Thursday, February 9, 2017

Chapters 2-5 Response (The Color of Water)

How was his mother able to ride the bike if half of her body had become unusable? (Note: I think I misread and the mother of Ruth is the one who has the unusable body) Why would the narrator be embarrassed of having a white mother? If she preaches about not caring about skin color all the time, then why don't her children feel the same? How is the mother able to afford college for her older children and still able to keep a roof over their heads? In Chapter 2, the voices between Ruth and James are switched skillfully and this helps show the fuller picture of James' family and their life's challenges. Most of it is chronological but tends to focus on specific moments, like when Hunter dies. Both the mother and her son crash and burn after Hunter is gone. James becomes a street kid since he doesn't have a father figure... but if his mother remarried, do you think he would go back to being a good kid? Why does Ruth avoid all questions about race? Why isn't she straightforward with their kids and tell them her opinions of racism so they stop asking? His part of the narrative shows all of the crazy questions that he's raised because of being a mixed raced child, while the mother's narrative helps shine some light on the questions, but only much, much later when he's an adult investigating his family's past. Why was the father's first threat sending them back to Poland? What kind of a father even does that to a family? (note from the future: Good lord, I now know that he never actually loved the mother, it was all about arrangement and money.) Why was it that when her grandfather died, she was no longer allowed to say death? Why did it suddenly become some sort of "sacred word"? Why would she feel claustrophobic after her grandparents died if they were so loving and warm? How does Ruth remember such detailed Jewish customs, if it's been (more than likely) 40+ years? Why are James' brothers so rude? Why do they bully him so cruelly? Why would James punch the kid on the bus if he literally did nothing wrong? Did James face any severe consequences because of this action?Why couldn't the dad, being the rabbi he was, preach what was supposed to be preached, instead of preaching his opinions (At least from what I gather)? That way he wouldn't have to constantly move around with his children. Why did the father sexually abuse Ruth?

1 comment:

  1. I think the metacognitive is working really well for you. Wonderful questions and reflections, and I especially like how you're thinking about McBride both as a character in the book and as a skillful, intentional author behind the scenes, pulling the strings. My challenge to you: As you near the end of each journal entry, try to bring some of your ideas back to the chapter title. How does the title unlock central themes and topics?

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