The Color of Water

For information about the properties of water, see color of water.

Book cover

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride first published in 1995; it is also a tribute to his mother. The chapters alternate between James McBride's descriptions of his early life and first-person accounts of his mother Ruth's life, mostly taking place before her son was born. McBride depicts the conflicting emotions that he endured as he struggled to discover who he truly was, as his mother narrates the hardships that she had to overcome as a white, Jewish woman who chose to marry a black man 1942.

Synopsis

Ruth had a very repressed childhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Her father, a failed rabbi who owned Shilsky's Grocery Store, made Ruth and her brother Sam work hard before and after school. They did their homework at the store when there were no customers at the counter. Ruth's father sexually abused her as a child. He did not allow her or her siblings to be friends with Gentiles or Blacks, but Ruth had a secret friend named Frances. They hung out at school and at her home secretly. Ruth also had a black boyfriend named Peter, something that was heavily taboo in a Jewish household at that time. Segregation was in action in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, so they met secretly. Ruth became pregnant by Peter and she was extremely scared of what would become of her and Peter. She hid her pregnancy for as long as she could, but soon her mother discovered it and ran away to stay with her aunt in New York for the summer.

Her Aunt Betsy helped Ruth get an abortion; Aunt Mary was mean but she gave Ruth a job in her leather factory where Ruth met a black man named Andrew Dennis McBride. Even though she didn't fall for him at first, she soon began to care about him more and more. They fell in love, married, and had eight children. Later on, Andrew fell dangerously ill and had to be hospitalized for his problems. Andrew McBride died of lung cancer before the birth of his eighth child with Ruth, James McBride. After the death of her husband, Ruth struggled to cope and deal with the responsibilities that come with having eight children. Later, Ruth remarried to another black man, Hunter Jordan, and had four more children. She never spoke of her Jewish upbringing or any of her family members.

James McBride grew up in a family of 12 children with a black stepfather, a mother whose past was a mystery until he went out and discovered it for himself. At first, he was in fear of his mother, causing him to obey her and do whatever she told him to. As he got older, he began to oppose what his mother said. When his father died, he too had problems dealing with his passing. He dabbled in drugs, mainly marijuana, and his grades and behavior plummeted. To straighten him out, his mother and step-father sent him away to live with a relative. While living there, James still led a delinquent lifestyle, doing drugs and losing jobs many times. However, he eventually returns his normal self and returns to his mother. Later in his life, James decided to look into his mother's past in order to have an easier emotional transition into his future. He had always been confused about his racial identity, which led to outrageous behavior and a lack of commitment. His supportive family put him in check, and he was able to find music and activities that reformed his life and gave it new purpose.

Ruth died at her home in Ewing, New Jersey on January 9, 2010.

Critical acclaim

The trade paper edition, published in February, 1998, was on the New York Times bestseller list for over 100 weeks (2 years), won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence, was an ALA Notable Book of the Year, The New York Women's Agenda's first book for "New York City Reads Together" and has sold more than 1.5 million copies. It has been published in 16 languages and in more than 20 countries.

Characters

Ruth's side of the family

• James: the narrator, her son
• Ruchel Dwajra Zylska aka Rachel Deborah Shilsky aka Ruth McBride Jordan: mother of 12 children and the second narrator
• Hudis Shilsky aka Mameh: Ruth's mother. Despite being cripple on one side of her body, still managed to be a loyal wife and good mother.
• Fishel Shilsky aka Tateh: Ruth's father. Tateh was a terrible husband in many aspects such as fidelity and love. He even mocked his own wife, Mameh, in public for being a cripple.
• Gladys "Dee-dee" Shilsky: Ruth's sister. It is revealed that Dee-dee was the only sibling of Ruth's that was born in America. Often, Ruth would say that she was jealous of her because she didn't have to deal with the negative stigma towards Jews like Ruth did.
• Sam Shilsky: Ruth's brother. Ruth says that he died while fighting in the Second World War.

This book sucks so bad just like Tateh.

James' side of the family

• Andrew 'Dennis' McBride: the biological father of James, Ruth's first husband, very caring a father and a pastor. Died of lung cancer.
• Hunter Jordan: stepfather, Ruth's second husband, died after having a relapse of a stroke
• From eldest to youngest (excluding James, who is the eighth child): Dennis, Rosetta, Billy, David, Helen, Richard, Dotty, Kathy, Judy, Hunter, and Henry: James' 11 siblings (Jacqueline "Jack": Andrew's daughter from a previous marriage)
• Nash and Etta: his grandparents
• Henry, Walter, and Garland: uncles
• Clemy: cousin from down south
• Z and Maya: his nieces
• Becky: sister-in-law
• Karen aka Karone, Leander Bien, and Laurie Wesman: ex-girlfriends
• Stephanie: current wife
• Linwood Bob Hinson: cousin from North Carolina
• Azure, Jordan, and Nash: James' children

Other people

• Frances Moody: Ruth's very close childhood friend; only schoolmate who befriended Ruth; a Gentile
• Peter: Ruth's first boyfriend. He also got her pregnant and Ruth later dumped him after she found out that he had gotten another girl pregnant.
• Billy Smith: James' best friend
• Big Richard: James' friend
• Mrs. Ingram: Ruth's best friend as an adult
• Israel Levy: old Jewish friend of Ruth's who allowed her father (rabbi) a permanent place
• Rocky: the manager of the Barber Shop
• C. Lawler Rogers and Hal Schiff: music teachers
• David H. and Ann Fox Dawson: donors who helped James go to Europe concerning his aspiration for being a musician
• Ruth his mother

Setting

• Place Suffolk, Virginia (Ruth's hometown); New York City (James McBride's home during most of his childhood); Wilmington, Delaware (James's family moved to Delaware in his teen years)
• Time James's life (the part of his life written about in The Color of Water): 1960-90 and Ruth's life (the part of her life written about): Started in 1920, emphasis on 1930s, '40s, and '50s

Symbols

Black Power

James spoke of the civil rights movement which foreshadowed his decision to lean towards the African-American side of his bi-racial identity. Many of his older siblings had also chosen to only acknowledge that they were African-American

Ruth's bicycle

This symbolized her constant need for movement in order to deal with her stress and depression.

Ruth's mother's song: Love of Birds

When Ruth's mother sang the song "Birdie, birdie, fly away," she was referring to Ruth as the bird, able to move so swiftly and easily, while she referred to herself as the handicapped bird who deserved to be sacrificed and killed. This foreshadowed her death.

Themes

• Past vs. Present; self-motivation; and the burden of secrets
• Racism. Black-white relationships in the United States and how they were shaped by the civil rights/Black Power movements
• Feeling comfortable with doing things as you want