The Color of Water

At the beginning of her memoirs, Ruth declares herself dead because

her family declared her dead because she married a black man

As a girl, Ruth's running symbolized her...

escape from her father's sexual molestation

Ruth's childhood is best described as...

lonely and fearful

In their public school education, Ruth's children

have teachers who show racist attitude toward them

Why did Fishel Shilksy marry Hudis?

to get to America

What were the two things Fishel Shilksy wanted in life?

Money, two be an American

When does Ruth believe her claustrophobia developed?

When her grandfather died

Explain the symbolism of the love Ruth's mother had for birds that fly?

She was trapped in a loveless marriage and longed to escape, but she was crippled and could never "fly away"

To what does James attribute the ache inside him that gets bigger as he grows?

the whiteness of his mother's skin

Identify and explain the two things Ruth was starving for in her childhood home.

love and affection; she received neither from her father

Explain the significance of the book's title.

Ruth says God is neither black nor white but is the color of water; the understanding helps James in his search for identity

How does Ruth most convey her Jewishness to her children?

her sense of education

Explain James' primary method of escaping the reality of his life when he is a child?

personifies his "mirror image", the boy in the mirror

What two ideaologies/movements nearly tear the McBride/Jordan house apart?

black pride and black power

Why is James unable to tell his stepfather that he loves him?

they had never spoken to each other that way

After Hunter Jordan's death, what is the one thing about which Ruth is never confused?

her faith in Jesus

Identify and explain two things Ruth's bicycle symbolizes to James.

her whole existence, oddness, lack of fear, unawareness of what others think

What two things help Ruth snap out of her depression following the family's move to Delaware?

prayer, the public school system

Where does James' search for the Shilsky family end?

at the steps of the Jewish synagogue in Suffolk

How many years elapse before Ruth can face the ghosts of her past?

more than 50

Ruth's inability to learn to drive Hunter Jordan's car is an example of...

irony; the distinct separation between her childhood and adult life

Ruth's mother learned of her mother's death through

a letter from her sister asking if she wanted 3 rooms of furniture

Ruth's father told her she could never come home again if

she married a black man

Ruth became deeply depressed after

her mother's death; Dennis McBride's death; Hunter Jordan's death

James' search for the Shilsky family ends at ____________ in Suffolk

only Jewish synagogue

___________ tape records a message for James to give to Ruth

Aubrey Rubenstein

After Ruth became a Christian, she told Dennis she would leave unless

he married her

After Dennis and Ruth had four children, they moved to

Red Hooks Housing Projects in Brooklyn

Dennis and Ruth started the ____________ church

New Brown Memorial Baptist

Dennis died from

lung cancer

When Ruth went to her Aunt Betts for help after Dennis died, her aunt

slammed the door in her face

The __________ is James' great hurdle.

color boundary

After graduating from college, James alternates between ____________ and __________ as a profession.

journalism, music

Ruth graduates from college when she is _______ years old.

65

After more than 50 years, Ruth finally faces the ghosts of her past by

returning to Suffolk

A commonality between James McBride and David Lee Preston is

both have Jewish mothers

State 3 qualities that make Dennis a "ghost" in the family.

finished college, is an artist, has money, going to be a doctor

State three ways Helen rebels.

wears liberation insignias, becomes a hippie, drops out of school, leaves home

To what kind of store does Ruth take her children to shop for school clothes?

those owned by Jews

What type of school does Ruth choose for her children?

Predominately Jewish schools

What is the significance to James of the boy in the mirror?

all the things James wishes he could be

Identify and describe Ruth's "first love".

Peter; black man, tall, handsome, never judged her

Why didn't Ruth marry him?

a black married to a white woman would be killed in the South

Why doesn't Hunter Jordan live full-time with his family?

likes neatness; can't live with the "madness"

James reacts to his stepfather's death by

becoming truant from school, smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, stealing

When James asks his mother where she is from, her standard answer is

God made me

James fears black power because

he thinks it will be the end of his mother

James' father and stepfather, like his mother, both emphasize the importance of _________ and _________.

education, church

Ruth tells James that God is

the color of water