The Color of Water Study Guide Questions Chapters 16 - 25

16 – Driving

1. What changes did James resolve to make when he returned to New York after Chicken

Man was killed?

2. What kept James from moving forward right away?

3. What was so ironic about Ruth’s decision not to drive?

17 – Lost in Harlem

1. How did Rachel meet Dennis McBride?

2. Describe Harlem as Rachel saw it in 1939.

3. Who was Rocky, and what was his role in Ruth’s life?

4. What prevented Ruth from becoming a prostitute?

18 – Lost in Delaware

  1. What caused the family to move to Delaware?
  1. What were the drawbacks of life in Delaware?
  1. What caused Ruth to rethink her decision not to drive?

4. Who was Mrs. Dawson, and what was her role in the new life James was making in

Delaware?

5. What revelation does James have as his mother puts him on the bus for college?

19 – The Promise

  1. What had brought Dennis McBride to New York?
  1. Who were Curtis and Minnie Ware, and how did they help Dennis?
  1. Who was Aunt Candis?
  1. What did Ruth and Dennis decide about marriage?
  1. What caused Rachel to return to Virginia?
  1. What was the state of her family when she returned to Virginia?
  1. How did Rachel’s father obtain his divorce from her mother?
  1. What is the promise that gives this chapter its title?

20 – Old Man Shilsky

  1. What does James learn about Mommy’s family when he travels to Suffolk?

2. Why does Eddie Thompson find it so humorous that James is Mr. Shilsky’s grandson?

21 – A Bird Who Flies

  1. How did Rachel and Mameh learn that Bubeh (Mameh’s mother) had died?
  1. How do Mrs. Shilsky and Dee-Dee react when Rachel leaves for New York? How does Mr. Shilsky react?
  1. What encounter does Rachel have at the bus station?

4. What parting gift had Mameh put in Rachel’s bag lunch? What was the significance of

the gift?

5.How does Rachel learn that she has been cut off from her family?

6. What causes Ruth to go into an emotional collapse?

7. How did the relationship between Dennis and Ruth become stronger in this period of

Ruth’s depression?

8. Why might Mameh have been fond of the birds she fed?

22 – A Jew Discovered

  1. Why did James return to Suffolk in 1992?

2. Ten years earlier, James had been in Suffolk on the same quest and had met Aubrey

Rubenstein. What had this encounter revealed?

  1. What does James come to understand as a result of his welcome by Aubrey Rubenstein and the other Jews in Suffolk?
  1. What does Aubrey Rubenstein send to Ruth?
  1. What revelation does James have in Suffolk?

23 – Dennis

  1. What incident illustrated the bond between Ruth and Dennis?
  1. What three elements does Ruth say a marriage needs to survive?
  1. What caused Ruth to pressure Dennis to get married?
  1. How did Dennis’ family react to the marriage?
  1. Describe the wedding between Ruth and Dennis.

6. When Dennis returned to North Carolina on visits, why did he not take Ruth?

7. How does Ruth describe the years she and Dennis lived in the one-room apartment in

Harlem?

  1. Where did they move next, and what were the attractions of their new apartment?
  1. What calling did Dennis get, and how did he respond to the calling?
  1. What event plunged the family into tragedy?
  1. What sustained the family after Dennis died?

12. What kind of help did the family receive from Ruth’s relatives in New York?

24 – New Brown

  1. In writing of the anniversary celebration of the New Brown Memorial Church, James sumsup his immediate family’s history as follows: “The old-timers at New Brown used to sayGod honored Rev. McBride. The man died without a penny, yet his children grew up tograduate from college, to become doctors, professors, teachers, and professionals all. It wasthe work, they said, of none other than Jesus Christ Himself.” (Pg. 251) Explain what thisquote means.

2. What mistakes did the new minister of the New Brown church make?

3. Why does the author compare his mother’s memory to a Bouncing Betty?

  1. Recount Ruth’s speech at the church’s anniversary dinner.

25 – Finding Ruthie

  1. This chapter contains a long conversation on the author’s coming to terms with his ownidentity and race. Summarize his outlook.
  1. What is the author’s educational background, and what has he done professionally?
  1. How does the author characterize the world of reporting?
  1. What was his alternative to work as a reporter?
  1. Why did the author want to write a book with his mother?
  1. Describe Ruth’s life after her children grew up.
  1. In August 1993, Ruth returned to Suffolk, Virginia, the town where she grew up. Describe this visit.
  1. Why does the author list Ruth’s children and their education?

9. How does he describe his mother’s power now that her family is grown