Remake of [Jorge Jara] - The Color of Water

English 11, Period #2

Formalist Lens

Is there a relationship between the beginning and the end of the story?
The beginning of the book starts at the mother's POV and we stop with the mother's POV. I think the book will end at the authors POV.
Choose a significant event that occurs in your reading. What do you think the author's purpose was in telling that part of the story?
One significant event was when the author's mother was next to a black panther. The author then punched the black panther's son. The author wanted to show us how the media can manipulate someone.
How do rhetorical strategies (like ethos, pathos, logos) enhance the story?
The author uses pathos in his writing to portray the hardship he and his mother faced. The author uses ethos when describing the civil rights era as he lived through it.

Quote

James is asking his mother what race she is and she says "No. I'm light-skinned." This quote stands out because she doesn't care about race and wants her son to also not think about the color of peoples skins.

Social Issue

One social issue the characters deal with was race/ethnicity. The issue with race and ethnicity was a big deal in the civil rights era. The author, James McBride, wonders about his mother's race wondering why she is white. James's mother faces discrimination from white people making fun of her for dating a black man. Also, even black people for dating a black man.

Personal Reflection

I also have immigrant parents. My family was also very big with not that much space in the house. My parents also want me to study hard and go to college. One thing I learned from the book was how the character felt being racially discriminated against.

Reader Response Lens:

What was the work’s original intended audience? To what extent are you similar or different from that audience?
The author's intended audience was people with similar problems like race and identity. Also, people who are generally interested in his mother's story. I didn't really have any problems with race, but I am interested in his mother's story.
How might readers in different time periods or of different ages interpret the text?
I think people during the 1960s wouldn't be able to relate to the book and hate the idea of the author being mixed. Today, people would be able to relate to the author as there are more mixed people with the same problems as him. Older people would be able to relate to him as they would have the same struggles growing up and finding their own identity.
How does the meaning of a text change as you reread it?
During the end of where we stopped reading there was a part where James talks about himself and sees himself in the mirror. I didn't really understand that.

Quote

James is at the school talent show dancing and everyone is applauding him but he remembers his reflection in the mirror, "I felt when I gazed at the boy in the mirror. I remembered him, and how free he was, and I hated him even more" (McBride 105). The reason why he hates the mirror version of himself is because it's the version of himself that is truly free. The mirror version has no problems like being mixed or poor.

Social Issue

With this section of the book the author again faced problems with his race. One of his sisters left his family due to being an activist who was outspoken against racism against African Americans. The sister then had a fight with the oldest sister, which caused her to leave. Also with the talent show coming up, his classmates pester James into joining because he's black and knows how to dance, which he doesn't. James then agrees and feeds into those stereotypes in which he reflects on his mirror self.

Personal Reflection

When reading this section of the book, I didn't really connect that much with him. But one thing I learned was the author's feeling of not knowing your own identity; I never really felt like I didn't know who I was.

Social Class Lens

How are class differences presented in the work? Are the characters aware or unaware of the economic and social forces that affect their lives?
In Delaware, there are very clear differences when it comes to class; the white schools are nice, clean and well funded, while the black schools are understaffed and underfunded. When they arrive in Delaware, they were very shocked with the racial segregation in the town. In New York, it was a melting pot where different cultures were everywhere causing less racial segregation. In fact, the author and his siblings were attending an all-white school.

Quote

When James is attending College he opens his mail and finds a letter from Mrs. Dawson who helped him attend college. That says her husband had passed away, later that day he was at the street near a couple of black students who say "Forget these whiteys. They're all rich. They got no problems." and I said, "yeah, man I hear you," (McBride 187). This quote shows how conflicted he is when it comes to his relationship with white people as he has to act like he hates white people because he is black. When in reality, she was one of the only white people besides his mom that was truly kind to him.

Social Issue

One issue present in this section of the book was social class. When his stepdad died his mom was in a bad mental state and couldn't afford to live in New York anymore, causing them to move. When they arrived in Delaware, the schools were segregated with the black school being understaffed and less funded. This causes James to have to work to be able to attend a trip to Europe as the school couldn't afford it. Even today, people in low-income areas go to underfunded schools stunting their education.

Personal Reflection

When I was a small child, I used to live in Mexico and go to school there, and while I attended school in Mexico the school was also underfunded. But I moved to America and the schools were a lot less underfunded. I had almost the same situation as the author but in reverse as I went from an underfunded school to a nicer school while his situation was the reverse.

Memoir Reflection

Now that we have finished the novel, what is your takeaway from the book?
My takeaway from the novel was why the author wrote the novel. I think the reason why he wrote the novel was at first a tribute to his mother and what she did for him and his siblings and second to better understand himself. Throughout the book, the author keeps connecting back to his identity with him trying to learn more and more about his and his mother's roots. The author goes through a journey to learn his identity, and in the end, it helps him better understand himself.