Analysis Of Racial Boundary In The Color Of Water By James Mcbride

What is the difference between black and white or yellow and brown? There is really no difference in them when it comes to skin color and yet, so many of us struggle with the idea of race and that racial boundary. In the book, The Color of Water by James McBride, Jame”s perspective on racial boundaries and the difference of appearance throughout the book start with confusion, then to realization of how he and others are affected, and ending with overcomings any racial boundary he feels he has in life. The whole book consists of flashbacks of his moms and his own past. These flashbacks start all the way back from when he was little. As a kindergartener, james is really confused with his mother's appearance and why she is different.”I Began to notice something different about my mother, that she looked nothing like the other kids’ mothers. In fact, she looked more like my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Alexander, who was white.... I noticed that mommy stood apart from the other mothers, rarely speaking to them” (p.12). James was a black child with a white mother living in both a black and a white world. At this point in his life, he knows his mom is different, in one way being her skin color, but he doesn’t understand why this is. If his mom is white and he is black, does this change his future …show more content…
“‘Daddy, if Grandma is your mom, how come she doesn’t look like me or you?’... ‘ I gave her the only response I could. “I don’t know, but she loves us and that’s the most important thing”” (p.294). To James, race didn’t matter and he didn’t want it to matter to his daughter. He knew God made each on of them special and the love they have for others doesn’t depend on appearance or race. He didn’t want his daughter growing up with the thought of racial differences being a