1 Warming up by introducing yourself to twelve new tone words: List 3
- 4th hour: If you haven't yet joined our Quizlet class, click HERE.
- 6th hour: If you haven't yet joined our Quizlet class, click HERE.
2. Reading The Color of Water and blogging to prepare for today's silent Socratic
- A Ms. Leclaire tip: Focus on Movement and Multiple Meanings.
- In other words, as you near the end of the book, starting piecing together the patterns and what larger purpose they serve.
3. Delving into Chapters 21, 22, and 23 in a silent Socratic discussion
HW:
1. By Tuesday: Finish the book. Finish your blogs. The end.
2. If you were absent on Wednesday or had trouble finding your writing groove, make sure you walk in tomorrow with some memoir draft.
3. Open-note, open-neighbor "quiz" tomorrow on Grammar You Must Know #7: Sentence Fragments.
I'm really hoping someone will talk about page 229. No pressure.
ReplyDeleteWhat did McBride mean by "I had to sit down and cover my face. I had no tears to shed. They were done long ago?"
ReplyDeleteWhat is he talking about when he says that the tears were done long ago?
I think he meant that the character had been exposed to what was happening so much that they became numb to it.
DeleteI think he has already had many traumatic things happen to him and he has no more tears for this one.
DeleteThat he had already shed his tears a long time ago. He already was sad about what he has/hasn't found and new information won't shake him like it used to.
DeleteHe reminds me a little of the mother when he says this (I feel like she's always wanting to leave the past in the past). In this chapter, I think James McBride is finally experiencing a deep empathy for his mother...he's starting to understand the pain of her upbringing and her reluctance to dig up the past.
DeleteI think he said that, because he put himself in his grandmothers shoes and started thinking about all she had to go through (an unloving husband and loneliness), which caused him to sit down for a little while in sadness. And for the second part of the quote, where he talked about how the tears had been shed a long time ago, I think he was talking about his grandmothers tears and how she was already gone.
Delete"The uncertainty that lived inside me began to dissipate; the ache that the little boy who stared in the mirror felt was gone."(229) How do you think that it relates to the chapter title A Jew Discovered?
ReplyDeleteI think he may have discovered part of his heritage
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DeleteWell after reading the whole chapter I think that the "Jew" that was discovered was himself. He finally realized why he was researching his mother's family. He felt all the pain and loneliness of the town. He felt what his mother must have felt while she was living there. He also realized how difficult it must have been in that town for her and her family.
DeleteI think he learned about himself and his religion. This is why he was so interested in his mother's life.
Delete(pg) 229- "My own humanity was awakened, rising up to greet me with a handshake as I watched the first glimmers of sunlight peek over the horizon." Is this a hero's journey sort of thing with this as the turning point?
ReplyDeleteI think it's more near the end of the hero's journey when the protagonist realizes something new, rather than the turning point.
DeleteI hadn't thought of it this way, but I should have. I think the whole time the narrator THINKS he's been on a journey to uncover his mother's past, but he's actually been a journey to learn something about himself. What part of his new understanding of himself/his mother is he shaking hands with? Was the trip to Suffolk kind of a trip to the underworld?
DeleteIn reply to Mrs. Leclaire, I think this often happens with finding something out about yourself. Wether it's trying to find more out about your mother or even just find out more in a sport/school, you learn a lot about yourself while searching for answers so heavily. Will you push through or give up?? Maybe his trip to Suffolk was him leaving his old self in the underworld and becoming new? Sort of like a snake shedding off the skin that is dragging it down and doesn't need anymore.
DeleteWhy did McBride take 10 years to go back to Suffolk, Virginia?
ReplyDeleteHe was trying to process what he heard when Thompson said "Rachel, Glaydys, Sam, and the parents. Rachel was a kind hearted one". I think he was trying to figure out why she would leave everything behind.
DeleteDo you think the synagogue journey was beneficial to any questions he had going into Ch. 22 and why?
ReplyDeleteI think the synagogue journey was extremely helpful. He learned about his grandfather and what it was like for his mother to grow up in a Jewish society. Also, he already had a lot of information on his mother, but didnt entirely know how it connected. But after the journey to the synagogue and talking with Rubenstein and the Jaffe family. Also, I think the journey was good for him, because he realized not all white people are racist. But the reasoning for that was because they were Jewish.
