The Color Of Water Identity Analysis

Words: 613
Pages: 3

The Lost of Identity
In the book The Color Of Water by James Mcbride is a child growing up in New York, with his mother Ruth, throughout the story both Characters have the question “Who am I? And what is my purpose?”. The idea of Identity is having a purpose in life and having a choice who you want to be, James and Ruth have troubles finding the identity that defines it. The Role of lost identity affected James's life, experiencing racism, identity lost, confusion and, it creates a problem how James lived through his life.
The color of water could be defined as the way to find someone's identity, it teaches a lesson of how important identity is to people. In the book it stated “so I didn't have much jewish friends either”(81 McBride). In the book James is confused about his identity because he was biracial meaning that he was both african american and white, James was confused to what defined a person. Another Quote by McBride states “I realize that I never
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In the book we learn that James and Ruth had the same type of problem( not knowing who they are) James have questioned Ruth's past not knowing what to believe and not expecting anything. Eventually James found out Ruth past by going to suffolk a town where Ruth lived in. James have stated “ she looked nothing like the other kids mothers”(12). This quote could explain how McBride have felt throughout his life, not knowing her mother's past he felt alone, and different from the other kids. In Suffolk however he has found all Ruth's past and finally understanding what Ruth went through. In the book McBride also stated “ whatever I’m looking for I've found it”(228). When james found his mother's past, the lost of identity finally fades knowing who the kid standing in front of the mirror is. James finally understand that his mother's past also affected the future and have affected the question of