Published in 1996, James McBride reflects back on the lives of himself and his mother growing up in the Bronx, and the vast number of experiences that shaped both their lives. McBride poignantly reflects on the differences that unified his family, allowing McBride to successfully intertwine the two cultures as one by highlighting the differences between the two, and bringing the two together to convey that the two cultures are truly one, in the way his mother did for him. In order to promote the central theme of unity through faith in the color of water, author James McBride utilizes symbolism and juxtaposition to show the striking similarities between the cultures, despite the perceived stigmas that marred James and his mother’s childhood.
The book is set in chronological order with James and his mother alternating chapters. Throughout the book, the chapters represent the same idea, but the difference in cultures highlight the juxtaposition that was frequent and defined the early parts of both their lives. Setting the book in this chronological order allows McBride to highlight the limited thinking of society …show more content…
Water doesn't have a color.” (McBride 57), allowing faith to be the main purpose of life, all people and cultures can be unified. This is because when a person believes in god and religion, there are no cultures or colors, but rather one great mass of people that have one common ground of worshipping god, and all cultures can find a common ground, and through juxtaposition and symbolism, James and Ruth McBride show their path to that common ground in becoming one for God, and illustrate how that changed their lives from certain failure to great