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ReplyDeleteAmazing, amazing questions.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think the purpose of James going out to find information on his mother's past is? Is he doing it for his personal gain or to help his mother?
ReplyDeleteI want you guys to keep asking yourself this question as you compose your own tribute memoirs. As you uncover information about your relatives, what are you discovering about yourself?
Delete"I know you're gonna marry a shvartse. You're making a mistake." Pg. 215 when Tateh and Rachel/Ruth were arguing. How do you think that Tateh found out about Rachel/Ruth's relationships with African Americans?
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of chapter 23 she talks about how blacks treated her better then whites. Does this show anything about the whites in this time period?
ReplyDeleteIt showed how whites weren't respectful of anyone. They were mean to the Jews because they had different rituals and were rude to black people because of the color of their skin.
Deletei think it also shows that skin color did not matter. It was more that if you aren't with them your against them.
DeleteWas the chapter A Jew Discovered about the son discovering who he was, or just a part of his heritage.
ReplyDeleteI think James is in the process of finding himself right now, hence why we see him taking things up like music and jazz. I think he is trying to learn more about his past so he can decide who he is now.
DeleteI feel like you can look at it either way, his heritage sort of helped him discover who he was.
DeleteI think this chapter is about James coming to peace with his Identity. he is accepting the Jew in his and the black in him.
DeleteYes, Riley S. Yes!
DeleteOn page 229 he talks about how he could feel his grandmothers pain in his blood, why does he feel this, and what does it say about the connection between his family members?
ReplyDeleteI feel like he had a close relationship with his family because he is upset and wants to live his life differently than his grandmother did.
DeleteThe title of chapter 22, (A Jew Discovered), do you think the Jew discovered was actually him or just his Jewish roots and him accepting them?
ReplyDeleteI wondered the same thing. He seems to accept (or at least address) his Jewish heritage in a way here that I didn't see earlier in the book. I think the mother associated her Jewish heritage with the abusive childhood she wants to leave behind, so the narrator hasn't had much exposure to it.
DeleteI think it was actually himself, because he didn´t know much about his Jewish heritage, but after this chapter he learned a lot about his past. So I think the chapter relates to him discovering his own Jewish past.
DeleteI think that he is talking about himself in this chapter. When he meets with Rubenstein, he realizes that the legacy that he left behind is a jewish one. His mom was Jewish, and for someone who is just meeting him, it wouldn't be such a crazy assumption that he is jewish.
Delete"'My husband is in there,' and they got so cold and disgusted. They talked about me right in front of my face and walked away." -243
ReplyDeleteThe doctors shouldn't be just judging and being so rude like that.
I agree, but it was also normal for those things to happen during the time period. Many people were rude simply because they were used to everyone else being rude.
DeleteI noticed that religion is relevant in this book a lot. Why is it so important?
ReplyDeleteAt least in Christianity everyone is the same. Everyone are either brothers or sisters. Nothing is different between them.
DeleteMaybe because when we think of this time period and this book we only think about race and not the religious part of his life.
DeleteI feel like just because religious and racial segregation were all just so big during this time that they had to bring religion into it enough to just describe everyones morals and how they go about their daily life.
DeleteI think it is important because part of people's identity is their religion. Some people are defined by it. When our main characters are trying to break apart from what they have been taught and displease their family, I can see how it would be a prominent factor in this book.
DeleteThe Jews in the book are all bound by family and the Christians have only there belief to hold on to some times so i think thats why religion is so important.
DeleteA lot of what the book is based on the treatment of the Jewish, at least early on. I think this set up everything that's happened in the life of the narrator and what set up him learning to become himself and find out what that truly means.
DeleteReligion is the reason James's mother left her family. She also found out who she wanted to be and what she wanted to believe in because Dennis showed her a new faith. Faith seems to be a driving force in the book. Faith is the one thing that James's mother can go back to. Her faith never leaves her unlike when her husbands die and her children leave.
DeleteIt plays a big role I believe because it is very hard for someone who has grown up being Jewish to just leave everything they believe in and convert to christianity.
DeleteAt the beginning of chapter 23 the mother is assaulted by an African American women in her apartment complex and to rectify her actions she claims that the mother is disrespecting her, how were her actions disrespectful towards this women
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 21 towards the end she said "A bird who flies is special. You would never trap a bird who flies" What did you think about this quote? Do you think this would have affected James? How do you feel it affected the mother?
