The Color Of Water- Blog 3

Yay! We finished The Color of Water! So exciting! I have to say, I never really got too into this book to be honest, but I didn't necessarily dislike it either. I had a lot of "why" questions like why in the world would his mother keep having more and more kids if she was already financially unstable? I don't quite understand her reasoning on this. I also want to know why Ruth's first husband or one of his doctors didn't tell the poor woman that her husband had CANCER. Poor thing spent her whole life feeling guilty that she didn't know how sick he really was. I also thought it was wrong for Ruth to leave her sick mother behind. I don't care how unhappy or uncomfortable you are, you should always be there for your mom, especially if she's dying pretty much alone. I literally cried my eyes out during that part. I had to put my book down and go give my mom a hug. I couldn't imagine putting my mom through that, and Ruth had to live with the guilt of it her whole life.

One of the highlights of this book for me was when they brought Ruth home to Virginia and she reconnected with her childhood best friend Frances. They were the exact definition of "BFF" (best friends for life). It was so cute to see friends pick up right where they left off decades ago. I also found it a little strange that a McDonalds was built in the place of Ruth's family's store. The book never expresses Ruth's feelings toward this. I would really like to know what she thought about that.

I thought the story of this book was great and really inspiring. James's mom had to be extremely proud. That family's belief in Jesus was unlike anything I have ever heard of. Through all the bad in life, they always had hope that Jesus was going to come through for them and save them from all of the hurt and all of the bad, and he did. He gave that mother 12 highly successful children, which is all she ever wanted. I couldn't even imagine going through life this family lived, and I truly admire all of them for doing so. This book taught me a lot about the true meaning of "fitting in" and being happy with yourself no matter what the situation is. Just trust that God has a plan for you :)

Color of Water- Blog 2

This book keeps getting even more depressing! I swear, nothing worse could possibly happen to this poor family, the mom (Ruth) especially. I felt so bad for James while reading the part where he described playing with his reflection in the mirror. This was his way of envisioning himself living a better life, where he wasn't hungry all the time and where his mother wasn't white.

In chapters 10 through 18 of The Color of Water, we learn more about James's mother, Ruth's heartbreaking and inspiring story. I wanted to slap her father when he wouldn't let her walk through the Gentile church for her graduation. I don't blame her one bit for wanting to leave! She grew up in a world not trusting anyone enough to talk about her personal problems with. Even when she pregnant got pregnant at 15, she was too scared to tell her mother and even her sister. I do not know how this woman stayed sane whatsoever; I know that I personally would have left that house way before she did.

After James's stepfather dies, everyone kind of went off the deep end. James started slacking in school and became hooked on drugs and alcohol, and his mother took it extremely hard as well. Packing up and moving to Delaware was even harder on the family. I couldn't imagine trying to learn a completely different lifestyle like they had to. It was good for James, though. He started trying harder at school and even made it into college. I wanted to cry when he wrote about his mom crying when the bus drove away for him to go to college.

The more I read this book, the more I like it. It's growing on me! More coming soon :)

The Color Of Water- Blog 1

So if I could summarize the first part of *The Color of Water* in one word, it would be depressing. I seriously want to cry for this kid and his mother the entire time that I spend reading this book. It's just one thing after another for this family! When you think things can't possibly get any worse, they do. I could never ever in my wildest dreams imagine living in a family of 12 kids that fight for food and fight for affection. That's insane to me. And they aren't even just 12 regular kids; they are 12 MIXED kids that grow up during a time of segregation with only a white Jewish mom. That makes things 10 times worse. What James McBride, the author of the book, endured during his life amazes me and makes me feel extremely lucky for all that I have. 

One of the cutest things to me in this book so far to me was how James always took up for his mom and worried about her safety. When he was put on the bus to go to summer camp, he noticed this well-dressed black father dropping his son off for camp too. James almost even admired this man because of his nice clothes and cool handshakes, but as soon as James found out this man was a Black Panther he immediately dropped the admiration and worried for his mothers safety. He even punched the little kid! Another seen that truly struck my heartstrings was when James mom got her purse stolen at the subway. She didn't scream or anything, almost like she was used to it. It was so sooo sad to me to imagine seeing my mom in that position. I don't know what I would have done. And although she was oppressed by blacks and whites, James's mom didn't hate either. All she wanted in life was a good life for her family, which is why she pressed grades more than anything. 

James's mom's life story so far is extremely depressing too. Poor thing can't seem to catch a break anywhere. From being sexually abused, to having a handicapped mother, to having 2 husbands die and 12 kids to take of, to have absolutely none of her own family to help her out, to being the only white woman in a sea of black people, one might think the woman would go crazy, but somehow she didn't. She trusted that God would take care of her. That's so amazing to me that she had so much faith that everything was going to be okay, when it never had been before. She is one woman any girl could look up to. She did everything she could for her family.

So far, I like this book to an extent. I makes me rather sad though. Stay tuned for more blogs on *The Color Of Water*! :)

On Writing Essay :)

            Stephen King’s “Great Commandment” for aspiring writers is, “read a lot, write a lot”. King is a very firm believer in the commandment and clearly lets his reader know this through his book On Writing. King has always had a great love writing, even from a very young age, and he still continues with that love in his dedication to good writing today.

            Stephen King found his talent and love of good writing at a very young age. In first grade, he started writing his own “comic book” stories. He was obviously born a very creative; most kids would have never thought of doing this. I don’t think I could even write a full sentence in the first grade! In his first stories, he simply copied and enhanced one of his comic book stories. After hearing his mother say he needed to try to be original and make up one of his own, all he thought of were the endless possibilities. “There were more doors than anyone could open in a lifetime,” he thought. I feel like this was the moment King realized how fun writing was and that it was what he wanted to do the rest of his life.  The fact that he was sent to Center Grammar School as a kid while his brother attended Stratford Junior High also shows King’s and his family’s early dedication in a good writing background. When he was just eleven years old, King received a typewriter for Christmas from his mom. This showed that his mom truly believed in him because she probably couldn’t afford it easily. That typewriter was used to create many of King’s first failures early in life, but he was always dedicated to his writing and never gave up on his goals. He just kept on writing more and more. He saw rejections as constructive criticism and a reason to keep getting better. I love this attitude of Stephen King. Most people would have given up after their first couple of years of rejections, but King loved his writing too much to give it up. 

      

            King continued his dedication to good writing later in his life also. While sustaining many different jobs throughout his life, he always found the time to write. King believes that one should write a little each day in order to be successful. He thinks of good ideas for his writing in every aspect of his life. While working as a type of school janitor and cleaning the girls’ bathrooms, he thought of the beginning scene of his breakout novel Carrie. His dedication to writing followed him everywhere. Whenever something interesting happens in his life, his first thought is always about making the situation relevant to his writing. For example, after he is hit by a car and almost dies, the only thing he thinks about is the fact that the person that hit him is similar to one of the characters in his books. This might be a little bit obsessive to some people, but this strategy sure does work for him!

            Stephen King is very persistent in his belief that good writers should write a lot in order to be successful. He also believes that a writer should love writing and should want to find the time to write. Writing is almost as important as breathing to King, and I think in order for an aspiring writer to have success in this tough career choice, they should follow the great advice that King has written to them in On Writing.