SUMMARY OF MAJOR LITERARY WORK

TITLE The Color of Water: A Black AUTHOR James McBride

Mans Tribute to His White Mother
GENRE Memoir DATE PUBLISHED 1997

SETTING Primarily in Suffolk, Virginia; New York City, New York; and Wilmington, Delaware
(1920s-1990s)

MAJOR CHARACTERS
James McBride author and narrator of the story struggling to find his identity

Ruth McBride Jordan one of the narrators and central characters of the novel; mother of twelve

Andrew Dennis McBride Ruths first husband and Jamess biological father; he helped Ruth find
love and Christianity; died at a young age of Cancer

Hunter Jordan Ruths second husband; his death sparked Jamess downward spiral

Tateh (Fishel Shilsky) Ruths father; he was a racist, strict, uncompassionate man who sexually
molested Ruth and then disowned her for marrying a black man

Mameh (Hudis Shilsky) Ruths mother; she was handicapped by Polio; a quiet woman who was
subservient to her husband; Ruth felt guilty for leaving mameh and not taking better care of her.

Peter Ruths first boyfriend; forced to have a secret relationship because of their interracial
relationship, Ruth chose to get an abortion after she got pregnant with Peters baby.

Frances Ruths only childhood friend; Frances accepted Ruth, despite their different races/religions

PLOT SUMMARY MAJOR EVENTS
McBrides memoir creatively weaves his life with his mothers and shows how, despite several
obstacles, his family achieved the American dream. His mother Ruth is a Polish Orthodox Jew who
came to American when she was two and settled in Suffolk, Virginia with her family where she lived a
lonely life. She ultimately left her mother and sister behind and escaped her abusive, racist father to
move to New York. There she met and fell in love with Andrew McBride (Dennis), with whom she
had eight children. Dennis unexpectedly died of Cancer, though, when Ruth was pregnant with James.
She remarried Hunter Jordan and had four more children with him. James struggled growing up with
his racial identity and feared for his white mothers safety in a black community. He spiraled
downward when in high school Hunter, whom he loved as his father, died. James turned to drugs and
stealing, and he starting ditching school. Fortunately he, just like his mother had in her life, was able
to overcome these obstacles, and with the help of others he got went to college and focused on a career
in music and writing. As a true testament to Ruths faith in education and religion, James and his
eleven siblings all went on to college and are living productive, fulfilling lives.

MAJOR THEMES
Education, dreams and goals, journeys and growth, helping others, preparing for the future, erasing
prejudice, courage



NOTABLE STYLISTIC ELEMENTS
Two narrators (alternates between Ruth and James)
Chapters connected by themes and events rather than chronology

GREAT QUOTES
Rachel Shilsky is dead as far as I'm concerned. She had to die in order for me, the rest of me, to live."

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. She saw none of it."

I never starved like a lot of people did...I never starved for food till I got married. But I was starving
in another way. I was starving for love and affection. I didnt get none of that

You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself

The story starts off, as James is interviewing Rachel. She skips through parts of her life, briefly
describing her mother and father. In chapter 2, James skips through parts of his life also briefly
describing his mother and stepfather. Events are foreshadowed in this section as both characters skip
through parts of their lives. An example in the story is when Rachel is describing her mother she
finishes off by saying "She's one person in this world I didn't do right by" (McBride 3). This lets the
reader know that an incident will happen between Rachel and Mahmeh that will have Rachel going
against her mother. This section also describes characters and introduces them to the reader.
Connections between Rachel's life and James' life are also found in this section, such as two characters
having similar traits. One example is describing the "madwalk" that is displayed by Tateh and Rachel.
Tateh's walk was described as "but God help you if those pants were coming your way in a hurry,
because he was nobody to fool with, my father." (McBride 2). In relation, Rachel's walk was described
as "'Mommy's madwalk,' and if she was doing it in your direction, all hell was gonna break loose,"
(McBride 7). Section 1 is used as a brief introduction to the main characters' lives and prepares the
reader for things to come by foreshadowing events.

