The Color of Water

characterize ruths parenting style.how does that style influence the relationship between mcbride and his siblings?

how does that style influence the relationship between mcbride and his siblings?

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Tateh ruled his household without love: he did not love his wife, he sexually abused Ruth, and he practically enslaved his son Sam. Ruth ran her household with a similarly tight rein, disciplining her children with the belt and instituting an informal "king/queen system" where the eldest reigned over the other children and answered directly to her. She, in turn, deferred to God. In the end, however, the key difference that separates Tateh's rule from Ruth's is that Ruth ruled over her household and each of her children with love.

According to James, his mother denied her Jewish history, but sought a Jewish-style education for her children nonetheless. When the brief window of opportunity came, Ruth seized the chance to choose predominantly Jewish schools for each of her children to attend. In the house, the emphasis lay on grades and on church. She consistently drummed into their minds that money was nothing without education, and that education was the only avenue to making something of themselves. Being the token black students in their Jewish public schools, James and his siblings learned to survive in the world by performing well.

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