Mommy, after all, did not really look like me. If Im here and youre me, how can you be there at the same time? Id ask. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Free trial is available to new customers only. They just said, Come as you are. Blacks have always been peaceful and trusting., back, Daddy said. Yet Mommy refused to acknowledge her whiteness. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme, The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Race and Racism appears in each chapter of. The uncertainty that lived inside me began to dissipate; the ache that the little boy who stared in the mirror felt was gone. Hes a spirit.Whats a spirit? A spirits a spirit. What color is Gods spirit?It doesnt have a color, she said. The Color of Water: Important Quotes Explained | SparkNotes Refresh and try again. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Theyre all rich. And I wanted to tell folks that, I wanted to shout out, Hey yall, it really doesnt matter! I actually believed folks would accept that, that theyd see what a good person he was and maybe accept us, and I went through a few days of thinking this, after which I told him one night, Lets run off to the country and get married, and he said, No way. But while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall (Chpt. A spirits a spirit. Rachel, or Ruth as she calls herself, fled her Jewish family when she was eighteen to marry a black man, Andrew McBride. I found it odd and amazing when white people treated me that way, as if there were no barriers between us. I, But while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. Thats how I felt as a child. Dee-Dee was a shy, pretty girl, less strong-willed than Ruth. By this the reader learns about both Ruth's and James' life as well as the progression of the United States. Its not about black or white., I myself had no idea who I was. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. It also serves as a way for them to relate to each other, their community, and the late Andrew McBride. My view of the world is not merely that of a black man but that of a black man with something of a Jewish soul. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. We have survived her. A deep sigh. Still, though she is surrounded by racist and segregationist attitudes for much of her life, Ruth is not racist, and sees no reason why she should not marry and befriend people across racial lines if she loves them. Are you crazy? Blacks could be trusted more, but anything involving blacks was probably slightly substandard. This sentiment echoes one of the main themes of the book: to understand the present, one must be familiar with the past. Owens tries to tell James and his siblings that that Jesus is all colors, which confuses Jamess little brother, who has noticed that Jesus is always painted as white. Yeah she said. Finding religion is frequently a metaphor for discovering a deeper personal truth; as James becomes more religious in his adulthood, he is suddenly granted insights into his mothers faith and her motivations. I counted it. In 1924, Ruth's younger sister Gladys, nicknamed Dee-Dee, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. I hated him. The boy in the mirror, he didnt seem to have an ache. 1. All the time. He said, If you marry a nigger, dont ever come home again. He loves all people. He has thought of this place as home, but he finds he is no longer here even in spirit. Ruth McBride James McBride Famous Quotes We stopped to browse in the cases, and now that William - with his new glasses on his nose - could linger and read the books, at every title he discovered he let out exclamations of happiness, either because he knew the work, or because he had been seeking it for a long time, or finally because he . My view of the world is not merely that of a black man but that of a black man with something of a Jewish soul. Hes a spirit. A deep sigh. When her husband died and left her poor, she had only her trust in God to help her raise her eight children. Id lock myself in the bathroom and spend long hours playing with him. Her oddness, her complete nonawareness of what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what I perceived to be imminent danger from blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world. God is the color of water. Nowadays these mixed couples get on TV every other day complaining, Oh, its hard for us. They have cars and television and homes and theyre complaining. The Color of Water Analysis - eNotes.com She had her own life and her own set of hurts to deal with, and after all, I wasnt her child. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! She couldnt stand racists of either color., Mommy staggered about in an emotional stupor for nearly a year. With whites it was no question. Ruth explains her first ideal marriage to her son James. James And Ruth Character Analysis - 314 Words - Internet Public Library From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Water doesn't have a color., I asked her if I was black or white. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. Thats what they called me. We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. Rachel Shilsky is dead as far as Im concerned. Well, I didnt feel number one with nobody but him, and I didnt give a hoot that he was black. Ruth's parents had forced Judaism on her, causing her to resent religion. I was loved, I was loved, and I didnt care what anyone thought. Please come home, Helen. Ruth McBride Born in Poland in 1921, Ruth Jordan was a Jewish immigrant to the United States. But you know what happens when you do that. I tried to explain to them that I couldnt dance. And a little money. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. You know, the thing was, I was supposed to be white and number one, too. Although he is guilty of nothing but walking down the street at the wrong time, Richie must go to court. 50 The Color of Water Quotes With Page Numbers It was like the sun started shining on me for the first time, and for the first time in my life I began to smile. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. It doesnt have a color, she said. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. God is the color of water. It sent me tumbling through my own abyss of sorts, trying to salvage what I could of my feelings and emotions, which would be scattered to the winds as she talked. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Marrying a white woman was a life-threatening act for an African American man in the 1940s. 17 of the best book quotes from Ruth McBride Jordan, I do remember my Jewish name: Ruchel Dwarja Zylska. Then after a while, my period was late. And good! It hurt me a little bit to stand there and lie. Thats all. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Subscribe now. She is reborn through Christianity, and finds that this religion provides her with everything shes always wanted: love and community, a sense of belonging, and a reason to live. Your mother was part of this, Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs The Color of Water Quotes mainly talks about the authors experiences growing up with his Jewish mother. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Every time. The Color of Water: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis But while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall., The image of her riding that bicycle typified her whole existence to me. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. The Color of Water Quotes | Explanations with Page Numbers - LitCharts They constantly badgered me to do the James Brown for them, a squiggling of the feet made famous by the Godfather of Soul himself, who back in the sixties was bigger than life. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. $24.99 Hes not white. I found it odd and amazing when white people treated me that way, as if there were no barriers between us. 4, p. 33).Ruth converted from Judaism to Christianity when she was consumed with guilt over her mothers death. (including. Discount, Discount Code In fact, she didnt look like Richie, or Davidor any of her children for that matter. Want 100 or more? You want me to talk about my family and here I been dead to them for fifty years (Chpt. Mommy stepped past them and walked through a haze of reefer smoke and took the elevator to the eighth floor. The Jews in Suffolk did stick together, but even among Jews my family was low because we dealt with shvartses. Ruth McBride-Jordan Quotes in The Color of Water The The Color of Water quotes below are all either spoken by Ruth McBride-Jordan or refer to Ruth McBride-Jordan . . I wasnt worried about getting caught, but I did notice that Peters friends were terrified of me; they stayed clear anytime I came near them. I hated him. Thats all. creating and saving your own notes as you read. I found her. The Color of Water Chapters 13-16 Summary and Analysis Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. . I dont consider myself Jewish, but when I look at Holocaust photographs of Jewish women whose children have been wrenched from them by Nazi soldiers, the women look like my own mother and I think to myself, There but for the grace of God goes my own motherand by extension, myself.