Cause and Effect, Essay Example

The memoir Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride raises vital social, racial, and cultural issues.  Being the member of a multiracial family, McBride wanted to find explanations of urgent problems of racism and prejudice which received no interpretation in his family. The author attempts to struggle against embarrassment of his “light-skinned” mother and fear for her security. He aims at determining his identity trough uncovering the background of his eccentric mother’s story who. Their autobiographical interwoven narrations reveal the reasons why Ruth McBride had to keep her origin in secret, even from her family. She explains her eagerness to forget about her younger years, associated with her father’s mistreatment, his harsh racist views, ceaseless hard work as a child, and constant threats of violence.

Evidently, the primary reason why Ruth did not tell about her ethnic and religious heritage was her wish to forget about the tough moments of her adolescence and her feeling of shame. Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) came to the USA at the year of two. The first years after the immigration, the Shilsky family often relocated to earn their living. All the efforts of Ruth’s father, Fishel Shilsky or Tateh, to become a rabbi failed. Finally, the family settled in Suffolk, Virginia. The children had to work hard in their general store. Ruth’s father molested her, which was naturally not the best episode of her childhood.

At that time, the African Americans were enduring considerable racial tension in that region. Moreover, that period was associated with threat not only for African Americans, but for Jews, too.  Ruth could observe her father’s mistreatment of the black population; he regularly overcharged black people.

Subsequently, Ruth did not tell about her family, because it would be hard to explain to her twelve African American children why she was dead to her relatives. The decision to marry Andrew Dennis McBride, James’s African American father, caused her separation from the family. Parents carried out the rituals (to say Kaddish, to sit shiva) which employ the death of a relative or friend in Judaism. After converting to Christianity, Ruth began to profess the principle of forgiveness. She wanted to protect her children from blaming their grand-fathers for racism.

One more cause why Ruth McBride would not admit that she was white was that she was against the idea of skin-color distinctions. Her two husbands were black; the race meant nothing to her. When she began living together with her first husband Dennis, she became part of unity in Harlem. She was moved when community tried to support her with food and clothes after his death.

Obviously, these events of Ruth’s had serious consequences for her future life. On the basis of her parents behavior, she made some conclusions concerning growing up the children, their education, religious views. She understood the importance of education for prospective career; she tried to provide her children with decent and college education, because education was a privilege. Ruth made her children realize the value of education and steady religious believes.

Ruth had to overcome many hardships. Still, her faith in God, kindness to people, devotion to children supported her all the time. Life challenges of white Jewish woman, twice married to African Americans, in the years of severe persecution did not embitter her. Even the indecent behavior of her father did not dominate her childhood memories. She spoke of happy moments, like holiday preparations with her mother or friendship with Frances whose family always welcomed her in spite of her ethnicity and religion.

Tracing his mother’s past, James aims to define his future. The story applies journalistic approach to writing, but it also involves bright displays of intimate feelings of gratitude, pride and admiration of the son towards his strong mother. The story of Ruth shows firstly her children and other readers how to overcome hardships and what values to keep to.