The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two .
good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Ruth, born Rachel Shilsky, a .
Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York .
City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black .
man, making her isolation even more profound. The two stories told by mother and son .
are both similar in one way or the other. Even though both having to face many obstacles .
and situations of their own. James had experienced many situations such as problems .
with drugs, school, and racial problems. Ruth experienced many challenging .
obstacles in her life. The three obstacles that most impacted Ruth were the relationship .
with her father, the deaths of her husbands, and the raising of her children.
Ruth's father treated her very badly and unfair.Ruth's family was a major conflict .
in her past. Being one of three children, she didn't get much love and attention. Her .
parents were very different from all her friend's parents. Her mother was a disabled .
crippled woman who was getting worse and worse and who the father didn't love. Her .
father was just a mean ,rude, and inconsiderate person. Her father was a Jewish Rabi who .
opened up his own store in town. Ruth and her other siblings worked for her father in this .
store. Like Ruth had said, "We worked in there from morning till night, except for .
school, and Tateh had us timed for that. He"d be standing in the road outside the store .
with his hands on his hips at three P.M. sharp, looking down the road for me and Sam, .
and later Dee-Dee, as we ran the six blocks home from school. Right to work we went." .
(McBride 41). He would molest her and touch her in sexual type of way. He would make .
her work very hard and for a long period of time. He was very strict to her about religion .
and certain people.
Her situation of being with a black guy was pretty conflicting because blacks and .
