The Color of Water, Chapters 1-8

Each chapter alternates between James' story and his mother's story. Which narrator is represented by the text in ITALICS?

• James

• James' mother

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

James' mothers name is

• Ruchel Dwajra Zylksa

• Ruth McBride

• Rachel Shilsky

• All of the above

What does it mean when James' mother says about her family, "I been dead to them for fifty years."

• This means that her family died fifty years earlier.

• This means that her family disowned her fifty years ago.

• This mean that she disowned her family fifty years ago.

• This means that her family thinks that she died fifty years ago.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

When James's mother marries his step-father, Hunter Jordan, James is

• the oldest of 8 children.

• the youngest of 8 children.

• an only child.

• the youngest of 12 children.

James's maternal grandparents (his mother's parents)

• had an arranged marriage.

• immigrated from Poland in the early 1920's.

• were Orthodox Jews.

• All of the above.

In the mid-1960's, James and his siblings became empowered by the Black Power movement that was a leading force in the Civil Rights movement. However, James states that "there was a part of me that feared black power for the obvious reason." What was that reason?

• James and his siblings were half-black and half-white/Jewish. James was afraid that they would become a target because of their mixed heritage

• James' older siblings were very involved in the movement and he feared that they would end up getting killed in a riot or during a protest.

• James feared that the movement put his mother at risk and that she would end up getting killed because she was a white woman in a black neighborhood.

• James feared that his passion for the Black Panthers would lead him away from his mother.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Which statement best describes James's mother's childhood.

• As a child, Ruth and her family moved around a lot because her father was a rabbi who never stayed at one synagogue more than a year. The family eventually settled in Virginia, where they opened a store. Ruth's father was cruel and abusive to his family.

• As a child, Ruth and her family moved around a lot because her father was not a very good rabbi and never stayed at a job more than a year. They finally settled in Virginia and opened a store. This changed things for the family because they owned their own business, became respected in the community, and Ruth was able to spend time running, which was her favorite hobby.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

James's mother remains an Orthodox Jew and raises her children in the Jewish faith.

• True

• False

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Rachel's father was worried that the Ku Klux Klan would attack his black customers.

• true

• false

Generally, southerners accepted Jews more readily than did northerners.

• true

• false