The Color of Water (Part 2)

Chapters ten through eighteen focus on the ups and downs of both James's and Ruth's transition into adolescence. For example, James becomes more aware of his race and once again questions his mother whether he is black or white. Furthermore, James finally comes to the realization that it doesn't matter whether he is one color or the other. He quotes, "I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn't want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds." James went from resenting his mother's race to feeling blessed to have come from a mixed race union. Also, through James's chapters, James shows how his mother emphasized the importance of education. She instills this emphasis in each of her children because after being suffocated by the strict rules of her family and religion in her past, Ruth naturally cherishes the freedom that education provides. Even though James went through a period of crime (ie. stealing), drugs, and alcohol, he soon comes clean and focuses more on his education. His mother's constant persistence to push her children to success led James to who he is today. 

For Ruth's transition into adolescence, she soon becomes close friends with a young girl named Frances and has a boyfriend named Peter. However, she later becomes pregnant, and her mom sends her to New York to live with her aunts and grandmother. After her abortion and graduation, Ruth realizes that Suffolk, Virginia, wasn't where she belonged anymore. Ruth's argument with her father about the location of her graduation ceremony was a pivotal moment. After her father told her she could not attend the ceremony, Ruth becomes determined to go. She ignores her father's prohibition, rather than seeking his permission. However, in the end, she never enters the gentile church. As she attempted to enter the church, Ruth realizes that even though she ignored her father's prohibition, she realizes that she has not completely shed her father's restrictive, religious faith. This realization is one of the key reasons why she leaves her family and moves to New York, trying to become independent. It is there where she meets her future 1st husband, Andrew Dennis McBride.   

Through the straightforward prose style and transitions between James's and Ruth's stories, this book has allowed me to jump right into storyline. With every page flip, I am eager to learn more about both James's and Ruth's lives. Contrary to popular belief, I find The Color of Water a great book. Rather than focusing on the minor details, one should focus of the big picture: James's and Ruth's lives. Each of their stories are bits and pieces that, when put together, tell a remarkable story of a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream, despite the societal obstacles placed in its way.