Color Of Water Conflict

Words: 1478
Pages: 6
Open Document
The Color of Water The Color of Water is a novel that depicts the life of author James McBride, but also the life of his white mother Ruth McBride Jordan. The life of this family is filled with struggles and obstacles, which the family overcame. A reoccurring conflict was the difficulty of losing a loved one. Although, the same issue, each time it transpired was different in a number of ways.
Conflict #1: In chapter twenty-three, Ruth McBride is telling the story of when she and Dennis moved in together and from there she continues on, describing every part of their life. Some parts of the story included their marriage ceremony, the birth of their oldest children, moving into the Red Hook Housing Projects, and one of their biggest accomplishments, …show more content…
Ruth McBride found another man who loved her and her children and was willing to support them and give them everything. Ruth McBride married Hunter Jordan and as the novel states he indeed changed Ruth’s life. “I’ll help you for the rest of my life if you’ll marry me.” “God bless him, he was as good as his word” (McBride 247). From this experience, the character learns about her personal strength, both physically and mentally. Ruth McBride Jordan learns that she can overcome the most difficult and painful challenges that life can throw her way. Losing her husband was a traumatic experience for her but because of God and her faith she was able to push through and keep going. The character of Ruth also discovered that there is a second chance for love and happiness. This also leads her to discover that she can not dwell on the past and that life goes on. This experience allows Ruth to realize that her faith is her foundation and one of her biggest motives to excel, because of this she becomes deeper involved in her faith. Through this chapter, the author of the novel is expressing his admiration for his mother. He admires the strength that she has but also her willpower. I believe that the author is trying to portray his mother as an example of perseverance to the reader, but also to have the reader be aware of one of the many painful experiences that his mother endured. This chapter, this conflict is a tribute to Ruth …show more content…
He tells the reader how his mother became extremely depressed, she was also gloomy and held back. Examples of this are when she gave away all his items, cried at night away from the children, and she was always lost in her thoughts (McBride 137-138). The chapter continues by explaining how Hunter’s death and Ruth’s emotional state began to have a negative effect on James. He started to misbehave and purposely fail school, his grades deteriorated and he eventually quit. James became involved in many illegal and wrongful things/scenarios. Such things including smoking reefer, cigarettes, and weed, drinking alcohol, and shoplifting (McBride 138). At this point in time, James was losing connection with his family, most especially his mother, but also his faith, which was something that his family valued. In the novel it states, that James was doing all these horrible things because he wanted to escape from the reality of his life. He did not want to see his mother continually suffering and having no sense of mind, he did not want to see her give up on life (McBride 141-142). The chapter then reaches it’s turning point when Ruth became aware of James’ actions and decided it was time to intervene. The solution to this conflict was to send James to Louisville, Kentucky with his sister Jack (McBride 143). This was no solution, once James was there, he continued to transgress, doing all
Show More

Related Documents: Color Of Water Conflict

Essay on Critical Analysis 1

felt good because it was finished, and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water; now the old man could send them big thunderclouds for sure,” (Silko). When the man is first found dead by Leon and Ken, they preform a Native American ritual and paint colors on the man’s face and tie a father in his hair. In doing this they are using their Indian rituals as a way to bless the body. Every color of the four colors means something !2 different to them and their tribe. They also believe that doing…

Words 660 - Pages 3

Summary: A Yellow Raft In Blue Water

their lives. Past encounters can have either positive or negative connotations because of the surroundings themselves and details such as color; colors like black and red often depict the evil nature of an object or someone in literature. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water provides better understanding and insight in the lives of the characters through various colors and characteristics. Rayona’s perspective is centered on her relationship with her mother and her innate desire to be independent. Abandoned…

Words 659 - Pages 3

The Beautiful Ocean Essay

skyscrapers. Being above water has many beautiful sights to offer but just where those beauties end another world with its own beauties begins. Scuba diving at a spot near my uncle’s house in Key West takes me to a whole new world. My uncle’s small beach house in Key West is one of my favorite places to visit. His beach house is a sea weed green color, and he hangs old bobbers and fishing poles, decomposing nets, and old brittle fish bones from its green walls. The water in Key West is a vivid…

Words 782 - Pages 4

'Passing Storm Over The Sierra Nevada's'

FORMAL ANALYSIS As I viewed all the wonderful displays at the San Antonio Art Museum, I began to select the ones with the most vibrant color usage and the ones that seemed to bare the most meaning. The painting I have chosen for this formal analysis is called “Passing storm over the Sierra Nevada’s “. It was painted in 1870 by an artist named Albert Bierstadt who was an American born German painter best known for his landscape paintings of the American west. The nature of this captured monumental…

Words 562 - Pages 3

A Secret Lost In The Water Analysis

characters I will be comparing is the Maiden from “The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar” and the author of “A Secret Lost in the Water.” They both face different conflicts in their stories. The maiden's conflict is with the Tsar. The Tsar represents society because of his status. He can do whatever he wishes with his people simply because he is a man with power. The author's conflict is within himself. He found out that he lost his father's secret when the farmer handed him his father's alder branch. The…

Words 739 - Pages 3

Essay TWILIGHT ZONE

Mesopelogic zone (Twilight) or disphotic zone 200 to 1,000m: Deep blue and black in color. The depth of this zone depends on the clarity of the murkiness of the water. In clear water, the disphotic zone can begin at depths up to 600 feet; in murky water, it can start at only 50 feet deep. It usually begins somewhere between these two extremes 200 to 1,000m. There is enough light to see during the day, but not enough light for photosynthesis to take place, so no plants live in this zone. Amount of…

Words 328 - Pages 2

Do The Right Thing

While this film certainly contains lighthearted moments, its overall message regarding racial tensions is prominent throughout the film. Even though it is not always directly stated, it is emphasized through heat. As the heat rises, so does the conflict in the film; all the way up to its climax, in which a building is literally set ablaze. Since heat is such an important theme throughout the film, the focus of the selected scene is on how nondiegetic music, set design, and props are used to emphasize…

Words 807 - Pages 4

Obasan Motif Paper

often uses colors to evoke different feelings and ideas. Many times, she chooses the color red and its different shades. These colors are sometimes evoking feelings, or being used to assist with evoking. Red is used to reference different things that are red, or used in addition to describe a symbol that stands for itself and a larger, more impactful meaning. Naomi’s life is a personal struggle, as well as a cultural journey in which color, more specifically…

Words 1238 - Pages 5

Ali Banisadr Essay

Yet,” and “It Happened and it Never Did,” he is committed to painting as a means of addressing the importance of both the visible and the invisible represented in art to reflect political conflicts in society. Ultimately, Ali Banisadr’s work demonstrates a dichotomy between a joyful celebration of abstract color and gestural forms, juxtaposed against a war-torn world in a poetic and lyrical manner. * The thirty-six-year-old Iranian born and current New York based painter, Ali Banisadr, believes…

Words 1843 - Pages 8

Arguments Against Environmental Racism

However, one pattern that is noticeable is that it is certain communities that seem to be facing the worst of these environmental misfortunes. When it comes to environmental regulation, communities that are disproportionately made up of people of color are not given the same treatment as others. This is referred to as “environmental racism” and it has justified environmental atrocities…

Words 1887 - Pages 8