dismiss him. He loves his mother and feels too protective towards her but the political atmosphere in his neighborhood, moves him to accept the changes. It is evidenced from his mothers chronology of events why she does not need to tell someone about her past and why she decide to stay on her own. James friends and the political aspect they had in mind, Viewed whites as the enemy they lived with. In most occasions James attempted parental love, and viewed her as different from other white people. Little did he know that he was protecting her mother from the danger that surrounded them. That is the danger of hatred from the surroundings. Ruth embraced both races that black and white with the mind that Gods spirit embraced both white and black. This shows her clear stand on her faith as a Christian. It takes games to twenty four chapters to recreate his past. It's during this period of time that James sees the issue of race and a person's identity as a potential barrier to his success. The mother tried to sweep the race and identity issue out of her peoples mind but it seemed difficult for her. James life is a puzzle that he has to solve for everyone to see that his life really can go on normally. In return for his effort he attains it but it was not that easy. The description that he gives about his siblings and their mother, is a return he feels like her mother need to be appreciated. Because it is not that easy for a woman to raise twelve kids in any environment that easily. References: Dennis Hevesy, 2010. “Ruth McBride Jordan, Subject of Son’s Book ‘Color of Water’ Dies at Age 88.” New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2010 Read More