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    The Color of Water by James McBride tells the story of the author's mother Ruth McBride and her experience growing up as a poor Jewish girl in Suffolk, Virginia and later becoming a black teacher in New York City. The memoir uses imagery, similes, and dialogue to vividly describe characters and key events in his mother's life journey, from her impoverished childhood to raising a family as a dark-skinned woman in a racially divided society. These literary devices enhance the memoir by bringing the characters and experiences to life for the reader and advancing the plot.

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    1st 20assignment

    Uploaded by

    api-304988018
    34 views4 pages
    The Color of Water by James McBride tells the story of the author's mother Ruth McBride and her experience growing up as a poor Jewish girl in Suffolk, Virginia and later becoming a black teacher in New York City. The memoir uses imagery, similes, and dialogue to vividly describe characters and key events in his mother's life journey, from her impoverished childhood to raising a family as a dark-skinned woman in a racially divided society. These literary devices enhance the memoir by bringing the characters and experiences to life for the reader and advancing the plot.

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    The Color of Water by James McBride tells the story of the author's mother Ruth McBride and her experience growing up as a poor Jewish girl in Suffolk, Virginia and later becoming a black teacher in New York City. The memoir uses imagery, similes, and dialogue to vividly describe characters and key events in his mother's life journey, from her impoverished childhood to raising a family as a dark-skinned woman in a racially divided society. These literary devices enhance the memoir by bringing the characters and experiences to life for the reader and advancing the plot.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    34 views4 pages

    1st 20assignment

    Uploaded by

    api-304988018
    The Color of Water by James McBride tells the story of the author's mother Ruth McBride and her experience growing up as a poor Jewish girl in Suffolk, Virginia and later becoming a black teacher in New York City. The memoir uses imagery, similes, and dialogue to vividly describe characters and key events in his mother's life journey, from her impoverished childhood to raising a family as a dark-skinned woman in a racially divided society. These literary devices enhance the memoir by bringing the characters and experiences to life for the reader and advancing the plot.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    TheColorofWaterbyJamesMcBride

    Findatotalof15examples.Youmusthaveatleastfourofeachdevice/element,andthentheotherthreeareofyourchoice.Theymust
    comefromallpartsofthememoir,meaningbeginning,middleandend.

    Simile:figureofspeechinwhichtwounlikethingsareexplicitlycompared,asinsheislikearose.

    Imagery:languagethatevokesoneorallofthefivesenses:seeing,hearing,tasting,smelling,touching.

    Dialogue:Thelinesspokenbyacharacterorcharactersinaplay,essay,story,ornovel,especiallyaconversationbetweentwocharacters,
    oraliteraryworkthattakestheformofsuchadiscussion.Baddialogueispointless.Gooddialogueeitherprovidescharacterizationor
    advancestheplot.Inplays,dialogueoftenincludeswithinithintsakintostagedirections.Forinstance,ifonecharacterasks,"Whyare
    youhittingme?"thereadercanassumethatonstageanothercharacterisstrikingthespeaker.Noticingsuchdetailsisparticularly
    importantinclassicaldramaandinShakespeare'splayssinceexplicitstagedirectionsareoftenmissing.

    LiteraryDevice/Element

    LineandPageNumber

    Simile

    p.13thatmemoryblinkedlikeadistantfoglightina
    storyseaanditdrownedinmypanic.

    Imagery/Detail

    p.5Itwasahugeoldclunker,bluewithwhitetrim,
    withbigfattires,hugefenders,andabatterypowered
    hornbuiltintothemiddleoftheframewithabutton
    youpushedtomakeitblow.

    Dialogue

    p.86Thefirsttimeithappened,weasked,Ma,howd
    youlearntotalklikethat?
    Mindyourownbusiness,shesaid.Neverasquestions
    oryourmindwillenduplikearock.SomeoftheseJews
    cantstandyou.

    Howdoesthisdevice/element
    enhancethewriting/memoir?
    Itshowsthepanickedfeelinghehadwhen
    hismotherwasnttheretopickhimupat
    thebusstop.Theimportanceofthe
    experienceiscleartothereader.
    Heisdescribingthebikehismotherrode
    aroundafterhisstepfatherdied.Asa
    reader,youaregiveneachdetailtopicture
    thecontraptionclearlyfromcolortoits
    awkwardness.
    Oneofthefewtimessheletsherchildren
    seeherJewishside.Sheconsidersita
    finishedpartofherlifeanddoesnttalkto
    herchildrenaboutit.Shehasmovedonand
    doesntwantthemaskingquestions.


    1. Simile

    Dialogue
    1.

    Dialogue
    2.

    Imagery
    1.

    Simile
    2.

    p. 13 "....Blinked like a distant fog light in a story sea and it


    drowned in my panic"

    It shows immense detail and gives the reader


    a better idea of what is happening.

    86 "The first time it happened, we asked, 'Ma, how'd you


    p.
    learn to talk like that?'

    It points out a key question to the mother, and


    keeps the story going.

    86 "Mind your own business, she said".


    p.

    detail in the dialogue gives character to


    This
    the speaker, showing that she is stubborn.

    5 "...And a battery-powered horn built into the middle of


    p.
    the frame with a button you pushed to make it blow"

    dialogue makes the reader imagine and


    This
    try to think of what this may look like.
    Something like a "jerry-rigged" addition.

    29 "Mommy's contradictions crashed and slammed


    pg.
    against one another like bumper cars at Coney Island"

    It is describing the mothers contradictions as if


    they were all over the place and clashing with
    eachother non-stop.


    Imagery
    2.

    3.
    Imagery

    Imagery
    4.

    Simile
    3.

    Dialogue
    3.

    86 "Never ask questions or your mind will end up like a


    p.
    rock."

    It shows the irritation of the annoyance that is


    the wonderer in this dialogue.

    p.
    86 "The first time it happened...."

    This
    makes the reader imagine there being a
    problem between the two people, as such
    happened the first time said action occurred.

    144 "He was a tell, thick, chocolate skinned man with a


    pg.
    mustache..."

    This
    quote makes the reader imagine what
    this character looks like, and is great detail for
    the story.

    270 "I felt like a Tinkertoy kid building my own self out of
    pg.
    one of those building sets...."

    This
    represents a person who is finding
    himself by imagining such quote.

    51 "What color is God's spirit?" "It doesn't have a color,


    pg.
    she said"

    This
    dialogue represents the duality between
    two races, meaning all are the same.


    Simile
    4.

    Dialogue
    4.

    Dialogue
    1.

    2.
    Imagery

    Dialogue
    3.

    270 "For as she laid her life before me, I reassembled


    pg.
    the tableau of words like a picture puzzle."

    describes the person peicing together her


    This
    words in his mind as if it were a picture puzzle
    and shows immense detail.

    28 "Ruth McBride came her from a Jewish immigrant


    pg.
    family."

    This
    dialogue gives detail as to where the
    person came from and provides necessary
    detail for the story.

    53 "Jesus should be gray."


    pg.

    quote gives detail as to what they are all


    This
    feeling at the time. In immense pain and
    struggle yet no help.

    pg.
    271 "She has always been slightly out of control"

    This
    quote represents the instability of the girls
    mental workings, and once again gives
    immense although necessary detail
    throughout the book.

    26 "I thought Black Power would be the end of my


    pg.
    mother."

    This
    quote shows the wonder of the person in
    this dialogue. And disbelief as well.

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