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Sharing stories is like a fundamental part of human nature. It allows us to connect with one another on a deeper level. It also helps us find others and get support from others who have been or are in a similar situation.

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Dennis had a really strong passion for his music. He made the decision to leave his mother and pursue his career in music. He played the violin very well and he sang too. The music didn't make him any money and didn't do him any good. He was so invested in his musician career that he wasn't able to eat food or have a home. Dennis luckily had a friend who let him stay in an apartment rent free and his friend gave him money and food. Dennis then worked at Ruth's aunts factory and later met Ruth.

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The struggles Dennis and Ruth faces were something no one should ever go through. They constantly faced criticisms throughout their whole marriage and people didn't think their marriage would work because they were a interracial couple. They always heard people saying things about them, they got weird looks, people just didn't want them to be happy. Ruth and Dennis had loved each other so much and made the choice to get married. Ruth had left her family to be with Dennis which was a strong decision because she was going through a rough time, her sister wanted her to stay, her mother was very sick but Ruth still decided to leave. She also decided to let Jesus Christ in her life which was the best decision of her live. Even though she faced all the discrimination and criticism she was still happy that she married Dennis.

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Dennis passion for music wasn't like others. Dennis loved playing music so much, he moved to New York to pursue his career but that didnt work out " Dennis almost staved to death fooling around with that music" (McBride 194). It wasnt that fact that Dennis was bad at music, he was actually very good. The thing was no one wanted to sign a black man for orchestra or violin. They didn't give him the chance he deserved and because of that his music career went no where.

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The characters in the book are aware of the economic and social forces that shape their lives. The author, James McBride, reflects on his mother’s past and her journey from poverty to her hardship in America. Ruth, James’s mother encounters the harsh realities of class and race, which impacts her decisions and choices and the way she raises her children. James becomes conscious of these things as he starts to grow up, mainly during his time switching through different social environments and educational opportunities. The family’s experience in both white and black communities, highlight the class struggles and the effort to overcome them.

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James had recently been kicked out of school because of his grades and poor behavior. Then he went onto summer school but got kicked out of that. James was sent to his sister in Louisville because she was going to "straighten him up". James met "Chicken man" who was like a mentor to James. One day James had a little argument with Chicken man, he was saying how he was smarter than most people on the block. Then the chicken man said, " you ain't no smarter than anybody here. If you so smart, why you got to come on this corner every summer " (McBride 150). Chicken Man challenges James by questioning why he consistently returns to the same corner every summer if he's supposedly smarter than everyone else. This statement highlights the idea that intelligence alone doesn't guarantee success or the ability to escape difficult circumstances.

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Education wasn’t the same for James and his mother, Ruth, when they were traveling around. Ruth always wanted her children to have the best education they can have. In New York, James had went to a black schools that were mainly under resourced and were very crowded. Which were very different to the white schools because they were highly funded and had better educational opportunities. Then James had moved to Delaware. Delaware brought a different educational landscape than the other schools he had been to. The schools in Delaware were more integrated, they had more people that were a mix of different racial backgrounds. This was a change to the black schools he had attended to. James had felt like he was still receiving the same amount of discrimination and was being the same, but he had more opportunities and Delaware due to the fact that this school wasn’t under resourced.

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Whenever I reread the text, I'll be able to notice new details and understand whatever themes the author is trying to give. I might interpret the author's intentions differently. I can relate my own life to the authors text. There can be some literary devices that i'll be able to spot. The main thing is the way I see whats happening. I will be able to look at it in a different way and have a clearer understanding of what is happening.

Other people will read the text in their own lens of personal experiences. People from the time the book came out may be able to relate to the themes of racial identity. Which could be different compared to the lens in modern time. Someone more younger would probably see themes of identity, family and self discovery. Readers might be able to connect to the challenges and conflicts.

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James was talking about how he had an imaginary friend to escape reality and believed that his true identity was trapped in a mirror "The boy in the mirror, he didn't seem to have an ache on his face. He was free". This was basically a cry for help from James. He wanted to escape the pain and find some freedom.

