Chapter 3

Chapter three is called Kosher. It explains how Fishel and Hudis had an arranged marriage. It told us how Fishel only married Hudis so he could come from Europe to America. Hudis had James and his older brother Sam. James was two and Sam was four when they came to America. James used to carry around a paper that said how he arrived in America in August 23, 1923 on a steamer called the Austergeist. He carried it around because his father used to tell him that they were going to throw him out of the country. It was only a joke, but he thought it was real. The mood in this chapter is kind of gloomy because it sounded like he didn't like his memories like the things that he had to do. In this chapter we also meet Zayden, his grandfather. He had a long beard he was always happy and drinking tea. The chapter also spoke about the Jewish religion how the women wear wigs and how they don't eat pork and they have a different tablecloth for every meal. We also find out that James is claustrophobic because he thought his grandfather was buried alive.

I thought that chapter three was interesting. I thought the things about the lights were not true but when I read chapter 3 I found out it was true.

Chapter 7

Chapter seven is called “Sam”. In this chapter James's mother, Ruth tells us about her son, Sam. Sam was a short and stocky kid. He had a lot of hair and thick eyebrows; he also had heavy arms and legs. He was a quiet and submissive person. His father was a rabbi and he used to sit him down to learn the bible. Around 1934 he ran away. He left to Chicago. He joined the Army and fought in World War Two. He was killed. This chapter also speaks about when James's grandfather owned a store in witch his mom worked in. Their customers were mostly black and they bought something called BC powder because they couldn't afford a doctor. She also spoke about how the black people used to hide because the KKK used to run around killing black people. I got the impression that Ruth had a hard time living in that neiborhood.

I thought it was good how she worked in her father's store. At least she knows how to work. She did what she had to do to support her children.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is called Boys. In this chapter you will learn how Ruth's father is very prejudice. Ruth speaks about her teenage years and how her father never bought her new clothes or new shoes. She always wore second hand clothes and shoes. One time she wanted a pair of white moccasin type shoes. To get them she had to beg her father for them. They got to a store to buy her shoes and she tries on these shoes and they fit her about two sizes big, but she still bought them because she knew it was her only chance to get new shoes. She went to school with them and the kids made fun of her because her feet looked too big so after that she never wore them again. In this chapter we also meet her boyfriend Peter. Peter is black and since Ruth's family is prejudice, they keep their love a secret. Towards the end of the chapter she gets pregnant buy Peter. She is only 14 years old. After a while her mother suspected something because she found Ruth's bracelet behind the store where Ruth and Peter always met. She decided to send Ruth to New York to avoid the situation.

I didn't like this chapter because Ruth's parents were prejudice. What could I say? Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I also thought Ruth should have been more careful with herself. She should have mad better decisions and her mother should have approached the situation better.

Chapter 15

This chapter is called graduation. In this chapter Ruth is seventeen. She has just come back from New York. She also aborted Peter's baby. When she gets back to Virginia, she tells Peter that she doesn't want to see him any more. That same day she was working at the store and she overhears these two girls talking about Peter. They were saying that he got a black girl pregnant and that his parents were forcing him to marry her. She gets so upset that she walks down to his house in braud daylight and asks him if what she heard was true and he confessed that it was true. It broke her heart, but she had to move on somehow. Her mother stars to get sick so Ruth's father hires a lady to take care of her. Ruth's graduation was coming up too. The ceremony was supposed to be at a protestant church. Her father doesn't want to give her the money for her cap and gown because it was against his religion to go into a protestant church. After a while her mother talks to her father and he gives her the money. When it came time to go into the church and graduate, she couldn't do it. She stepped right off the line and her friend Frances also steps off and Ruth tells Frances to go inside because she didn't feel right going into the church.

 This chapter was hard to handle. I couldn't believe how Peter got another girl pregnant. If he really loved Ruth, he would have been faithful to her instead of lying to her. It was good how she respected her religion by not going into the church. I think the best thing she did was go back to New York.

Chapter 19

In this chapter, The Promise, Ruth talks about Dennis. She was with him for a wile. He was a Christian black man. He played the violin and was very into his music. He was the only child and he was from High Point, North Carolina. At first Dennis's family was shocked to find him with a Jewish woman, but after a while they got used to it. Dennis's favorite aunt was named Candis. It was hard for her to accept Ruth because she was the grandchild of slaves. When Dennis died she was the one to stand by Ruth's side and help her take care of the children while Ruth grieved. One day Ruth called home to see how things were back at home. Her father begged her to come home because her mother was very ill and he needed help in the store. After a while Ruth learned that her father wanted a divorce from her mother. Her mother refused to sign the divorce papers several times, but after a while her husband got fed up and got the divorce without her knowing. At the end of the chapter Ruth promised her sister Dee-Dee that she would stay, but Ruth broke that promise and Dee-Dee never forgave her for it.

I think that Ruth's father was messed up because he divorced his good wife to be with some other lady. Ruth should have never made a promise that she couldn't keep.

Chapter 23

This chapter is called Dennis. In this chapter Ruth tells us about her times with her late husband Dennis. Dennis opened up a Baptist church right in his home. After Ruth's mother died in 1942, Ruth converted from a Jew to a Baptist. Dennis and Ruth were married by rev. Brown. They had their fist child in 1943. After a while they had so many children they had to find a bigger place to live. They moved to the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn. Dennis gets very ill. He takes numerous trips to the hospital. The doctors never told Ruth what was wrong with Dennis. At the end when Dennis passed away the doctors told Ruth that Dennis had cancer. A while after that she married another man. She turned him down three times before she actually said yes.

I found this chapter very interesting because I never understood why the doctors didn't tell Ruth about Dennis in the first place. I also found it interesting how Ruth had so many children in so little time. That's how you know she is a strong woman. Ii stood wondering if Dennis knew that he had cancer.

 Chapter 25

In this chapter James was telling us how he worked for many news papers and magazines. He used to go back and forth between his writing and his music. When he got tired or board with one he would quit one and go for the other. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1979. He also mentioned that he liked working at the office when no one was around. I guess he was more comfortable that way. When he decided to write this book it took him a long time to connect with his mother. I don't think she wanted to remember anything from her past. By the end of the chapter James and his family went back to Virginia. They drove around their mother's old neiborhood. His mother said that nothing has changed.

This was an interesting chapter for me because I saw how James was thirty years old and he was still undecided about what to do. I understand because he was confused. I also found it interesting how his mother went back to school at the age of sixty five. That proved to me that it’s never to late for anything.