Characters
What does Hudis Shilsky suffer from her entire life?
Polio
How did Ruth’s brother Sam die?
World War II
Each chapter alternates between James' story and his mother's story. Which narrator is represented by the text in ITALICS?
Ruth
Why does Ruth say she is "dead" at the beginning of the novel?
Because her family disowned her when she left to marry a black man.
Who says to James, "Everybody on this corner is smart. You ain't no smarter than anybody here. If you so smart, why you got to come on this corner every summer? Cause you flunkin school!"
Chicken Man
What is Hunter Jordan’s job?
mechanic
What is "New Brown"?
The Christian church founded by Ruth and Dennis McBride.
Ruth says that "God is the color of water." What type of literary device is this?
metaphor
Who sexually abuses Ruth?
her father
What aspect of James’s life continues to haunt him, and causes issues with his work and personal life?
His mixed race
What promise does Ruth make to her sister, which she eventually breaks?
To move home
What does Aunt Betsy help Ruth with?
getting an abortion
theme
When did Ruth convert to Christianity?
After meeting Andrew (Dennis) McBride
Why did James work for Mrs. Dawson?
Because she offered to pay for his school trip to Europe, in exchange for him helping her around her house.
In what does Dennis McBride earn a degree in 1953?
Divinity/Christianity
What does Ruth’s mother find that reveals Ruth is seeing Peter?
A bracelet
What is the literary genre of The Color of Water?
memoir
In 1993, who does Ruth reunite with?
Frances
When James goes down to the Nansemond River at night in Suffolk, he leaves there feeling how?
Grateful
Who says, "The white man's education is not for me"?
Helen
What does the bicycle that Ruth rides symbolize?
her uniqueness
What 2 literary devices are used in this example?
“She had a behind as big as this living room”
simile, hyperbole
When living in New York becomes too expensive, where does Ruth move her family?
Delaware
What happens to James when Ruth enrolls him in summer school?
He gets thrown out
Among Ruth’s kids, which child sets the standard for good behavior and accomplishments?
Dennis
Who is Ruth referring to when she says, "...I heard a little noise coming from her bed. She slept in a little bed, by herself. I heard this little noise coming from her bed. and I knew she was crying."
Mameh
Ruth claims, she will never learn to drive a car, even though she was a good driver when she was younger. What literary device is this an example of?
irony
During her childhood, what was Ruth’s family’s response to death?
ignored it/repressed it/wouldn't discuss it
What is the first thing James learns about his mother when he returns to her hometown of Suffolk, Virginia.
Her name was Rachel.