1)
Write a response, choosing a line and explaining it's significance to
you. Please remember: no plot re-cap! Share your analysis, make
connections to the world, ask questions, and deepen your thinking.
2) Don't forget to respond to someone else's post!
2) Don't forget to respond to someone else's post!
"It wasn't so much not searching for myself as a decision not to look."
ReplyDeleteThis quote really stood out to me because of how much it shows about humans in general. James found it easier to just not look through his past at first then to find out who he really was. It's hard to determine if James was lazy and didn't know how interesting his past was and how worth it it was to look through his past and how much it would tell him. It wasn't easy, but he did eventually find out about his past and it meant so much to him. His identity changed many perspectives and made him feel whole as he said.
I agree, but I also think that it is good James waited until he was older to explore his past. If he had done it when he was younger, he might not have been mature enough or focused enough to really understand what his mother was saying and how that could actually help him find himself.
Delete"Even as a young boy I was used to Mommy hiding her past, and I grew to accept it, and the details of her past got lost as my own life moved forward, which is probably how she wanted it anyway" (266).
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it made me think differently about how James was when he was a kid/teenager. I always assumed that he was interested and curious about his mother's past. He always seemed to have questions about it and it lead to him questioning where he came from, who he was, and who his mother was. Did these thoughts not come to James until he was older? He did seem to grow used to the fact that his mother was secretive but I think that even as he grew up and moved on with his life, there was always the question of his heritage and ancestors in the back of his mind.
I do not think that James was lazy to figure out his ancestor's past, I think he never knew how he could. He was stuck on the question about his race. When he asked Ruth about it, she wouldn't help and avoided questions about her past. As a child, I think that it was hard for James to keep pressing. As he grew up he became patient and pressing which is what got him to figure out about his past. I wonder what would've happened if Ruth had died before James was able to get anything out of her.
ReplyDelete(in response to Stephen)
Delete"It was a devastating realization coming to grips with the fact that all your life you have never really know the person you loved the most" (pg 266).
ReplyDeleteI honestly have mixed feelings about this quote. On one hand, it helped me realize why James had this burning desire to find out about his mother's past. She was always the leading figure in his life and not knowing a thing about where she came from could make him feel lost, in a way. I can imagine feeling that way if I didn't know anything about my parents. But on the other hand, there is the question of how much your parent's past affects who you are as an individual. In a sense I feel like it doesn't. I think that you are who you are no matter where your family roots lie, and that people are shaped more by society and the people they surround themselves with than by their family ancestry. But in James's case, I can see why he would feel more fulfilled knowing the details of Ruth's past, seeing that the entire book is about his craving for this knowledge. To an extent, I think that knowing your family history will affect your "search for self" as much as you want it to, and James decided that he wanted it to affect him.
James never knew who his mother was, and how her past went. Therefore, he cared more about finding out her past thinking it will trace back to him, telling him who he is. I mostly think James traced back his roots not to find himself, but to see who his mother was since he couldn't answer that questions all the years before him.
DeleteI think you make a good point in how our family past doesn't effect us. I think that is because we know our family past. There is know questioning of what happened or where our parents grew up because they tell us. So we are satisfied by this little information and don't feel the need to pursue our family past. I think that if we all had this drive like James to pursue our pasts we may find out things that we find shocking. Maybe not necessarily "life altering" but if we really went into detail with our parents I think we could find things that shock us and make us have a different outlook on ourselves and our pasts.
DeleteI agree, James grew up not really knowing who this person was that he lived with. He kind of went along with it. It didn't affect him till later in his life when he realized that it really is important to him to know his mother's past.
Delete"Even as a young boy I was used to Mommy hiding her past, and I grew to accept it, and the details of her past got lost as my own life moved forward..." (266)
ReplyDeleteJames lived his entire childhood not knowing his mother's exact past. As he grew older, he took up the choice of finding out his mother's past.James thought her past reflects who he is as a person. His mother's past does not reflect who he is as a person, he began to understand that was not the case. As he grew older, his own life unraveled to him, and her life fell into her life. James started forgetting his mother's past because he understood that her past, doesn't make who he is today.