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In James's life, education is both a beacon of hope and a battleground for equality. Growing up in a biracial family, he often finds himself in two different worlds, with education serving as a critical factor in his quest for self identity and trying to be accepted by others. His mother, Ruth, tells all her kids how important an education is. She says its a way out of poverty. The thing is, it is hard for them to learn because of the daily challenges they face from the other students and people. James tells her about the harsh reality of educational inequality. They don't have access to quality education, it is not given but it is a privilege. In James's eye we see the education system as a social issue that is deeply having problems with equal opportunity.

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A major event that had happened is that Ruth, had talked bout her relationship with her father. We found out that her father was not a great guy and used to do things to her. I think the author said this to show how Ruth's life was and how much her life changed.

It had been mentioned a few times that Ruth doesn't miss her Jewish culture. Before she had converted to Christianity her had not liked her life because of all the restrictions and the way they lived. When she converted to Christianity she had felt like a whole new person and feels better than ever.

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"God, I hate him".

Ruth was telling us about her relationship with her father and what kind of man he was. She had mentioned that he wasn't a very nice guy and he was also a racist. He had a store on the black side of town because he would make the black people pay more money for things compared to the white people. She then said that her father use to do things to her sexually and she had not told anyone except her son. Before telling her son about that, she had not mentioned it to a single person. It took her a lot of gut to say that to her son but, she also felt like her son deserved to know what kind of person Ruth's father was.

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Ruth is a Jewish immigrant who had been married to a black man. This was such a controversial decision in her time. This lead to her family not wanting to do anything with her. Ruth has had some experience with racism. People judge her because of her color. She is a white mother of 12 black kids. People often think she is the adopted mother of these kids. She manages to stay resilient throughout all this. She raises her 12 black children to be proud of their black heritage and to value the education that they have. They think of their education as a privilege.

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In what ways was this chunk a window or a mirror? Use the following questions to guide your response, but really we want to hear your personal thoughts and reactions to this chunk!

What experiences do you share with the characters?

In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

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I don’t have anything to relate to right now but I do see how James is facing many challenges and his main struggle is understanding who he is. Throughout the chapters we do see James character change a significant amount. First he was involved with a gang because he didn’t know who he was and he thought he had fit in with the gang. While he was involved with this gang he saw his life coming apart. The gang was him trying to hide from his real life and all the challenges he was facing but the gang made his life even worse. James went from being a 4.0 student to flunking on grades and not even attending school. He gets kicked out of school and has to go to summer school but James gets kicked out of there too. He spent most his days robbing and smoking weed. Ruth was fed up with all this so she decided to send James to his sisters to get “straighten up”. Once James was in Louisville, his prospective on life changed. He realizes that if he continued to live how he was, he would end up living a horrible life and he didn’t want that. Chicken man was a big part of James finding apart of his identity. With chicken man offering guidance and support, James was able to find and gain a deeper understanding of himself and the world around him.

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I feel like James and I have the same experience of searching for self identity. As of now, I still don't know what my passion is or what makes me who I am. I know that I am different than others but I don't know what my values or beliefs are, I'm sure all of this will come eventually and probably soon but as of now, I am also having the same experience James has had. James has a hard time fitting in with the other people because he stands out more than others and because of this, he is left out most of the time. James also doesn't know why people are like that towards him. He believes it's because of his Jewish heritage or because his family is of color and his mother is not. He still doesn't know what his passion is or his beliefs. As of now, I can relate myself to James with the problems of searching for self Identity.

My family is different from James's. I can't think of a time where people have looked at us differently or have judged us because of the way we look. I have a Hispanic family and most of them are a little dark like a brownish color. Out of all the people my mother is the lightest one, similar to James's mother. Except, I haven't personally experienced a time where someone has tried to be racist or said something about how she is more different than her family.

From reading some of James's experiences, I have learned that some people deal with a problem of being racially profiled or being seen differently which causes other people to treat them differently. James has heard people say things about him, his family and his Jewish heritage. After reading this, I realized there must be more kids than we know going through a similar experience. I just don't understand why people have to treat others differently because of their color or how they look different compared to their family. This is a problem that is still ongoing.