What societal aspects does James McBride critique in The Color of Water?

In The Color of Water, James McBride examines racism, indoctrination, and abuse in society, as well as the politics of identity. A memoir and homage to his mother, The Color of Water addresses both McBride's and his mother's personal history. Born in Poland and of Jewish descent, McBride's mother emigrated to the United States under the name Ruth (originally Rachel Shilsky). She faced ethnic prejudice at school while also paying witness to the racist attitudes of her family, namely her father. This theme is carried through to the next generation when her biracial children are subjected to racism throughout their upbringing in the 1960s. Here, the societies of both Europe and the United States find themselves in the same boat. Presumably, the title itself calls upon an old idiom: that blood is thicker than water, suggesting that family ties are deeper than all others. It is not so in this case.

Doctrine and practice are also critiqued here. Ruth's father, a rabbi, is emotionally manipulative and sexually abusive to his daughters. His threats of sending his wife and children back to Poland to face sure persecution at the hands of Russians and Germans is juxtaposed against his own racist attitudes toward the African Americans in their community, with whom he interfaces through the family store. Ruth ultimately breaks free from this narrative in order to pursue her own life following a problematic pregnancy with her African American boyfriend, which prompts her move to New York for an abortion. She ultimately opens the New Brown Memorial Church along with McBride's father, practicing her own doctrine.

One final critique points directly toward the politics of identity as experienced by both Ruth and James. One point that lends credence to this argument is Ruth's answer to James's question about her race, which she answers simply by saying that she is "light-skinned," rather than agreeing that she is white. Identity here is treated as a choice to be put into practice rather than as an immutable category decided by skin color. Ruth's hard work and sacrifice for the education of her children and her demands on them that they also work hard and reap the benefits of the education she provides following the death of her second husband weave into this critique the suggestion that identity, while chosen, is also earned. Ruth's choice to live a life in keeping with her personal beliefs came with great sacrifice and tumult, but these sacrifices and the love and beliefs instilled in her children give way to McBride's ultimate production of The Color of Water.

What does James value in The Color of Water by James McBride?

James McBride's autobiography, The Color of Water, recounts his search for answers he did not get from his mother when he was growing up. Late in her life, his mother, Ruth, shares just a little of her past with James, and he begins a quest to discover his mother's heritage--and of course his own. She eventually tells her own story, which is recounted in the odd-numbered chapters of the book.

Clearly the most significant thing that James values is the truth about his mother's past. While James knows about his father's family, his rather eccentric mother says nothing about her life before marrying James's father. This might not be a significant omission for some people, but for James it is the driving force for much of his life.

James always had questions about his rather quirky mother, a woman who lived her life boldly as if she were black though she was clearly white. While Ruth insisted on the best educations for her children (usually in Jewish schools), she consistently gave them conflicting messages about Jews. So many things about his mother were confusing to James, and he always felt that if he could discover his mother's past he could better face his own future. 

James is called a "tragic mulatto" by someone at school, contributing to his identity confusion. As he becomes a teenager, this confusion results in failing grades and a rather criminal life. Though he eventually recovers and goes on to become a successful adult, he is only satisfied after his questions have been answered. This need to know his heritage prompts him to value what he discovers.

Three things that James McBride values are his mother, his siblings, and learning the truth about his biracial identity. The entire book, as the subtitle indicates, is a tribute to his mother.

One place where McBride reveals how much he values his mother is in a part of her narrative that he includes. While she and his father were married, she never traveled to North Carolina, because they feared the family would be attacked. After his death, she takes his body home to be buried. She later tells James,

I sat on that train and said to myself, “I’m gonna take him home. I will take him home to see him buried,” and no white man nor black man would have stopped me and I swear to God Almighty, had anyone stood before me to prevent it I would have struck them down.

McBride was one of twelve children. Although the siblings competed, they also supported each other. One place where he shows that he values his siblings is when they come to meet him after school when he has been waiting for his mother to appear. The children he sees coming

were a motley crew of girls and boys, ragged with wild hairdos and unkempt jackets, hooting and making noise, and only when they were almost upon me did I recognize the faces of my elder siblings and my little sister . . . . I ran into their arms and collapsed in tears as they gathered around me, laughing.

After McBride publishes his first, well-received essay about his mother, he considers the idea of doing a book. While he wants to tell his mother’s story, he also centers on the ways it will help him understand his own identity.

I decided to delve further, partly to get out of working for a living and partly to expel some of my own demons regarding my brown skin, curly hair, and divided soul.

What are some important aspects of The Color of Water by James McBride?

The most important two aspects of The Color of Water are its individual functioning as a memoir of James McBride's life as well as a tribute to his mother. McBride makes the incredibly bold artistic choice of narrating the story from not only his point of view, but his mother's as well. While this might seem immediately presumptuous, it reveals through the course of the narrative a profound connection between McBride and his mother, and is incredibly reverent to her as an influencing factor in McBride's life. We begin to see a portrait of the author's mother as simultaneously the larger-than-life figure that she was to McBride as a child, as well as the human being as McBride recognized her in his adult years.

The struggles that McBride endures as a child in seeking his own identity are paralleled with the struggles that his mother endured for being a white woman that chose to marry a black man in the 40's. The audacity that the reader may perceive in McBride's choice to speak for his mother is noticeably akin to the audacity of McBride's mother that society perceived, though she was only choosing to be with who she loved. These alternating narratives create many similar such parallels.