I feel as if we had this argument, and I actually think that learning about his past does affect him, but I agree that it hasn't shaped who he is. From what I've read, it seems that he feels more whole now.
Delete"'You're in college,' she snapped. 'You can spell. Figure it out yourself.' Click." -page 267
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it shows how defensive Ruth is about her past. She is so regretful of her past in addition to having a hard time growing up. Pushing things away became Ruth's coping mechanism, which is not always a good thing. It put James and his siblings in a bad place for a while on their search for self. In my opinion, it also helped them. James' lack of knowledge on blacks and whites made him become more open minded as an adult. He, along with all of his siblings became successful today, even through Ruth's secrecy. If Ruth hadn't been secretive, I wonder what James and his siblings would be like.
I agree, and something as small as her maiden name is so hard for her to tell her son. I think if Ruth had been open about her past, I think maybe some problems would arise that hadn't been there before, such as anti-semitism in the neighborhood or just further confliction of race because when James was growing up, the Black Panthers were viewed as being very "cool" and they were anti-white, which would've made her children very confused and unsure of where they fit in.
DeleteI agree, I think Ruth did the right thing by keeping most of the things about where she came from, from her children because knowing less about race kept them more open minded. However, I think that as the reached an age where they knew Ruth was white, and looked different from them, she should have told them at least enough so they weren't confused about themselves for years.
Delete"To the very end, Mommy is a flying compilation of competing interests and conflicts,a balck woman in white skin, with black children and a white woman's physical problems." pg. 260
ReplyDeleteI found this line to be signifacent because both Ruth and James have struggled with racial identity. Ruth has never been accepted by blacks or whites because she married and black man and she is Jewish. James was never accepted by blacks or whites either because he is a mix of both. James viewed himself primarily as black, trying to forget the white side of him because growing up, everyone was really against the "white man". Ruth also views herself as black, I feel, because she was always most accepted by blacks and she had black children. In relation to the world, I think that everyone wants to be what they're not, and looking back on the discussion we had about our inner versus our outer selves, James presents himself as black as a kid, and Ruth can't, but she is black on the inside which makes me think about the representation of our inner and outer selves.
I also found this quote really interesting. I think she passed on a lot of her conflicting feelings to her children. In fact her children's racial conflicting were worse then hers. I think this is one of the reasons she is so focused on education and knowledge. It is an espcase from the crazy war between identities happening inside their bodies.
Delete"I felt frustrated to live in a world that considers the color of your face an immediate political statement whether you like it or not." (Pg 262)
ReplyDeleteI thought this was really interesting, because it seemed double sided. He doesn't like the whole of racism, as most African-Americans did at the time. He thought it was a terrible way of segregating people. But also, I think he hates that this sort of separates him from his mom, and ruined part of her life. People looked at his mom weird, and made fun of him. Also, her whole family said she was dead to them for marrying a black man. Because of this racism, she couldn't return to her past, whether she wanted to or not.
Yeah, I think that's a really good point. James has a special relationship to racism and segregation because it separates him and his mother.
Delete"It took too many years to find out who she was, partly because I never knew who I was." Page 261
ReplyDeleteJames is so connected to his mother. Even during the hardest time in his life (which was insedently a very hard time for her as well), he didn't want her to know. During this time, James basically dropped out of school, was a drug addict, and a criminal. Somehow, he managed to keep all that from his mother. He did not want to cause her any pain. It is amazing to see how emotionally connected they are, even when he is an adolescent. This is very relent to my life, as a teenager trying to figure out who I am. I admire how connected James is to him mother. To find out who James was as a person he had to fist find out who is mother was. This brought up an interesting question for me. Why is our families past so influential to who we are as people?
I agree with you. I find it fascinating that james, as a teenager has this massive emotional bond with his mother. You would expect a teenager totally neglecting their mom but in james' case most of his life he was neglected by his mother, maybe he's still trying to get her attention by acting out like this, but which is weird is that in doing all of these illegal things that he knows that would hurt his mother he still tries to protect her.
DeleteI agree, James' bond with his mother was a suprise to me. Instead of James neglecting his mother it was the other way around. Every question he had about ruths past she would immediately shut it down and ignore him. So I do feel James was trying to get Ruths attention by dropping out of school and being a drug addict because he knew how strict she was about school.