ReplyDeleteI see it as everyone is a bird and we shouldn't cage anything that we want to do. We can spread our wings.
DeleteI think it was a reflection on Rachel's mothers behalf on how she saw her children. She really had hope to the fact that she wanted them to be individuals and leave behind this life that was damaging above all else
DeleteI think this quote is important because as a child Ruth always felt trapped under her parents rules and their over bearing authority, so what she is signifying is that if someone is already free and doing their own thing, you should never try confining them. Relating to how she saw her young life.
DeleteMaybe this quote is saying that you wouldn't stop someone who is succeeding, and happy with who they are. The Mom is probably saying that her family wouldn't trap her into staying because she is happy in New York and "flying."
DeleteI think this quote relates to the idea of freedom and of parents letting go of their children. The chapter that this quote is in is about Ruth/Rachel leaving her family for good and then freeing herself from guilt after her mother's death. I think Ruth/Rachel uses this memory of her mother to justify her own actions because it allows her to believe that her mother didn't want her to be trapped by family or by guilt, but wanted her to "fly off so [she'd] be free again."
DeleteRuth says: “I called my sister Gladys, who was living in Queens. “You promised you wouldn't leave,” she said. I told her I was sorry. But she wasn't really pleased to hear from me. “Call me tomorrow,” she said but when I called the next day her husband picked up the phone and said, “She doesn't want to speak to you. Don't ever call here again,” And he hung up on me.” pg 246
ReplyDeleteIt had been around 16 years since she left her sister behind yet her sister is still holding this grudge. Why couldn't she let go of that anger?
Gladys / Dee-Dee is an interesting character. I got the sense that in Jewish culture, when someone is "dead," to you, they're "dead" for good. I wonder if Dee-Dee, like many characters in this book, felt torn between two worlds. I think she probably wanted to reach out to her sister, but her upbringing/beliefs prevented her from doing so.
DeleteI feel like if my family left me I would be very sad and disappointed. My question is why didn't Ruth try and call earlier or do something to go try find her earlier than the 16 years apart?
DeleteI thinks she is having such a hard time letting go of her anger because when she was younger Dee-Dee had no one to talk to and since she broke a promise it was a big deal and she doesn't want anyone to forget it.
DeleteI feel like in any relationship it hurts when somebody you really care about leaves so I think shes really upset because it hurt when her sister left her and its really hard to forgive them especially when they promised not to leave you
DeleteI said this to my 4th hour as well, but if you're looking for a good starting place, I highly recommend page 229.
ReplyDeleteIs the whole situation with her mom and dad and leaving why she doesn't talk about them and the rest of her family? Although she did let them down she did what she wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteI think that she never brought up her family was that fact that she never wanted her child to understand the kind of pain she felt and by never bringing them up she was able to mask that with that harsh personality she has now.
DeleteWhy do you think it's important for James to discover and look at his Jewish roots?
ReplyDeleteI think it would b good for him because he tries so hard to discover other parts of where he came from (mainly his mom) and this can help him to uncover more and learn more about himself
DeleteI think that it is important for him to discover his roots because it is important to know about his culture because in chapter 22, he talks about how he wants to enter the synagogue to find his roots and also tell his children about his roots
DeleteMichael Sullivan
I think its a way for him to connect with his mom on another level his siblings and him never had as a child.
DeleteI think James is kind of lost and looking for something to define him. Looking back at his mothers life and filling in some of those blanks will help him grow alot. I also think not ever meeting his birth father contributes to the desire to know more about his mothers life growing up and her life with dennis
DeleteA lot of his mothers life was secret or something that was chosen not to be discussed, so him discovering and digging deeper into this jewish roots might help him find out more about her since that was such an influential part of her life it may also bring them closer together.
DeleteI agree with what Aidan said. James learning more about his Jewish roots is like him finding the puzzle pieces the puzzle pieces of his Mother's life and putting them together to truly understand why she is the way she is
DeleteI think it is important for him to get to know his mothers past and the Jewish part of him because he needs to find that before he can find himself.
DeleteI think it allows for him to understand more fully where his mother is coming from. Now he knows how she was raised and is no longer deprived of who he is.
DeleteI believe he really just wants to be able to understand why he is who he is by understanding what made his mother who she is
DeleteI think it is only normal for someone to want to know and find out where they came from, and how they got to this point, and who helped to shape their life, indirectly.