Section 2 (Chapters 3&4)


Chapter 3 briefly describes living in a Jewish life while chapter 4 describes living in a mixed family at
the time of segregation. This develops a similar atmosphere in both lives as both lives follow routines
that are apart from the outside world. Both characters are also shown as a curious child and their
awareness about the outside world starts to unfold in this section. One example in chapter 3, was when
Rachel was explaining how to eat kosher. There were many strict routines to follow such as "you had
different table settings for every meal... you couldn't mix your meals...So you eat all dairy one meal
and all meat the next...You sit you butt down and eat what you were supposed to," (McBride 17).
Rachel was forced to follow routines as she was part of a Jewish family but she finally began to be
aware of life when Zaydeh died by thinking " 'Suppose Zaydeh isn't dead? Suppose he's joking and
wakes up to find out he's buried?" (McBride 18). Likewise, James had to follow strict rules in his
house because his mother "insisted on absolute privacy, excellent school grades, and trusted no
outsiders of either race," (McBride 27). Yet, James was aware of strange events in the outside world
such as black power and how his mom looks different than the rest of the family. He feared black
power because he thought, "black power would be the end of my mother," (McBride 26). This section
reveals what both, Rachel and James, faced as children when they were beginning to wonder about
strange events in their surrounding atmosphere that they have no control over. The reader learns more
about their routines in life and sees a child's view of the world around them that they have yet to
understand.

Section 3 (Chapters 5&6)


This section displays a certain cause and effect pattern in Rachel's life and also how she changed as she
changed religion. The first half briefly explains the scary and serious environment to her Jewish life.
Her life had a plain goal and that was "Living. That was your job. Surviving. Reading the Old
Testament and hoping it brought you something to eat, that's what you did," (McBride 37). She also
reveals a fearful side of her past as she explains that her father would "try to get close to me or crawl
into bed with me and molest," (McBride 42). Strictness in religion is also seen during Passover as
"Tateh would ask us children questions about why we celebrated the feast of Passover. Well, you can
believe we knew the answer rather then get smacked across the face by him," (McBride 43). These
causes had effects that helped form the future Rachel that the reader sees, through James, in the second
half of the section. One example is when James sees her cry at church. Though she says that she had
tears of joy, James thought that her "tears seemed to come from somewhere else, a place far away, a
place inside her that she never let any of us children visit, and even as a boy I felt there was pain
behind them,"(McBride 50). This result can be connected to her past and how she had low self-esteem
from being sexually harassed by her father. Rachel also carried the strictness toward religion she
received from her past. When the children had to recite a memorized verse from the Bible to the New
Brown Church Billy forgot his. His failure did not go unpunished because "When we got home,
Mommy beat Billy's butt." (McBride 55). Billy was punished the same way Rachel would've been
punished by her father if she were in the same situation. This section gives the reader a better outlook
of Rachel's past and explains why some of her actions are done in her second life.

Section 4 (Chapters 7&8)


These two chapters both share a similar event where someone in Ruth and James' life runs away from
their household. Some situations that happen in Sam's escape are somewhat similar to Helen leaving.
First off, they both disliked the system that they were in. Sam hated his father's store because his father
would force him to work "like a man when he was a boy" (McBride 62). Helen hated the system and
didn't like how her mother would ignore the outside world and just focus on the children's education
and church. "Helen was at war with the white man and took it home and laid it at Mommy's feet"
(McBride 71). Since they both hated their households they decided to run away. They both ran away
around the same age, which was fifteen, and made a living by themselves. But when they made contact
to their families their mothers responded the same way. When Sam wrote a letter to his family, Mameh
told Ruth to "write him back now and tell him to come home," (McBride 63). Likewise, when Ruth
found out where Helen was she went to her apartment and also asked her to come home. Sam and
Helen both gave the same response and didn't come home. Sam died in WWII and Helen lived in a
dilapidated apartment. This section gives James and Ruth a certain solution to their problems; which is
to runaway and survive on your own. But they both see the result if they do chose that path and that it
could lead to a bad outcome.