Delete"It was a devastating realization, coming to grips with the fact that all your life you had never really known the person you loved the most." (Pg. 266)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it signified James's desire to find out where Ruth came from and her past. James wanted to find out his roots for the sake of his mother and also because he was convinced she was hiding her past. At the age of thirty, James mentions his inability to fit in between two worlds and this drives him into finding out more about his mother. He had this identity crisis that he never experienced before because he was so tangled up in moving on with his own life that he forgot to question Ruth's past. I felt that by now James is at stage in his life where he's mature enough to know Ruth's past. It won't change how he feels about her because after all Ruth is his mother and that's the only thing that matters to him. Sometimes people tend to forgot about figuring out the past of the ones they care about because they're too caught up in creating a future for themselves.
I agree that James wanted to find out about his roots and had a huge identity crisis trying to figure out who he is, but maybe Ruth's past should change how James feels about his mother because he can understand why his mother made certain decisions and even question his mother's choices. Maybe in figuring out her past, it got tangled with his own life he just needed to sort out his emotions.
Delete"To the very end, Mommy is a flying compilation of competing interests and conflicts,a balck woman in white skin, with black children and a white woman's physical problems."
ReplyDelete-pg. 260
This quote stood out to me because I think that it is what Ruth always wanted james to find out. That color of your skin doesn't matter, its what on the inside that matters, what you do, the content of your character. And I think this was the line that resolved james' identity crisis that he conflicts him all through out the book and what really drive james' story: even though james has been ridiculed all his life that he had a white mother and this quote really shows that he doesn't really care anymore.
I agree. I think that Ruth never wanted to tell her children about race because she knows that race doesn't matter, it's about the person. James idea of race and his acceptance of race has changed through out the book. When he was small he hated the fact that his mother didn't look like him and his friend's mother looks like their children. Now he embrasses the fact the he's a mixed child and sees that his mother fits perfectly in both worlds because it doesn't matter if she's black or white, because she's human.
DeletePamela Yiadom
DeleteI picked the same quote, and I agree with you. I was thinking the same when I read that line. I think Ruth did want James to find out that the color of your skin doesn't matter, but what's inside of you, or who you are. And you're right, it looks like he doesn't really care anymore.
“They seemed free in ways I could not be.” (p. 261)
ReplyDelete“Most black folks considered ‘finding myself’ a luxury. White people seemed to think of it as a necessity—” (p. 265)
In the first quote James’ is referring to the white people he went to college with. Although James doesn’t directly relate this quote, its clear that James connects that these white people seemed free because they found themselves. Of course James notices the people who were free and found themselves and the people who didn’t as white and black, and although the majority might be one way or another, it has nothing to do with race. This is also when James realizes that the only way that he can be that free, is if he finds himself. I think putting these things together was the overwhelming thing that made him really go out and figure out who he is, and where he came from.
I agree that the white people seemed free to him because they knew who they were. I think it was important for James to find out who he was because he needed reasons to justify his actions and decisions. He also needed to know where he belonged in society.
Delete"She loves Red Hook. Despite the fact that my siblings often urge her to stay out the of the projects, she won't." Page 271
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because of the siblings. According to this quote they urge her to stay out of the very same projects that they grew up in. Why would they tell her to not go? The people accept her for who she is even though she is white, and just wants to visit some old friends and the church. I find it strange how they would tell her not to visit. I think that maybe they don't want her to visit because she would get attached and try to move back there because she moves into a new location every year. It's likely that they don't want to her move back because they know that she's living better off away from there and with her family in their new home.
It's also strange how after a lifetime where she has constantly taken the more dangerous path, those around her still worry. I also love how James describes her in this chapter as a black woman in a white body with the health problems of a white woman. I believe she really doesn't see herself any different to those in the projects, and therefore, at any more risk than the next black person.
Delete" Fortunately the doctors got the mole off in time, but the question of her own mortality is she seems to be preoccupied with of late,probably because she knows death is the one condition in life she can't outrun." (pg.261)
ReplyDelete- This quote stood out to me because it shows another side of Ruth. She is constantly brave throughout the book but the whole "death" thing is scary for Ruth. It also shows how Ruth had always run away from her problems, it was basically the way she copes with it. But death is the one thing she has to deal with and Ruth just isn't use to that idea.