DeleteI think it's important for him to know where he comes from and by learning where he comes from I think he has a new found respect for his mother's background.
DeleteI think james just wants to know where he comes from and no more about his mom .
DeleteHow do you think Mameh felt when she found out that Bubeh was dead but that they didn't even tell them directly?
ReplyDeleteI think that probably made her feel even worse than she did on a daily basis. She never did anything to her family yet they treat her so horribly and with such hate which is something I don't understand at all. They couldn't even bother to write a letter to her that was in a language she could understand.
DeleteI think she seemed really sad because she found out with something saying 3 bedrooms available. If I met someone and was close with them I would want to know if they died at least with like a letter or something not just saying that the bedrooms were available.
DeleteI think she was probably very upset not only because Bubeh had passed away but also because they didn't even have the decency to tell Mameh personally.
DeleteIt bothers me how unwilling Tateh is to communicate with his own wife. The business of giving bad news is always left up to Ruth, which stinks. It helps me understand Ruth, though, and why she's so closed off when it comes to her past. She's tired of being other people's "translator," even if this means refusing to communicate openly with her own son.
DeleteWhy does religion takeover the whole mood of the book, what is so significant?
ReplyDeleteThe mom changed her religion to be with the one she loved so religion playes a huge part in this book from the get go
DeleteI think religion was extremely important in their family because they didn't have much money so a lot of their faith was in something bigger, God, as opposed to knowing they had the money to get themselves out of a bad situation.
DeleteReligion is significant in this book, because it has shaped who Ruth is. Growing up Jewish and struggling with her identity which impacted how she feels about other people, and understanding that people aren't what they look like or what the believe in. Also being a Christian helped her get through the tougher times in her life, which has impacted who she is and where she is in life.
DeleteI think the aspect of religion shows alot about the characters and how they shift through out the book. With Ruth, her growing up jewish contributes a lot to how she chooses to go about things and hows everything plays out in her life, like her choosing to leave her mom and sister. I think also that after her mom dies, her conversion to Christianity plays a big role in her accepting her moms death and moving past it
DeleteReligion is a very big part of the book because in the mothers early life is was a huge weight on her shoulders that her parents, mainly her father, had put on her so she is always going to carry that over with her for the rest of her life flooding into her children lives as well.
DeleteI think religion is important in this book because normally religion encompasses people morals and shows why they make the choices that they do.
DeleteI think this part of the book is where the narrator distinguishes his view of religion from his mother's view. His mother associates her Jewish heritage with the traumatizing childhood she endured, so she has no interest in it. She dismisses it entirely. The narrator doesn't have this same history of trauma, so he can see the goodness in Judaism and has a more open mind to it.
DeleteI think religion is so significant in the book because it is a huge part of who she was and how James was raised.
DeleteI think religion is really important for a few different reasons. It is used to represent the different phases of Ruth's life, based on what church she is affiliated with and her general attitude towards it. Also, it has a lot to do with her interactions with other characters, for example, when she was Jewish Orthodox it was associated with her feelings of Tateh and separated her from many of the other people in Suffolk. The New Brown memorial church associates with Dennis, and all of Ruth's friends in the city.
DeleteI think religion is a really important undertone to what drives our nature as people and how a set of beliefs really shape who we are.
Delete"My own humanity was awakened, rising up to greet me with a handshake as I watched the first glimmers of sunlight peek over the horizon." Is this a hero's journey sort of thing with this as the turning point? pg.229
ReplyDeleteYes! Was the trip to Suffolk a trip to the Underworld, in a way? What is the narrator finally shaking hands with?
DeleteI feel like it is. James finds out a lot about his history and even gets to experience it. He talked about life being the most important thing, and religion is second to that. I think that this applies to race as well. Race is not nearly as important as life.
DeleteWhen I read this in the book I thought of this as like the light at the end of the tunnel and that you can see it but your not there yet. I never thought about it in the way of a hero's journey that's a really great way to think about it! I think it totally could be that way!
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ReplyDeleteI agree I think that James seeing where his mother grew up helped him get a sense of the other half of who he is.
DeleteOn page 246 Ruth calls her sister and her sister tells her to call her tomorrow. When Ruth calls her the next day her sisters husbands answers and tells Ruth that her sister doesn't want to talk. Did Gladys change her mind about talking to her or did she have no intention to talk to Ruth in the first place?
