Share a favorite quote from the book and explain why it stands out. Please write in paragraph form and include the quote in the paragraph. Some guidelines to consider: A direct quotation should not be the first sentence in an expository paragraph. Include the page number after your quote. Do not use the same quote that someone else has already posted. Use specifics from your selection in your explanation. This post is due Thursday, January 17 by midnight.
3 Comments
Kamryn W
1/17/2019 01:06:14 pm
As I read through The Color of Water written by James McBride, a big idea that I took away from the book shows that one’s family and upbringing evidently controls the outcome of their lives. For example, James’s mother, Ruth was brought up in what seems to me as one of the worst ways possible; her family practiced Orthodox Judaism, one of the most strict religions. Ruth’s father sexually and mentally abusive towards her, and they were always moving, trying to find another way to make another dollar. When Ruth turned fifteen years old, she left her family behind and moved away. Her family mourned her departure because she was now dead to them due to the circumstances of her leaving. Just a few days later, Ruth received a call that her mother had died. “I was so so sorry [...] but all of your “sorrys” are gone when a person dies. She was gone. Gone. That’s why you have to say all your “sorrys” and “I love yous” while a person is living, because tomorrow isn’t promised” (217). Although Ruth technically died, according to her family, she still bathed in grief and sorrow for her mother’s passing. Her mother’s passing and her abusive father shaped Ruth to become the type of mother that she is to James and his eleven siblings. Ruth is extremely religious and attends church every Sunday. She also values education and will go to great lengths to make sure her kids go to the best schools. And finally, Ruth sometimes shows how her terrible past affected her while crying in church and essentially kicking her kids out of her house once they reach college age. I think this quote shows that although Ruth left her family at a young age and vowed to never act like her father, she still displayed some of her father’s characteristics while raising her own children throughout the book.
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TJ D
1/17/2019 06:58:08 pm
As I wrap up The Color of Water by James Mcbride I am realizing how important family life is. In the chapter titled The Promise Mrs. McBride explains how she was caught in her parents arguments. Explaining how her father was having affairs and wanted a divorce but would not do it himself. At one point stating “Their marriage was falling apart and I was in the middle of it” (199) to show how bad her family life was. Throughout the book Mrs. McBride shows her support for her children to make sure they grow up happier. Even putting them through college with the little money the had. This goes to show how a mother's love is unconditional and can be a motivating force.
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caris cross
1/17/2019 08:41:20 pm
While reading through the color of water I found many quotes that seem to stick out in the book. The quote is “God is the color of water. Water doesn’t have a color”(pg 51),although this is a quote that is simple, this quote really sets the tone for a large part of the book. this quote is being said when the mother is crying in church and she says that God is making her happy cry, this shows how much the mother will put into God. The quote also shows the innocence that the children still have in the hope that they still have in the world and in their mother. this is also seen throughout the book and how much the mother can endure hardship and to still keep her children going through their lives. she wants to keep the children’s hope alive and show them that there will always be something for them and that thing is God who does not judge. I feel that the author is trying to convey that God is the only hope mother has left in her world and she wants to give it to Ruth and her other children.
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