The Color of Water by James McBride
Personally, I think The Color of Water is a beautiful piece of work. James McBride wrote his memoir in a way that captured the full essence of his mother. In order to relate to the diversity of the place and time, I had to put myself in his shoes looking out. To me, James seemed like he had a troubled childhood due to the fact that he didn't know how to cope with his mother's race. He lived through the 1960's, a time that cared more about "the color of your skin than the content of your character." James, being mixed, was scrutinized by both blacks and whites. He went to a predominantly black school. Every time his mother dropped him off and picked him up, he would look around at other black parents and ask "Why am I so different from you?" He wasn't different, though. James was Rachel's son and Rachel was James' mother. That's all James needed to know and understand.
Another issue that James had to deal with was the death of his biological father and stepfather. Besides his mother, these two men were an inspiration to him. They taught him that education was the key to success and that the Lord will never fail him as long as he believed. He was torn between two religions: Judism and Christianity. His mother, Rachel, was the daughter of a Jewish rabbi and his father was a minister. After his biological father died, both his mother and him were torn apart. His mother dealt with the issue by isolating herself from the rest of the world. James took his anger, frustration and confusion and used it in a negative way. He decided to make the streets his family. He would steal, smoke weed, and shoot anyone if he had to. Being a third person, I noticed that James needed someone to share his feelings with. I learned from personal experience that if you keep all your emotions bottled up inside, you will eventually make yourself sick.
At the end of the memoir, James celebrated his mother's undying devotion to her family by listing all her children and their accomplishments. Every single child of hers (all twelve of them) graduated from college and went on to excel in their careers. I thought this portion of the book was very touching. This woman revolved her whole life around her children. She encouraged them to become their own person. Although there were times when her chlidren pushed her away, she was there for the long haul. James finally understood his mother's purpose in his life and gave her a well-deserved standing ovation.
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