Thursday, October 16, 2014

What does McBride learn from Eddie Thompson in chapter 20 of The Color of Water?

Chapter 20 of James McBride's book The Color of
Water
is an account of his journey to discover his mother's past. To do so,
he must journey back to the place she left her family, Suffolk, Virginia. He arrives in
town with nothing but a hand-drawn map his mother made for him and which is obviously
not particularly accurate after so many years have passed. James discovers the spot
where the general store his mother's family owned and ran used to be, and there is an
old house. When he knocks on the door, an old man named Eddie Thompson answers; James
has a chance to ask him many questions about his mother's family, and his grandfather,
in particular. When Eddie sees James and finds out who he is, he laughs outrageously at
the irony of the situation--a man who hates black people has a black
grandson.


What James discovers is that his grandfather was
a bigot who hated blacks and cheated them at every opportunity. He learns that his kind
grandmother used to sneak her customers candy or pieces of fruit when her husband was
not there, as she was afraid of him. James learns that Eddie knew his mother and her
siblings when they were young, and he finds out his grandfather left his wife for a fat
gentile woman, despite the fact that he was a rabbi and supposedly lived by Jewish law.
Finally, when James says he wishes he could find his grandfather, Eddie tells him he is
dead and then points to the ground, perhaps indicating hell. It was an enlightening
conversation for James as he researched his Jewish heritage.

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