"Who cares? This is nonsense. I've got nothing to leave y'all except some bills." (P.260)
ReplyDeleteI thought that the way that Ruth was declining everywhere that James proposed to be her burial spot was odd. The way that she said that she didn't want to be buried in all these places then said that she didn't care was odd. I think that she is scared to talk about death. Ruth comes off as a very strong person but I think that she still fears what death has in store for her and leaving her children. I think she doesn't go into detail about her death and her burial because she is scared of what dying means and leaving her children. Ruth hates being away from her kids and I think that she fears that in death she won't be able to help them and be with them anymore. I think that Ruth's experience with death with her two husbands dying maybe gives her this fear. Maybe she doesn't want what happened to her to happen to her children?
"yet they carry themselevs with a giant measure of dignity, humility, and humor. Like any family we have problems, but we have always been close." page 277
ReplyDeleteJames realizes that of all the powerful elements of Ruth's life is the reason why her children are what most define her. She is proud of them and so is James and all of their accomplishments. Accordingly, he says all of their names and their accomplishments as a tribute to his siblings as well as to his mother. Each year, James and all his siblings go to and thank her for everything she's done for them. Nobody would have thought they would turn out ok!
"It took too many years to find out who she was, partly because I never knew who I was."
ReplyDeleteI liked this quote because James could never figure himself out when he was younger. His mother never told him so for a long period of his life he lived with this void struggling to know his heritage and past. Some people don't think that their parents past really matters but to James and to other people it's everything. To James it's like a key to himself. He went through phases experimenting who he was when all he needed to know was who his mom was but she refused to tell her children. I don't think that that was the smartest idea on Ruth's part. James had to search for answers. He went through so much trouble looking for some sort of answer when his mother had all the answers to his questions.
Pamela Yiadom
ReplyDelete"To the very end , Mommy is a flying compilation of competing interests and conflicts, a black woman in white skin, with black children and a white woman's physical problem."(pg.260)
This line stood out to me because I think it was very important. If you saw this from a different perspective, this is what you would think of Ruth. When reading this, I said the same exact thing James said, " a black woman in white skin". Because when reading this you can't imagine Ruth as a white people. A black women's picture is in my head when I read this book. This is why maybe she is around a lot of black people because she get's them, it's not about the color,it's about the heart.
I completely agree with you Pamela. Its not the color of your skin that defines you or your purpose iin life, but whats on the inside. I like how you compared your image to Ruth, to James' and I think it is funny how James is able to realize that hsi mother is sort of like the black mother he always wanted just in a different skin complection.
DeleteI agree with you when you say that this is what the reader imagines. I think this is true to all readers. Even in class today, someone said, "I always imagine her as a black woman." I almost think that this might've been what James wanted us as the reader to perceive her as. She changed to the "black side" At a very young age and stayed there because she saw it as a warm and welcoming place where she would always somehow find happiness. I think that she kind of is a black woman in a white woman's body because all that she raised her children to be and all that she changed her life to include, is what she saw in the black people that she loved. She saw compassion, love, faith, hope, and appreciation. This is what she wanted to be and she eventually became that.
Delete" Being mixed is like that tingling feeling you have in your nose just before you sneeze-you're waiting for it to happen but it never does." page 262
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because when James made the connection between finiding himself to the tingly feeling in your nose right before you sneeze, I could instantly comprehend exactly what he was saying, with a personal experience. I also chose this quote because James' journey to finding himself has always been that "itch" that he always wanted to investigate and scratch but never could. It shows how much interest James had in finding himself in this world, and his interest in finding out who he was through his mothers life. Many say that your future has nothing to do with what your parents have gone through,but in James' case, his mothers life and descisions have everything to do with the molding of his own life. Although many people dont understand why this is, I am able to take from James' experience that everything he has gone through in life, has some way been because of his mother.Not knowing why she made these descions can influence what he does in the future. James finally scratching that itch in his nose, shows that he has come over this hurtle in his life and is now able to successfully move on in life because he now knows where he is came from, and where he can go with that information.