Section 5 (Chapters 9&10)


These two chapters share the concept of school and how school life was for the two main characters. In
Ruth's childhood, she had to go to a white school because it was the law and take private lessons
because it was Tateh's law. Ruth didn't like going to school because the white kids would tease her for
being a Jew. Her experiences in school made her change her name from Rachel to Ruth so she could fit
in more. She also learned how it felt "like when people laugh at you walking down the street, or
snicker when they hear you speaking Yiddish, or just look at you with hate in their eyes" (McBride
80). When Ruth starts to feel lonely in the South she made a friend named Frances, who helped her
feel happy and accepted. Ruth would remember her experiences of being discriminated in a white
school and send her children to Jewish schools. James learned from the rest of his family about the
Jews and how they were different than whites because some Jews were kind to blacks. Yet, there were
also some Jews who disliked James and teased him by calling him a "nigger". These experiences made
James realize the problems of color. To escape reality, James would read books, practice music, and
create an imaginary friend who was "a boy who lived in the mirror" (McBride 90). Yet, James became
jealous of the mirror boy because "He was free. He was never hungry, he had his own bed probably,
and his mother wasn't white. I hated him" (McBride 91). This event shows that James dislikes his
reality because of his problems not being accepted by society. James found a way to be accepted by
dancing for the class on talent day. This section follows through what the main characters' experience
in school and how the out side world becomes more clearer to them as they are being looked down at.
Yet, they both find ways to be accepted in school.

Section 6 (Chapters 11&12)


This section grips the love and understanding the main characters have toward the black race. In
chapter 11, Ruth describes how "Most blacks are peaceful and trusting" (McBride 110). Other then
spending time with Frances, Ruth's life was dull because her family life had no love, only business.
"My life was the store" (McBride 107). Her respect for black folks made it easy for her to fall in love
with a black man, Peter. Ruth loved him because "He was the first man other than my grandfather who
ever showed me any kindness in my life" (McBride 111). But her senses soon kick back to reality
when she finds out that she is pregnant and there is no solution available for her and Peter. In chapter
12, James describes his family's life with his stepfather, Hunter Jordan. Life with his stepfather was
full of fun because his side of the family was full of party animals. Hunter loved all of his kids "He
made no separation between the McBride and Jordan children" (McBride 118). Hunter would take his
children anywhere in his car from his house to his relatives in Richmond. James noticed that his
stepfather was like his mother because "His only interests were my grades and church" (McBride 124).
James also noticed how Hunter paid no attention toward the outside world even when hunter went to
any family events in his old school clothes while people around him wore modern sixties clothing. But
the good times stopped when the city toke his house and when old age caught up to him. Hunter
suffered a stroke and later a relapse. All together, this section puts both characters in a state of
happiness and love that they received when they met with black men that left an important mark on
their lives. Yet, they learn that happiness doesn't last forever when both of their lives turn back to their
tragic reality.

Section 7 (Chapters 13&14)


In chapter 12, Mameh, who knows that Ruth has a problem, sends her daughter with her relatives in
New York City. Most of her aunts pay no attention to Ruth and think of her as "the daughter of their
poor crippled sister" (McBride 130). She noticed how her mother's family didn't show love to her and
how they were more of a business type like Tateh. Ruth finally felt loved when she stayed with her
grandmother, Bubeh and also told her Aunt Betts about her pregnant problem. Aunt Betts helped solve
Ruth's problem by helping her get an abortion. Ruth foreshadowed that Aunt Betts "slammed the door
in my face years later" (McBride 135). She described her aunts were just trying to survive in America
and that they hid any problems that arose. Ruth explained the fault in her aunt's actions by presenting a
saying "If you throw water on the floor it will always find a hole" (McBride 135). In Chapter 14, James
"began my own process of running" (McBride 138). As a response to his troubles at home, he stayed
away and went down the road of delinquency. As soon as Ruth found out about her son's problem, she
sent him to her daughter, Jack, in Kentucky. James met with some black middle-aged men who "liked
fine women, good whiskey, crap games, and the local softball league" (McBride 145). James liked
these men and treated them as his role models. But James received a pep talk from Chicken Man,
James favorite, "If you want to drop out of school and shoot people and hang on this corner all your
life, go ahead. It's your life" (McBride 150). Chicken Man had a problem with a woman but forgot
about it and was later killed by her. This section shows the two main characters what would happen if
they stayed on the path they were on. If Ruth stayed with the family store, she would probably become
rich but be miserable like her aunts. If James stayed on his delinquent road and on the corner, he would
probably get himself killed like Chicken Man. Both of their current problems were solved. Ruth got an
abortion and James received a pep talk. But they lost contact with their helpers. Chicken Man and Aunt
Betts both have a similar way of solving their problems and that is to hide it and forget about it. But
doing that will only make problems hunt them later.

