The Color of Water

       As I said in my previous blog post, The Color of Water by James McBride is his autobiography and a way for him to give tribute to his mother. James is one of twelve children and grew up in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects. Despite the fact the James and his siblings were living in dirt poor conditions and his mother was raising twelve children on her own, all the siblings felt equally loved and had great childhood experiences. His mom emphasized education and instilled the meaning of the word in them ever since they could hear. Although they lived a very challenged life, James' mother Ruth was able to put all of her kids through college and was able to watch them change the course of their lives.
        The purpose of James McBride writing this story is to pay tribute to his determined and eccentric mother. James recognizes the rare breed his mother is, and he wants to let her know he appreciates the mother she was. This book is geared towards an audience of teenagers to late adults. They would be the age group that would best be able to grasp the impacting information this story has to offer.
        Thus far, James McBride writes with great use of diction. For example, James writes words like "comin', Ma, ol', ain't, fixin', and 'nuff" throughout his story. Although these words are improper English and are deemed slang, they give the reader great insight into how James and his family talked when he was a child. To be grammatically correct he could right "enough" instead of "'nuff", but then James' writing would loose its flare.
        James McBride also utilizes description throughout his book to get his point across. For example, James uses half of a page just to describe his sister Helen. He told the reader what she wore, how she wore it, what she stood for in life, and more about her character as a person and a sibling. Although this may seem a little boring to the reader, it actually is an effective tool because the reader can personalize with Helen. We feel as though we know her through the authors description even though we have never talked to or met her in our entire lives. He also uses description often to describe things that people may not be able to relate to, such as their shock toaster or living situation. This is a great way to get the reader intrigued and to make them feel like a part of his life.
      He has absolutely conquered his goal through the first ten chapters. As I read this book, I can almost feel the internal struggle James is going through to find himself. He is both white and black which was very uncommon in the 1960's. All of his older siblings have chosen to indulge into the civil rights movement and fight for black rights, however James does not know what he wants to do. As I turn the pages I can also sympathize with Ruth as she is trying to raise twelve children with high moral and ethical values by herself.