Summer Reading Project~ The Color of Water July 22nd

Prompt:  Pick four images that represent the book and explain why, with a quote from the book. 

Book:  The Color of Water 

Author: James McBride 

Pages: 128-291 (FINISHED) 


     The first picture I chose is a picture of the McDonald's that is currently sitting on the same land James', mother Ruth McBride Jordan, lived at in Suffolk Virginia. I think this is important to the book because it adds to the mystery of what happened to the Shilskys? (The Shilsky's is Ruth's family,) no one really knows what happened to them, and especially since their house and their store was abolished. Towards the end of the book, James revealed he went to Virginia to try to at least solve some of the mystery, but he couldn't. "...ordered some food. I sat down at a table and opened Mommy's little hand map. I checked the map, looked out the window, checked it again, looked out the window again. I knew I was on Main Street. There was an old courthouse building catty-corner to where I sat. Behind the courthouse was a graveyard. To my left was a bridge and a slaughterhouse. I was sitting right where her family's store used to be, 601 North Main Street." 

     The second picture I chose was a picture of a Yi and Yang symbol. I chose this not because of the bad in the good and good in the bad. I chose this because, James is always looking towards both of his races, (and I am not saying this to sound racist,) the black and the white part of the yi and yang. Then you have the white in the black and the black in the white, the white in the black would symbolize that even though he is African American, he is still going to always have Jewish (white) blood in him. And the black in the white is the same. He will never be completely black or completely white. Just like how the book is named the Color of Water, it's just how Ruth explains it when James ask if he was black or white, "...She replied "You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!” And when he asked if God was black or white, she replied he is the color of water. I think of it as if is never going to be 100% of one race. I don't know if that made sense to anyone else but...

     The third picture is a picture of a Jewish star a

nd a cross in the middle of it.  I chose this picture because, James' mom is the daughter of an Orthodox Jew Rabbi, so she always grew up being a Jew. But, when Ruth met Dennis McBride, (James' dad), she switched her religions so she could be a Christian. It represents the book because, well basically just that. Ruth always knew she still had Jewish blood in her, but she liked being a Christian because she didn't have to follow the rules Judaism put on her. In Ruth's POV on chapter 15, she wanted to go to the graduation parade where she would march to a Gentile church and that's where she would graduate, but her dad forbid her to do so. He told her, "respect your mother and me...don't break the law of the bible, don't go into that Gentile church." 

     The fourth picture is a picture of 12 kids. I think this picture symbolizes The Color of Water because James' has 11 siblings, which including him would make 12 kids. When his dad died, Ruth had a long time recovering over his death. She also had a huge struggle trying to take care of 7 seven kids, and being pregnant. Now-a-days, you think having seven children would be a lot, but that was normal back then. Anyways, Ruth than got married to Hunter Jordan, in 1956 and he helped her take care of the kids. Along with providing Ruth with 4 more kids. "She married two extraordinary men and raised twelve very creative and talented children...and her children's achievements are her life's work." 

I dedicate this blogpost to Ruchel Zylska, (also known as; Rachel Zylska, Rachel Shilsky, Ruth Shilsky, Ruth McBride and, for the last 51 years, Ruth McBride Jordan.) She had the strength to go through 2 deaths of her husbands, her mom's death, grandmother's death, brother's death, and her high school sweetheart having to marry someone else. She had the courage to strut around Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, and so many other places with 12 biracial children.