Section 8 (Chapter 15&16)


This section displays the large difference between Ruth's two lives. In chapter 15, Ruth and Dee-Dee
would go "driving the car and pulling the trailer...We'd load up the trailer full of goods from the
warehouses and drive though the Dismal Swamp around Portsmouth and Norfolk" (McBride 156).
Though she knew how to drive when she was young, she had absolutely no idea how to control a car in
1973 and toke James and Z on a wild adventure, close to death. Another example of their differences is
that in the past, Ruth couldn't enter a Protestant church at all because "In my heart I was still a Jew".
(McBride 158). Yet, when she is older, Ruth turns to God to help her with her troubles. "Jesus gave
Mommy hope, Jesus was Mommy's salvation. Jesus pressed her forward" (McBride 165). This section
also shows a turnaround in both, James and Ruth's lives. In the first half, Ruth knows that she won't get
the life she wants in Suffolk, so she leaves for New York, away from the unfair South. James also
began to turnaround in school after hearing what Chicken Man said. He knew that he "wasn't any
smarter, or any wiser, or any bolder than the cats on the Corner, and if I chose that life I would end up
on the Corner no matter what my brains or potential" (McBride 161). The two main characters are now
putting themselves on the right track and set themselves ready against the world.

Section 9 (Chapters17&18)


Ruth and James are both put in a world different then what they are used to and they adapt. Ruth
wanted to live in Harlem because she thought "White and black came to Harlem to party...Harlem was
like magic" (McBride 171). She couldn't get the job she wanted to because the managers thought it was
funny to see a white girl in Harlem. She did get a job from a pimp named Rocky, who was just waiting
for her to grow up so he can use her as a prostitute. She left Bubeh so she could try to forget her family
and get a new life. Dennis met her and talked her back to her senses "Ruth, you parents haven't done
nothing to you that was so bad as to make you run around with that man. That man's a pimp. He's a
pimp and he's leading you around by the nose" (McBride 176). So Ruth left Harlem for good. James
was also thrown into a situation when he wanted to go somewhere new. He wanted to leave New York
because he knew that he'd "have to do an extra year of high school to finish. Plus I kept running in to
my old friends, who were getting into bigger and bigger trouble. I needed to see some new faces, a
fresh start" (McBride 177). James also could not get the same education as whites because of
segregation and could not be accepted into a Catholic or private school. James abandoned drugs and
focused on music and school. He got a chance to travel to Europe for a jazz band and received
financial help form a rich sponsor family, the Dawsons. James got accepted to a college and left
Delaware. Ruth and James both adapted to the atmosphere and receive financial help whether it was
from a good source or bad. They both left their old homes for a similar reason, which was to start a life
on their own. They both discovered that they couldn't stay at their new homes either and left there too.
Ruth's experience of leaving home and making a living in the outside world could have been the reason
why she pushed her children out of her little world to also make a living in the outside world.

Section 10 (Chapters 19&20)


This section has both characters going to Suffolk. Ruth returns because she can't let go of her past.
James goes so he can discover her past. As they both stay in Suffolk, they discover details of the
Shilsky family, specifically Tateh. In chapter 19, Ruth explained how Tateh made the family
miserable. He only cared about his business and his life alone. Tateh would take vacations to Europe
and the first thing he did when he entered the store was "say 'where's my money?' We'd hive it to him
and he'd sit down and count it, Even before he took off his jacket, he'd count his money. He knew just
how much he was supposed to earn a week, more or less. He was serious about his money" (McBride
198). Tateh crumbled his marriage with Mameh by divorcing her and marrying a non-Jewish fat lady.
In chapter 20, James learns about his grandfather from the point of view of Eddie Thompson, a
neighbor. Thompson described him as "You won't find anyone around here who liked him enough to
even talk about him" (McBride 209). James learned that Tateh disliked blacks and he was always
unfair to them. Which is ironic because his grandchildren turned out to be black. James also learned
how everyone was afraid of him, even Mameh. The reader gains a better understanding of Tateh by
combining what the family thought of him and what the townsfolk thought of him.