ReplyDeletewhy do you think her sister had to lie to her about not wanting to talk?, why could she have not just told her she didn't want to talk
DeleteI don't really think she had any intention of talking to her ever. I think she could've cared less about what was going on with Ruth because she had lost contact for so many years after they ended on a bad note.
DeleteI think he really didn't want to talk to her because she just had that huge grudge but couldn't tell her it to her face. So she told ruth to call her the next day.
DeleteWhy do you think Rachel feels guilty/ responsible other her moms death?
ReplyDeleteI think it's because she wasn't there for her and left her and her father behind while she went back to New York. She wanted to go but was talked out of it, leaving regret.
DeleteI think that she feels as though she was not there enough for her mother when she was dying.
DeleteI thinks she feels guilty because her leaving was kind of selfish and it was her responsibility to take care of her mother. So maybe if she didnt leave, her mother would not have died.
DeleteI think she feels guilty because she wasn't there, she didn't get to say bye to her mother and she basically abandoned her.
Delete"I had no tears to shed. They were done long ago, but a new pain and a new awareness were born inside me." Page 229.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think is making this situation more painful than from when she as younger?
I'm not sure if this is necessarily more painful, I think it is just a new type of pain
DeleteI think that it becomes more painful because she did not make up with her family and will therefore hurt her more
DeleteMichael Sullivan
I think it makes a true statement about the people back then, when she is talking about how each race treats her, and that how the blacks treated her better than the whites did, and that says a lot, since she is a white woman.
ReplyDeletethis is interesting, do you think this could be because black people were still searching for respect from whites, while white people didn't think they needed respect because they already felt supperior?
Delete"When I called the rabbi of my mother's old synagogue he spoke to me with nostalgia nor surprise, only grudging recognition" p. 222 Why do you think that the rabbi is so disrespectful to James in this scene considering his grandfather was the town's rabbi and was respected?
ReplyDeleteMichael Sullivan
I think it entirely has to do with race. A lot of the people in the town were very racist and very against black people and white people having any kind of relationship, which is exactly what Ruth did. They were so against it in fact they had their version of a funeral for her. So maybe this rabbi felt the same way Ruth's dad did about interracial relationships.
DeleteI think she feels guilty because she knew how sick she was but she chose to leave either way. And before she left her dad made it clear that she was responsible for the store and for her mom
ReplyDeleteyeah
DeleteWhy do you think Dennis's family is so excepting to Rachel?
ReplyDeleteI think that they have experienced racism themselves and seen how horrible it is and they decide to accept Ruth for who she is and not the color of her skin.
DeleteI think they were so accepting of her because they loved Dennis and trusted the choices he would make, so if one of his choices is to bring Rachel into their house they will trust that it is the right choice to make.
DeleteI think they are so accepting because they are in no place to judge her especially because they go through things as well and maybe they also think that ultimately God is the only that can judge someone.
Delete“The few problems I had with black folks were nothing compared to the grief white folks dished out. With whites it was no question. You weren’t accepted to be with a black man and that was that.” pg 232
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the black people were so much more accepting than the whites were?
I think they were more accepting because they knew what discrimination felt like especially about things you can't change or manipulate to conform to other people's ideas of the ideal
DeleteIt might be because the white people at this time are seen as superior, and that the black people understand what it feels like to be judged, and discriminated against, making them more accepting because they have been in that situation before.
DeleteThere was such a fear, stemming all the way back from times of slavery, of races mixing. White people during the 19th and early 20th centuries were terrified of black people rising to power, perhaps because they worried about losing their high standing in society.
DeleteI think it's the fact that they understood what it's like to feel like less by everyone around and that with a community any situation isn't as worst as it seems
DeleteI think that the mother made a good point when she was talking about how mixed couples were treated back then verse now. She talked about how mixed couples could be killed if people found out back then. I can't believe that.
ReplyDeleteYea crazy to think about how fast times change. Sure theres problems nowadays, but not to that extent.
DeleteAlong with this, I think its crazy how Ruths dad was willing to sort of disown her if she decided to marry a black man.
Delete"Part of me died, when Dennis died" 244
ReplyDeleteIn this book, I have noticed there has been a lot of figurative death and literal death.
Why do you think death is such a big focus in the book?
