The Color of Water is an autobiographical book that parallels the life of the author, James McBride, and his mother Ruth. The story is about a man who is confused about his identity. As a young boy James realized that was not sure of who is mother was either. All he knew was that they lived in Black neighborhoods, his siblings and himself had tan skin, but yet their mother was white. .
The story of Ruth starts with her life being born in Poland to a strict Orthodox Jewish family. Her father was a rabbi and a stern and strong man. When Ruth was seven they moved in with her grandparents in the United States. Her family religiously followed the Jewish faith. They ate kosher, which was different meals and place settings, and every Friday at sundown they had to light candles and pray to Sabbath (McBride, 17).
Ruth's family traveled a lot when she was a child. When she was eight, they moved to Suffolk, Virginia. This is where her family settled and her father ran a store. The people in the neighborhood seemed to enjoy new things except for Jewish people. In school children would call Ruth "Christ killer", or "Jew Baby" (McBride, p. 40). This was just the beginning of the resentment towards Ruth and her family. .
Ruth resented the fact that people did not accept her for being Jewish. Her family, however, did not like what they called gentiles, or Black people. Ruth's father made this perfectly clear. Ruth ended up falling in love with a Black boy. He gave her love and affection, something she was not used to. This was the beginning of Ruth's transformation. .
.
As Ruth got older she started to resent being Jewish more and more everyday. She ended up marrying a Black man by the name of Andrew McBride. Standing by her husband, she now turned her Jewish faith into the Baptist faith. She was going to all Black churches and even helped her husband run sermons from their home. After Andrew died, Ruth married Hunter Jordan.