Section 11 (Chapters 21&22)


Ruth and James' travels in Suffolk come to a close with both of them having a better understanding of
Mahmeh or Hudis Shilsky. In Ruth's story, she described how important she was to Mahmeh but she
couldn't stay in Suffolk so she left with a present from Mahmeh, her Polish passport. When Mahmeh
was sick, Ruth couldn't see her so she felt great regret when Mahmeh died. She thought, "when I
left...well, Sam had gone, and Bubeh had died, and her husband treated her so bad and divorced her,
and her reasons for living just slipped away"(McBride 217). Ruth made herself the fault till Dennis
brought Christianity on her and told her about a God that forgives sins. With Christianity she was able
to forgive the sins she believed she had done to Mahmeh and let her past go. James' hunt for his past
came to an end. He found as much as he could about the Shilsky family and each member's fate. As he
stayed in Suffolk, he started to feel a loneliness that he believed his grandmother felt when she lived in
Suffolk. He described her as "a Jew in this lonely Southern town-far from her mother and sisters in
New York, unable to speak English, a disabled Polish immigrant whose husband had no love for her
and whose dreams of seeing her children grow up in America vanished as her life drained out of her at
the age of forty-six" (McBride 229). Yet, he figured that life is the greatest gift and those human
beliefs is a secondary gift. With this he left Suffolk in "knowledge that my grandmother had not
suffered and died for nothing" (McBride 229). Using Mahmeh's life as a reference, both characters
found a way they want to live their life and also learned an important lesson on life.

Section 12 (Chapters 23&24)


This section revolves around Andrew McBride and his impact on the lives of Ruth, James, his relatives
and friends' lives. When Ruth married Andrew, happiness soared through her life. She stated that she
"loved that man, I never missed home or my family after I got married. My soul was full" (McBride
240). Religion became a strong force in their life when Dennis became a preacher and started the New
Brown Memorial Church. Not long later, Andrew died leaving Ruth with seven kids. Ruth was greatly
affected by his death and explained that it was "very hard to let him go, I was angry at him for dying
for a while afterwards, angry that he left me with all those kids, but more than that, I missed him"
(McBride 244). She struggled in life but received help from friends and relatives of her husband and
was saved for most of her troubles when she married Hunter. Even though Andrew died, his work did
not die with him. His church survived for forty years and touched the hearts of a younger generation.
James described that Andrew "helped establish the ground work for Ma's raising twelve children which
lasted thirty years-kids not allowed out after five o'clock, stay in school, don't ever follow the crowd,
and follow Jesus" (McBride 251). The success of his kids graduating and becoming professionals
without any inheritance from his death, made people believe that there is a God that looks over them.
Andrew McBride was only mentioned indirectly in early parts of the book but now two chapters are
devoted to his successes in life and death.

Section 13 (Chapters 25&Ep.)


This section sums up all that Ruth went through and accomplished in her long life. Both of these
chapters describe Ruth looking at her Jewish past. James goes into details as he explains the difficulty
in trying to discover his mother's past and himself. "As she revealed the facts of her life I felt helpless,
like I was watching her die and be reborn again, because after years of hiding, she opened up and
began to talk about the past, and as she did so, I was the one who wanted to run for cover" (McBride
269). A lot of change happened to Ruth as she went through her serious problems in life. Ruth found a
common solution to fix her fear of the past, time. As time passed, she was able to stand up and tell her
story to James, who told the world her success in life. Near the end of the book, Ruth joins James to his
Jewish friend's wedding. Not only did she see a wedding but a contrast to her life. Halina Wind was a
Jewish woman who stayed on her Jewish side even when she also had a horrid past in Europe. Halina
only had one son and she died during open-heart surgery. Ruth could have also died that was if she
toke treatment for her heart disease. Her past was far behind; when Ruth entered the synagogue she "
was truly gone from their world. In her mind, she was a guest here" (McBride 284). The tome comes to
an end as she takes one last look at what her life could've been if she stayed Jewish.