The Color of Water by James McBride

The Color of Water by James McBride

Character analysis

Dennis McBride

Ruth McBride

Elizabeth Wilson

Honors English III

Dennis is Ruth's first husband and the biological father of James.

• Cultured and religious because he starts his own church and he shares his strong faith with Ruth and their family. "The man was the finest preacher I've ever heard to this day. He could make a frog stand up straight and get happy with Jesus. You never heard anything like him. He was not fire and brimstone. He brought God into your everyday life in a way that made you think heaven was right next door." -page 233, Dennis was cultured because he had many hobbies including music. "He played violin and read music and composed it, mostly classical and religious music." -page 193
• Inspirational because he brought Ruth closer to God and showed her the brighter things in the world. "My world expanded because of Dennis. He taught me about things I'd never heard of." -page 234
• Strong willed because he died from lung cancer but put up a hard fight for his family. "I know the Lord Jesus Christ will take care y'all should anything happen to me. Don't worry, Ruth. Just trust in God." -page 242

Ruth is the mother of James McBride, and the daughter of Rabbi Fishel Shilsky and Hudis Shilsky. She was a jewish immigrant and she married two black men and raised eleven children.

• Brave by stepping out and choosing who to love not based on race, "So it stands to reason that the first thing I fell in love with in life was a black man. I didn't do it om purpose. I was a rebellious little girl in my own quiet way, but I wasn't so rebelious that I wanted to risk my own life or anybody else's life." -page 107
• Intelligent because she teaches all her kids the importance of working and school, and as a result all her kids grow up to be successful. "Mommy has created her own nation, a rainbow coalition...But at age seventy-four, the president, CEO, and commander in chief of this here army still has the power." -page 277
• Spiritual by continuing to go to church every Sunday. Her faithfulness influenced the way she raised her kids and the way her marriage worked. "See, a marriage needs love. And God. And a little money. That's all. The rest you can deal with. It's not about black or white. It's about God and don't let anyone tell you different." -page 233

James McBride

Hudis Shilsky

James McBride is one of the Main narrators in the novel, and he is the son of Ruth and Dennis McBride. He is a dynamic character because throughout the book he develops from being a rebellious teenager that can't figure out where he belongs, to being a mature adult that finds his place in the world.

• rebellious at first "I began my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her...I quit church and avoided my deeply religious godparents. I was the first kid on my block to smoke cigarettes and reefer." -page 138
• learns to trust his faith "As a grown man, I understand now, understand how her Christian principles and trust in God kept her going through all life's battles, but as a boy, my faith was not that strong." -page 33
• curious to discover his heritage on his mother's side "On the seat next to me was a small map of Virginia with the town of Suffolk circled on it, and a hand-drawn map Mommy had given me. It had taken years to solicit this information about where she grew up." -page 205

Hudis is Ruth's mother, she suffers from polio, but keeps the family strong through hard times.

• Obedient by taking care of her husband and children no matter what the circumstances are. "Mommy staggered about in an emotional stupor for nearly a year. But while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. She responded with speed and motion. She would not stop moving." -page 163
• Kind to everyone, and she does not discriminate based on color. In this situation, she knew her daughter had been seeing a black man, and instead of completely shunning her, she helped her. "Mameh came up to me in the store a couple of days later while I was standing behind the counter and placed the bracelet on the counter. Real quiet.Just placed it on the counter and limped back to her chair by the door where she always sat in her apron, sorting and stacking vegetables. Why don't you go to New York this summer to see your grandmother? she said." -page 114-115
• Handicapped by polio but continues to push through it. "She was getting more ill. She had become nearly blind in her left eye and would black out. She wasn't a total cripple, not even when she was ill was she truly crippled." -page 197

Rabbi Fishel Shilsky

Rabbi Fishel Shilsky is Ruth's father and an orthodox jew. He has a general store in America, and he sells goods to the black community in Virginia.

• Racist because he constantly cheats blacks and gives them a disadvantage. "Well... he just disliked black folks. And he cheated them. Sold em' anything and everything and charged 'em as much as he could. If you owed him five dollars he'd make you pay back ten. He shot ol' Lijah Ricks in the stomach." -page 209
• Harsh to family by making his children work all the time while taking on the pressure of school. "We had no family life. That store was our life. We worked in there from morning till night, except for school, and Tateh had us timed for that." -page 41
• Not honorable because he has an affair with another woman during his marriage. "Their marriage was falling apart and I was in the middle. I'd translate, or not translate, between them. Tateh's affair became full-blown very quickly, the way I remember it." -page 199