I feel like death just is a part of life and you might not know someone very well but their death still affects you no matter e=what because you could know of them or know them it still will effect lots of people in many ways.
DeleteI think that deaths really do shape who we are either literal or figurative. I don't dwell on death but i can say I'm definitely a different person since before my great grandfather and great great aunt died a few years ago
DeleteGreat observation! Keep thinking about this as you finish the book--one of the final chapters starts with a discussion between the narrator and his mother regarding where she wants to be buried (it's actually a little funny).
DeleteI think death is a big part of the book because everyone goes through it, not only in the individual sense, but things we surround ourselves with can also die which can directly affect us.
DeleteI think death has a great impact on everyone whether you knew that person well or not like Allie said so I think there is a big focus on death in this book because it was such a prevalent thing in her life.
DeleteTying back to Jay's comment about the hero's journey, heroes must undergo a metaphorical (and often near-literal) death. What's being reborn in these final chapters?
Delete"The Jew in me was dying anyway, but it truly died when my mother died" Do you think she had any intentions of being religious again before she met Dennis, after she stopped being Jewish?
ReplyDeleteThis topic kind of fascinates me. I wonder: if you're raised believing in God, does that belief change if you change religions? I feel like there might be a tie back to the title of the book here, but I haven't really figure it out yet.
Deletei think she had an open mind towards it, growing up Jewish, maybe she didn't know what other religions were about and what they believed in. When Dennis came along I think she had an open mind and saw how it was impacting Dennis, so she wanted to be apart of that.
DeleteI think it was something definitely in the back of her mind but I don't know if she thought it as a top priority especially with all the responsibility she had with her children
DeleteI feel like the one person she really felt guilty about leaving behind was her mom so once she died, the Jew in her was officially gone
DeleteOn page 229, McBride writes, "The uncertainty that lived inside me began to dissipate; the ache that the little boy who stared in the mirror felt was gone." What exactly was that uncertainty and ache and why was it healed by this trip to Suffolk in particular? Does his awareness of his grandmother's suffering inform his identity? Change his perspective?
ReplyDelete"...the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life...Next to that, all the rules and religions in the world are secondary; mere words and believes that people choose to believe and kill by" 229. What does this realization say about James and his journey? I agree with this statement. People were so racist because they had learned the behavior from others around them. This realization would not have been possible without all of the struggle that James had endured. People get so caught up in the world around them that many times they forget about what is truly important. What did you think about this quote?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the mom gave up her Jewish religion so quickly and excepted Dennis's religion?
ReplyDeletepg 226 " I never heard them knock anybody for being white or black or green or Christian or Jew or Catholic" I think this quote showed me that not everybody in that time period was driven by stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteChapter 21 - A BIrd Who Flies
ReplyDeleteWhy was the news of Bubehs death very hidden or secretive? It almost seems like they don’t want Ruth to find out. The way they tell her is by telling her that there is a vacant 3 bedroom apartment - which she realized Bubeh has once owned. I wonder how her families vagueness made Ruth feel. Ruth's father and sister were very angry at her for leaving. Her father claimed it was so that she could marry a black man, and that she should never come home if she did. Why can the family not support Ruth? I thought that because their Judaism had caused racial conflicts, they would be more accepting of other races.
Chapter 22 - A Jew Discovered
First off, this chapter title confuses me, because it is James's chapter and his chapters are usually dedicated to black inequality. James continues to explore Suffolk and finds the synagogue his mother went to. How does learning about his mother make James trust her more? Why would finding Dee Dee introduce more pain into her life? Why did the Rabi not want to give James information on Ruth’s family, even though he recognized the family name? In the middle of his last night in Suffolk, James goes down to the river because he feels both the pain of his family's past, but he also recognizes the joy in his life. Why does James never play his mom the recording from Aubrey?
Chapter 23 - Dennis
Ruth remembers the judgment her and Dennis received because of their races. Does this strengthen or weaken their relationship? Ruth talks about how she because a christian and the church she went to. Ruth and Dennis were married in their Reverend's office. Ruth recalls the 9 years her and Dennis lived in one room were the happiest years of her life. Dennis became sick and died of what Ruth later found out was Lung cancer. AFter his death, Ruth was doing bad both emotionally and financially. Ruth contacted her family for help, but Aunt Betsy slammed the door in her face. How does this make Ruth feel, to lose her husband, then her family once and for all? Why can her family not even provide a little assistance, even if they are still mad? Dee Dee reminds Ruth of her broken promise to come home. At the end of this chapter, Ruth meets her second husband who promises to take care of her.
