The Color of Water by James Mc Bride

Objectives

By the end of this unit, the student will be able to:

1. Discuss the role of Judaism in the formation of Ruth’s character.

2. Discuss race as a factor in James’ search for identity.

3. Cite examples of racism in American culture.

4. Evaluate the importance of religious leaders in the community.

5. Analyze the efforts of the Shilsky family to be assimilated into American life.

6. Discuss anti-Semitism as it was experienced by Ruth’s family, including family members

in New York as well as the Shilsky family in Virginia.

7. Discuss the quest of the adolescent to become independent of his or her parents, and cite examples from Ruth’s story and James’ story to show milestones on that quest.

8. Evaluate the success of writing a book with two narrators.

9. Discuss the role of poverty in the formation of character, citing both Ruth and James as examples.

10. Discuss the significance of the many names by which James’ mother was known.

11. Recognize and discuss the rituals of an Orthodox Jewish household.

12. Comment on the importance of churches and church membership in black culture as shown

in The Color of Water.

13. Analyze the varying role of women in The Color of Water, using Mameh, Aunt Mary, and Ruth as examples.

14. Comment on the concept of family, illustrating the elastic nature of this concept in Ruth’s

life with her birth family, her mother’s family, her reception by the McBride family, her

approach to raising her own children, and her relationships with her children after they

reached adulthood.