The Color Of Water

Identity crisis is a hot topic recently. Because of the way world functioned in last decades, people are accustomed to particular behaviors. Many religions cultivate traditions that may seem outdated in a modern world. Judaism is one of them. This religion dates back to the Ancient times. The guidebook for Jewish people is Torah, where rules and principles are written down. (Hacket-Silberman, et al., 2020) The sacred text dates back to early beginnings of Judaism. Hence, this book may seem obsolete to the followers of other religions.

James McBride is a writer who wrote ‘The Color of Water’. The book is his tribute to his mother. The man was brought up according to a Jewish tradition. As he writes in the book: ‘I was born an Orthodox Jew on April 1, 1921, April Fool’s Day, in Poland’. (McBride, 2006) The author underlines the absurdity of the fact that he was born as a Jew because he did not feel as one. The protagonist of the book is Ruchel Dwajra Zylska.

With the use of her life, James present the reality of followers of Judaism.

The chapter ‘Death’ is focused around the story of how his mother moved to the United States and the history of her family. The woman describes her father as an Orthodox rabbi. The man did not marry for love and he was a person who would use every opportunity that could benefit him. The author juxtaposes his description with his mother’s mother characterization. Contrary to the father, Mameh was a gentle and docile woman.

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The woman was partially paralyzed and nearly blind on one eye but her character determined the way James described her. The characterization is full of love and remorse.

The chapter ‘Kosher’ clarifies slightly the traditions and demeanour ruling in the family. The role of men is definitely prevailing in this chapter. The fact that the father would use Mameh to enter the USA and threaten his family to send them back to an occupied country show the type of a relationship for this family. The corpus of this part of the book is death. McBride describes what should be done when somebody dies. The man also mentions feeling of the main character that are connected with the lack of knowledge in this topic. Another chapter that presents Jewish mentality is ‘School’.

James argues in this part of the story that Jews live in a world that is insulated from the outside world. Jewish people make deals, do not allow others to get them in the way and are not overprotective of their children. This is part of their culture and mentality and the source of pride. McBride do not directly criticizes such practices and underlines that it helps the children become more self-reliant at the very young age. ‘Boys’ is the chapter where the author opens up about their daily life. The attitude to relationships and monotony is presented here. Jewish girls do not marry for love. The women lead repetitive lives until they are a part of an arranged marriage. The story presents a clear account on why the identity crisis might happen. It shows the difficulty of following some principles and their pointlessness.