.Tierra Downie Downie pg.1
English 11
Ms.Giroux
Final Essay
Throughout the duration of the novel “The Color Of Water” by James McBride it was revealed that Ruth and James led similar lives. Coming up in the world, Ruth and James followed similar paths. Their parents shared similarities also. Ruth and James both encountered grief in some way at some point in their lives. Discrimination was a battle that both Ruth and James had to overcome. These are only some of the ways in which Ruth and James are similar.
Ruth and James parents shared many similarities. Ruth’s father Tateh was a rabbi from Poland. He traveled to America where he began to preach in a synagogue. James’ father was a pastor named Andrew McBride. He was from New York. Andrew founded the New Brown Memorial Church where he preached for many years before he passed away. Both of their parents were strict but in different ways. Ruth’s parents didn’t give her any freedom. Her father wanted her to learn how to run the family store. Tateh was not a strong believer in the education system; he would rather have his children work than to be in school all day. Ruth’s parents stuck to their religion and made sure that Ruth and her sister did the same. They didn’t tolerate any back talk Ruth didn’t really speak unless spoken to by an adult. She was taught to stay in a kid’s place. Ruth being James’ mother was also very strict when it came to her children. She didn’t give her children any freedom either. James was not allowed to ask his mother any questions and when he did she would say “if it doesn’t have anything to do with church or school I don’t want to hear it.” she was a strong believer in education unlike her father. She wanted all her children to be educated and she took it very seriously. She would beat her children when they would act up in school or when they disobeyed her rules about being outside. She...