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1. In my opinion, James McBride is motivated since the start mainly by curiosity, on what was his mom's past, why is his mom a different skin as him and all of his brothers, why is his mother keeping her past untouched. So when he grows up, we can see that he understands the world in a better way, and realize that his mother's origins doesn't matter that much, what matters the most is that she is his mom.

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What experiences do you share with the characters?

I am fairly religious (catholic) and already gave a speech in front of the church to a lot of people when I was little, I remember being nervous at first, but it went alright.

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

I think that when I get older and (hopefully) have a son or a daughter, my mom should be really comfortable and caring with them, just like Ruth showed on the book with James daughter.

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

Jews are discriminated more than I thought they were.

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What did you learn about yourself or the world through this memoir?

Through this memoir, I learned that each family has their own issues and stories but in the end we are all equal and similar stories are happening all around the world all the time. Each story is unique in their own way, but that doesn't mean that people can't relate to you and your story. Value your stories even if they are not as crazy as others that you heard somewhere. So I think that at the end of the day, I can't compare my background to others, saying that I am better than them just because I had a tougher time than them. Try to look and evaluate everyone separately and don't try to be someone else or be better than someone else. Be proud of what you went through, and at the same time try to hear other stories because they might relate to you in one way or another.

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When Ruth was giving a speech to the New Brown church about how the church was made "I want you to know you are talking to a witness of God's word. It's real.", (McBride, 258). I think that this quote was important because of what Ruth went through and how she got there, with a change of religion after "escaping" her intense family and meeting a really good guy that ended up being her husband.

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Race/Ethnicity

Race identity and racism was really present in this week's readings. We could see Ruth getting judged on school just by being a Jew, Frances was her only friend. Later, she met Peter, a black boy that she fell in love with, and then she started questioning herself about being a Jew. James had a problem in school involving ethnicity too, he was always being judge by being black and even in the middle of a class some kid shouted "James is a nigger". This quote was important because it showed how bad black people were treated everywhere, even in classrooms, a place that you should be safe.

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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?

I already got discriminated because of my skin color.

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

My family is similar in a sense that sometimes me and my siblings make some chaos on the house and it is really hard for my parents to control it.

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

I learned about some struggles of people that I am not used to

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When James was talking about the food situation on his house, he said "there were never enough places at the table for everyone to sit, and there was always a mad scramble for Ma's purse when she showed up at two a.m. from work." (McBride 67), showing that they "fought" for food. I think that this type of situation is unacceptable in the human society, nobody should pass through not having a proper place to eat or to don't have enough food.

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1. How does the meaning of a text change as you reread it?

When you reread some parts of the book, like James thinking that his mom is crazy, it is easier to understand his mom's side and different perspectives

3. How might readers in different time periods or of different ages interpret the text?

Your age influences a lot on how you interpret the text, for example, it is easier for older people with children to relate to the mother's behavior instead of teens.

6. What was the work’s original intended audience? To what extent are you similar or different from that audience?

The intended audience was probably for people who can relate to the stories that James talks about with a mixed but loving family. I think that I am a bit similar to the audience, because I have people of different races and ways of living in my family, and at the same time we are all close.

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Find a quote in this chunk that stood out to you. Please also include a picture or GIF to further describe this quote.

On page 51, of The Color of Water, the mom was talking to his son about her color and the color of god and said "God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color.". This quote stand out to me because she believes that god loves everyone equally.

Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

Why did this quote stand out to you?

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Choose at least one of the following social issues that were present in this reading chunk. Discuss how this social force was present in a characters life. (Your response should be at least 5-6 sentences).

Religion

Religion was a huge part of the Mom's life. First off, she was an Orthodox Jew, because her parents taught her to be like that. Some of their costumes were really extreme, like only eating one type of meal per day. The problem is that she never understood why they did that kind of stuff. She ended up relating the Orthodox Jew life style to her dad, that did absurd things, like sexually abusing her. After she escaped her family, she married a black man and became a Christian.

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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?

My mom already forgot to pick me up from school one time.

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

It is different because I don't have any older siblings

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

I learned some things that Orthodox Jews need to do.

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Choose 3 Formalist Lens Questions to respond to. Your responses should thoroughly respond to the prompt in at least three sentences.

1. It is a recurring pattern that the son usually questions himself if his mother is weird, the patterns make the readers question themselves if the mother is weird or not

8. The mood in the mother's chapter is always sad and tense, and the mother in the son's chapter is always busy but calm.

9. The author used dialogue when the mother talks to the son, and it creates a more impactul moment, because they are talking directly to each other.