The Color Of Water Character Analysis Essay

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Christina Penh English 2 Honors September 6, 2011 Characterization Ruth was a Jewish immigrant to the United States. Ruth and her family couldn’t make a living that way, her father was always trying to capitalize on his distinction as a rabbi. So they decided to settle down in Suffolk, Virginia and opened general store. Ruth's father, Tateh, was racist and he overcharged colored people. Ruth rejected all of her fathers unfavorable opinions and decided to bond with the black people in her town. Ruth found herself left out from the white world of the South. Her adult life changed from her life with her family in Suffolk She married a black man named Andrew Dennis McBride and her named changed into Ruth McBride She had eight…show more content…
She was unwilling to retell her painful past. She was identified as Rachel but when she finally got rid of her family, she died and the person she use to be changed into Ruth. Once she decided to go on her own and marry a black man, she no longer existed to her relatives. Her family was able to handle Rachel but when she became Ruth she was an outcast and from that moment on she was dead to them. James is Ruth's son. He grew up in “orchestrated chaos” with his eleven sibling sin the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. By digging deep into his mothers past, and his own past, he hoped to find understanding of his racial, religious, and social identity. James was always embarrassed of his mother's whiteness, because it shows her differences from his peers and their parents. As James grew older, he began to accept his mother more easily. After James stepfather died, James was in a possession of drugs and other crimes. He began to mature during the autobiography/biography, he found out that there is consequences for every action. His friend in Louisville, Kentucky, warned him about consequences of his behavior. He had always enjoyed music and writing, so he invest himself seriously in those activities. James became more mature not only out of concern for his future but he also because he felt responsible to his family because of his stepfathers
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