"To the very end, Mommy is a flying compilation of competing interests and conflicts, a black woman in white skin, with black children and a white woman's physical problem."Pg 260
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because Ruth likes to hide her past and run away from her problems, but she cannot do that here because she has no choice. She cannot cover her skin color up which is something that bothers her. Even though Ruth hangs out with black people and her kids are mixed, she is still a white lady. Even though Ruth doesn't understand it, race and ethnicity are a part of her and who she is. She needs to accept who she really is.
I agree with you. Ruth needs to confront her true identity. I don't think she can run away from her problems without her problems catching up to her.
Delete"'Death is strange, isn't it?... it's so final. You know time is not promised'" -pg. 261
ReplyDeleteI interpreted this quote in two totally different directions. At first, this quote seemed pretty ironic coming from Ruth because it reminded me of the promise she broke with Dee-Dee. Ruth had time to fulfill her promise to Dee-Dee or at least time to think about her well-being, but she just leaves Dee-Dee in the dust. Then, I started thinking about Ruth's comment about death and was really astonished because she's witnessed so many deaths in her life, and I thought she'd have taken more away from the concept of death. I agree, death is final, but couldn't she have mentioned how much stronger she's gotten or maybe that death must happen in order for people to move on. However, the most I've taken from this quote was her regret. I believe she either wants to go back in time to fix her mistakes or go back in time to spend MORE time with Dennis or people she loved in general. Even though Ruth is not an emotional person, I feel that she just doesn't want her death to be final and doesn't want to have her body buried like everyone else. I feel like Ruth just wants a spiritual ceremony ,so even when she's dead, she is still going against the status quo in her own way.
I like your conclusion that her religious side would favor a ceremonial outcome to her life. Being a religious person, does Ruth considers this life to be a transitory
Deleteexperience? I think Ruth expects to be resurrected in another form or lifetime.
I agree with you. Ruth could have regretted the decisions she made because she witnessed the deaths of the ones she cares about. Ruth could also fear death as well because a part of her feels as if she hasn't fulfilled her life yet.
Delete“…but the question of her own mortality is one she seems to be preoccupied with of late, probably because she knows death is the one condition in life she can’t outrun.” Pg. 261
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it was the moment when Ruth realized that she couldn’t run from everything in her life. It probably bothered her because the coping mechanism she had used all her life couldn’t help her escape death. It forced her to face reality and accept her future. I think the main reason why some people are so scared of death is because they don’t know when to expect it. It was probably why Ruth told James to get to know Jesus really quickly because time is not promised. She wanted him to know that time is valuable and to take advantage of it.
"I began to accept the fact that the nebulas 'white man's world' wasn't as free as it looked." Page 262.
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it shows how James is coming to the realization that everybody has their own problems even if they don't show it. In this quote James is saying that white people don't have it any better than other people. Being white had it's restraints too even if it doesn't seem like it. I think that this relates to the world because it shows how everybody struggles and that even if you have money that doesn't make you a better person than somebody who is poor. It seems like James realizes that objects can't make an amazing person, it's their values that shape them.
"Exploring a past for that in many ways is gone forever and is better left buried and untouched." (Pg.274)
ReplyDeleteThis quote captured the contradictory emotions that the author feels and projects onto his mother. Without examination of her past this book wouldn't exist and the admiration we feel for Ruth would be Unexplored and hidden. The past can not be buried and in this case is certainly not forgotten. It is the transition from her background into someone completely different that has shaped her personality and that of her children. Why did Ruth feel it so necessary to say "don't tell my business" when she provided a role model and influenced her children?
I agree with you on how this line shows the conflicting emotions of James and his mother. I also think it shows that its hard to dig up the past unless your ready to prepare what it hides.
DeleteI really thought that the ending was great. Its so nice to see the whole family doing so well. They have been through so much, especially ruth. It must be nice for her to realize that she succeeded. She committed her whole adult life to make sure that her kids went to college and were successful. Everything she taught the kids while she raised them payed off. It wasn't for nothing. I find it so amazing how every single one of her kids went to college, got good jobs afterwards, and started their own successful families. If ruth hadn't been their mother this wouldn't have been the case. All of them would have probably dropped out of highschool and went off on their own seperate paths. What Ruth did was amazing. No one can deny that.
