Identity in The Color Of Water Essay

The Color of Water

As B.R. Ambedkar once said, Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self. This quote applies to James McBride in the book, The Color of Water. James does not know truly who he is, mainly because he is dark skinned while his mother is light skinned. But as he grows older, James is influenced by his mother, and her faith in God. Not only does this help James become closer to his mother, but it helps him start to notice who he really is. James step-father, Hunter Jordan, also influences him by showing James that hard work is worth it, and it takes a lot of work to support a family as big as they had. This assisted James notice that he has the ability to become anything that he wants to, and he just has to work hard and not lose his determination. Living in New York majority of his life also helped James learn that people were hateful of each other just because they had different skin colors. This caused James to become closer to his mother, because he felt that he needed to protect her. Confused as to who he really is, James McBrides living situation helps him uncover his true identity.

James grew up in a crowded house with 12 children and an almost single mother. Although James had a step-father, he wasnt around very much because he was always working to support the family of 14. He worked so much that he barely had enough time to treat the kids as a normal father would. This left a lot of work for James mother, Ruth, to do. She was a very religious lady, so whenever she wasnt cooking or cleaning, she was at church or teaching her children about God. This had an effect on James and all of his siblings. Although Ruth was born in Poland as a Jew, she had faith in God and she decided she should change religions. Ruth was treated very badly by her father when she was a kid. He worked her very hard in their family store, and this made Ruth turn to God, she felt that he was always there and she could always trust him. She stayed very strong even when the times got really bad, and this was a good influence to James. Through Ruths strong religious connection, James was shown that no matter what happens or what anyone ever says, God will always be there for you and you can always trust him. This helped James stay strong through all of the racism that was directed towards him and his mother, mainly because he was black while she was white. James being black, and his mother white, really showed James that its not the color of someones skin that makes them who they are, but whats on the inside.

James real dad died before James was even born, so this gave James absolutely no memory of his biological father. When he died, Ruth, James Mother, married James step-father, Hunter Jordan. Hunter was the father figure in the family for all twelve of the children in the family, even though eight of them were not his fraternal kids, but he treated them as if they were. He was a very hard worker and needed to work as much as he possibly could, to support all of his family. Hunter Jordan cared about his family and his children that he used all of his life savings to buy a house in St. Albans, Queens. He didnt have much time to spend with the children, but whenever he got the chance to spend time with his children he liked to take trips with them. These trips consisted of trips to different places including a trip down south to visit Hunters brothers, Henry and Walter. While James was in his teenage to adult years, Hunter suffered from a stroke and while he was slowly dying, he told James that he needed to take good care of his mother. Days later, Hunter died. This showed James that hard work always pays off in the end, and also that you need to stay strong through whatever happens, even if you lose someone you were close to.

When Ruth ran away from Poland, she moved to Harlem, New York City, and thats where she met Andrew McBride, James fraternal father. There, they opened up a Baptist Church and started their lives. Living in New York City, where there were a mixed group of people, helped James notice that people are hateful and its not the color of a persons skin that makes them who they are, but their personality the way they act. Ever since James was a little kid, he noticed that his mother was a different skin color than him. This didnt bother him, but it sure did confuse him, a lot. He never really paid any attention to it until he was older, and he couldnt figure out why they had been different. When he asked his mother, said that it didnt matter what color a persons skin was, but what was inside their head that made them who they truly were. Many people around town would acknowledge the fact that James was different than his mother. They would use racial slurs such as, nigger lover, but Ruth would never pay any attention to them unless the comments were threatening to her children, who she obviously loved with all of her heart. By not paying attention to these comments, James learned that people who said things like that were just bad people and that if you showed that they were hurting you, they would just continue to hurt you.

Being born into a family of all black children, a black father, and a white mother really caused James McBride to be confused, and not be able to uncover his true identity right away. But, growing up with his mother, Ruth, his step-father, Hunter Jordan, in Harlem, New York City really helped in the process of uncovering James true identity. Without these three factors in his life, James would just be another dark-skinned boy growing up in Harlem not knowing who he truly was.