Chapter 21: A bird who flies
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, this chapter appears to just be about Mameh's silly song she sings to birds, however I think this is a symbol for Ruth's desire to be free. Mameh warns to never catch "a bird who flies". Ruth is like a bird who flies because she's just waiting for her chance to escape. I think this kind of foreshadows Ruth's leaving and the pain it brings to both her and her mother.
Chapter 22: A Jew Discovered
I really enjoyed James's description of his night walk down to Nansemond River. I think his trip to Suffolk was so important to fill in all the gaps he had about his mother and grandmother. I really like that the chapter title is "A Jew Discovered" because I think James feels as if his mother and her Jewish background have always been a big mystery to him and his siblings. It's very important he see where they came from since it's also apart of where he came from.
Chapter 23: Dennis
Again, I think this chapter title is very important to it's content. It is important that Ruth stresses the role Dennis played in shaping who she is today. She talks about how he introduced the church to her, which helped her cope with the guilt she has carried for leaving her mother. We also see the way he and the rest of the black community make her feel so safe. I think she feels way more at home than she ever did with her own family. I wonder why that is. What did her family and hometown do to make her feel so distant and what did Dennis do to make her feel so included?
Three things I would have talked about in socratic would have been how our parents influence our lives and how times around us have changed. Also I would have wanted to talk about how loss changes us all and why the author in the last chapter started talking about renewal but then ended it with the death of Dennis.
ReplyDeleteSome things I would've said in this discussion: I wanted to talk about the song in the beginning of Chapter 21, because I just think it shows such strong symbolism in how Ruth wants to be free. It also seems that every time she leaves, she just comes right back. Ruth has gone through a lot emotionally, and I think that has worn her down enough to be able to quit easily. This is shown several times through the book and I that would've been my biggest emphasis in this discussion.
ReplyDeleteSome things I would have talked about in the socratic seminar would have been about who the "bird that flies" represents. I think that this might represent Ruth and how she shouldn't have been trapped because like a bird all she wanted to do was fly to a new place. Another thing would have been to discuss how finding out about Ruths past helped James with his identity crisis problems. He found closure in his mothers past. The Dennis chapter is interesting and important because It is the start of her new life. I would have talked about how things were hard for her starting new, but also at the same time better for her.
ReplyDeleteA few things that I would've mentioned in the socratic seminar would first be what makes Tateh the way he is. When I say this I mean what made him so racist even though he is surrounded by those who aren't? Overall he just seems like such an angry person and I don't understand why. I would also ask what everyone thought about the relationship between Eddie Thompson and the Shilsky's. Clearly he had some effect on them because when Eddie told Ruth over the phone that it was him talking she began to cry. The last thing I would ask is why would Dennis and Ruth have so many kids together if they can't afford to take care of all of them?
ReplyDeleteIn this discussion I would've focused on Tateh and his effect on Ruth and in turn Ruth's children. Tateh lived a life of prejudice, intense faith, cheating, and anger. Ruth's life was really negatively affected by this. Ruth had a horrible childhood as the book entails and only ever found happiness with Dennis and the births of her children. This definitely took a negative turn on the life of James and his siblings. James never had a stable life and that's never good. It led to drugs and other bad activities. I think this was because of Tateh when you trace it back to it's roots. I would also bring up the question of what would have happened had Dennis not passed away? Would Ruth have remained happy and everything would have been normal? Would they have more money and less depressing lives? Would the book even be a thing?
ReplyDeleteA long overdue reflection from the silent socratic. If I had participated in the silent socratic I would've focused on Ruth and Dennis. I also would've focused on James and his relationship with his religion/relationship with his religion. A question that I would've asked was: Why did Dennis want to marry Ruth so desperately? Was it worth getting excluded from your family to marry someone? Something else I would've asked was: Why did James think that people wouldn't like him when he walked into the synagogue? It's part of who he is. People knew Ruth's religion before she changed religions.
ReplyDeleteA few things that I would have talked about during the Socratic are how she said that when her mom died the Jew inside of her was completely dead, how she found Christian during the 1940's and found hope through that, and how open of a person Ruth was through her friendship with a Jewish Communist. I would also have talked about how big of a role religion played in the book.
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