ReplyDeleteOscar Belkin-Sessler
ReplyDelete12/19/12
The Color of Water
Blog #9
“During the rare, inopportune social moments when I found myself squeezed between black and white, I fled to the black side, just as my mother had done, and did not emerge unless driven out by smoke and fire.”(262)
Even though James and Ruth were different races and grew up in different time periods, they experienced some of the same things. This is something that I hope to explore in my creative project. Both James and Ruth chose “the black side” some time in their lives. For Ruth she did it first when she lived in Suffolk and unlike the white Christians, the blacks in her town accepted her. Later on Ruth did this many more times. James also chose the “black side” many times throughout his life. This quote comes from when he is college and even though he made both black and white friends, he chose to go to the “black side” more often. I think because of what blacks went through in the civil rights era; they are more open and accepting. When they first came into America and throughout the whole time blacks have lived in America they have always been pushed away from things. They have been locked out, and not accepted. Because they have this experience they are able to accept others easier.
"It was coming to grips with the fact that all
ReplyDeleteyour life you had never really known
the person you loved the most."
(Pg.266)
This line stood out to me because it shows how James never really knew his mother, until he actively perused her and her past. I also think its sad that Ruth shut out her kids so much, that not one of her kids actually knew her and who she was. This shows that's Ruth's secluded-ness and her inability to let people in fully. Ruth and James both come at a standstill with their feelings because not one of them was fully able to understand/love each other until everything is out on the table.
" 'Let's go to the movies!' " | " 'Good Idea!' 'Yeah...let's go. I'll drive' 'Wait for me!' 'Hurry up! Where's my shoes?" ... "Mommy was sitting on the living room couch while all this was happening, her feet resting on the coffee table. She yawned and said softly, 'I want to eat.' " "The movie was instantly forgotten." (278)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me so much not because it was on the last page, but because of the response to Ruth's simple comment: "I want to eat." All twelve of her children went to college somehow, all of them succeeded in someway, and all throughout the years, they all stayed together. As I said, the response to her comment stood out to me a lot because they were all on the page (with the exception of Ruth), that being "let's go to the movies." They were all planned. They were going to have a family outing, see a movie, enjoy each other's companies and Ruth says, "I want to eat." Such a simple statement, and yet in that moment, so powerful. Those four words were all it took for them to all sit down and eat. It didn't even really matter to them what they did as long as they were together. Also, even after all those years, and after they had all grown up, Ruth's word was the last. Whatever she said would be supported and that respect from all of her children was amazing. Especially considering that she was a single mom of 12. This will most likely stay the same for the rest of her life, but I wonder, who will step forward when she dies? And will their connection as a family be as strong?
"It took me many years to find out who she was, partly because I never knew who I was. It wasnt too much a question of searching for myself as it was my own decision not to look" (261).
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because it made me think of how it was almost as if James didn't want to look for himself or didn't notice because he just let things happen. He'd have questions but he never really looked for an answer. It wasn't because he didn't care, I think it was because to some extent, he didn't really think it was relevant to himself. He just let things happened and hoped for a solution. He let these experiences shape him and his identity.
“They were no closer to the black man in the ghetto than were their white counterparts.”
ReplyDeleteI love this quote because it captures so much of what the real and concrete racial struggle had turned into. I respect James McBride because he was able to write a book discussing this topic so closely, and pointed out how racism of another form entered society just as one left. The most worldly statement he makes throughout the book (in my opinion) is when he goes on to say that he was being hired for all the same reasons these cultured black men used to place greater value on their accomplishments. James claims that white people he knew went through struggles even harder than his, and though I disagree, I see the point he is driving at. To quote Stephen, “everyone’s misery is their own worst”, and I don’t believe comparisons can be made to place a party’s experiences as harder or easier than another’s. The point James McBride was making is that people do not lack suffering based on skin tone, and that though many come from humble beginnings, roots can be lost. Bringing it back to I believe chapter 23, Ruth says James can return to Africa to look for his “roots”, but really all there is to his background is right there with him. Yes he is dark skinned, and yes it caused hardships for him growing up, but it is also not the only notable characteristic of this man.