Summary: The Color Of Water By James Mcbride
The Color of Water
Context
Plot Overview
Character List
Character Analysis
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Summary & Analysis
Chapters 1–3
Chapters 4–6
Chapters 7–9
Chapters 10–12
Chapters 13–15
Chapters 16–18
Chapters 19–21
Chapters 22–24
Chapter 25 and Epilogue
Important Quotations Explained
Key Facts
Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Quiz
Suggestions for Further Reading
How to Cite This SparkNote
The Color of Water
James McBride
Context
James McBride was born in 1957 to an African-American father and a Polish Jewish immigrant mother. McBride's biological father, Andrew Dennis McBride, died of lung cancer while his mother, Ruth McBride, was pregnant with James. Therefore James regarded his stepfather, Hunter Jordan, as "Daddy." James's mother eventually had twelve children, eight from her first marriage and four from her second. James grew up in New York City and Delaware.
While James was …show more content…
His is like a puzzle to him. In the beginning, McBride knows few details about his mother's past, and his memoir charts his attempt to piece together her life's story. In order to understand her story, McBride uses the tools of the journalist: interviews and phone calls, a trip to his mother's hometown, and research in newspapers, records, and archives. The emotion provoked by the discovery of his mother's past takes on a musical quality.
James's and Ruth's love of the Christian faith also provide a backdrop to the memoir. Although Ruth's family raised her in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, she converted to Christianity after she met James's father Dennis, with whom she opened a church in the early 1950s. She raised all of her children as Christians, and took their involvement in church very seriously. Christianity is a powerful element of the book's context, as it gives Ruth and James comfort and guidance during times of
Context
Plot Overview
Character List
Character Analysis
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Summary & Analysis
Chapters 1–3
Chapters 4–6
Chapters 7–9
Chapters 10–12
Chapters 13–15
Chapters 16–18
Chapters 19–21
Chapters 22–24
Chapter 25 and Epilogue
Important Quotations Explained
Key Facts
Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Quiz
Suggestions for Further Reading
How to Cite This SparkNote
The Color of Water
James McBride
Context
James McBride was born in 1957 to an African-American father and a Polish Jewish immigrant mother. McBride's biological father, Andrew Dennis McBride, died of lung cancer while his mother, Ruth McBride, was pregnant with James. Therefore James regarded his stepfather, Hunter Jordan, as "Daddy." James's mother eventually had twelve children, eight from her first marriage and four from her second. James grew up in New York City and Delaware.
While James was …show more content…
His is like a puzzle to him. In the beginning, McBride knows few details about his mother's past, and his memoir charts his attempt to piece together her life's story. In order to understand her story, McBride uses the tools of the journalist: interviews and phone calls, a trip to his mother's hometown, and research in newspapers, records, and archives. The emotion provoked by the discovery of his mother's past takes on a musical quality.
James's and Ruth's love of the Christian faith also provide a backdrop to the memoir. Although Ruth's family raised her in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, she converted to Christianity after she met James's father Dennis, with whom she opened a church in the early 1950s. She raised all of her children as Christians, and took their involvement in church very seriously. Christianity is a powerful element of the book's context, as it gives Ruth and James comfort and guidance during times of