How and why do Ruth and James begin to "recover" from the emotional turmoil and extreme changes they experienced in the previous several chapters? What keeps them going? Who/what do they rely upon? What slowly "turns them around"?
Ruth and James' are getting back on track with their lives. The both get help from people they love. James' relies on his family, god, and church. Ruth relies on Dennis who leads her away from danger. Ruth had a close encounter from becoming a prostitute. James' wanted to get away from drugs and become a better kid like he was before. He prays to god to lead him to the right directions. He also goes to church to stay away from the streets. They both rely on people or things to help them get through their problems.
James and Ruth rely heavily on the church to get them through their hard times. For Ruth, the church first came in the form of Dennis, James's father. Ruth was on the brink of a career in prostitution and Dennis swooped in and made her think about her situation. Luckily, she steered away from that path. James, when he realizes what a mess he has become, turns to the church for forgiveness, much like ruth had done years ago. I think it may have been the notion that somebody cared about him, even if that somebody was god, that brought him through. After the stepfathers death, both james and ruth turned to the church, and although they seem very different, this action shows that in a lot of ways they act similarly in times of need.
Ruth and James go through extremely troubling times that changed their opinion on life for better or worst. James became a drug addict, he barley was able to quit. In New York City, he could not and got into a ton of trouble with his mother. To get out of it, he convinced his mom to move out of New York City, he also goes to church and prays for strength. The mother uses friends and family to lean on in these troubling times. Her Grandmother the most, her grandmother carried her through this turmoil lifted her up and let her fly. The grandmother was there when when she got pregnant. the grandmother got her an abortion. also the grandmother let her obtain the freedom she never had. This is what got James and Ruth out of their messes. This is Kevin
Both Ruth and James have recoveries in chapters 15-17. Both almost shed their old life and start new. They both turn their lives around for the better. James begins to rethink his life. He "rebuilds" himself. He goes back to school and starts to study, stops stealing, tries to get off drugs and alcohol and begins to go to church. I believe he does this for a couple of reasons. First and mostly for his mother. I think as he sees his mother falls apart he comes to the realization that the family will be destroyed without him. He also does this because of his time with chicken man. He begins to take in what chicken man says and think about what he wants in his life and how he wants to be portrayed. Ruth recovers similar to James. I believe that Ruth recovers because she really wants a new life, away from Virginia and away from her father. Bubeh and Dennis are what keep her going. I think she wants to be seen in a positive way her grandma who she loves.
Ruth and James both start regaining a grip on their lives in these chapters. They both try to run away from their problems, Ruth in more of a literal sense and James in more of a physcological sense. Ruth actually runs away from home to start off on a new foot opposed to James who just tries to mentally heal himself before he takes action. James turns to god to guide him through his struggles of rehabilitation. I think what keeps Ruth going is just the dream of independence and living a meaningful life. She wants to experience culture and rebel. Since she wants to be experienced and exciting, she forms a relationship with a "pimp" and almost becomes a prostitute but not because he pressures her, but because she wants the experience. She wants life and not to be under close supervision of her superiors. James, who wasn't ever under close supervision, is striving to heal himself on his own.
Ruth leaves her hard past behind by enrolling in a all girls high school in the city. But because it was so hard, she moved back to Virginia so she could graduate from high school on time. She also leaves her boyfriend which probably relieved much of the stress she was feeling with having a black boyfriend. After graduating from high school, Ruth decides to totally leave her old life behind a start a new one by moving to New York. While in New York it is her close friends and family that keep her going when she starts falling into the cracks, they are the ones that help her. James on the other hand becomes older and a bit wiser in his decision making. He also turned to God for help, he started to pray. He started to understand the impacts that the drugs that he took in previous years and what it did to his mental state. Both Ruth and James looked for Jesus for their answers, it was their salvation. The book describes Ruth being a bit more renewed after going to church.
Something that helps James recover from drugs and all the illiagal activities he was doing was God and chicken man. He prays to God so he can be the same staight-A student he was and so he can quit drugs. This helped him a lot but it did not "heal" him innmideatly. When James started ttending cgurch and praying it really helped him getting back on the right path. Dennis helped Ruth realize that a life as a hoe/prostitute. Dennis was the turning point for Ruth at her young age thanks to him she didn't become the woman she probably would have. After Dennis helping her she moves back with Bubeh.
Ruth and James both had problems in their lives. Ruth was going to become a prostitute, but she saw what would happen to her, because of Dennis, James's father. James was going to spend the rest of his life living as a drunk, on the streets, with no food. His salvation came in the form of Jesus. James, like his mother turned to god, and prayed to him to make him get over his drug addiction. james used to brag that he could quite whenever he wanted, but really he had been struggling with himself to pull out. He was jealous of the people in is drug circle that pulled out, an tried to himself. He prayed to God, and his plea was answered. James slowly got over drugs, and turned to music. He played instruments, and when he lived in Delaware, he joined the band.
Both Ruth and James were in hazardous positions. They were saved, before it was too late. Even though this time in their lives has passed, they always kept these memories with them, and learned from these events.
Ruth and james depend on a lot of things. its true they depend on the people they love and the church. they depend on more things also. i think though they depend a lot on each other. i think that Ruth needs her children. if she doesnt have someone or something to take care of she will fall apart. also if she cant take care of someone or something then she needs someone to take care of her. which can be a husband or james. james is a confused child who needs help. his mom controls him and shapes his mind. together their lives are changing. they both need each other. without each other they would be nothing
James and Ruth started depending on God to lead them in the right direction in life. God was the motor of their change. James wanted to get leave drugs for good and to be a studious boy like he once was. Ruth wanted to get out of her life as a prostitute. She finds Dennis, James' father, to help her change her ways. They both want to start their lives over and search for people to help them.
James recovers through self-realization and the reliance on god. he realizes that he has an addiction to weed and that not only is it hurting himself but it is also affecting his mother, whom is already suffering with the death of Mr. Jordan. he knew that he wasn't raised to drink or smoke, but it was habit that he picked up by himself from his "friends." But he is also influence greatly by his sister Jack. she said to him "You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you what for yourself." Meaning, James had to make a choice, did he want to follow the path that others had expected him to follow, or was he going to create a path of his own? on his return he arrived in New York and told himself that he had to go back to school to get his grades up if he had wanted to graduate for High School. James's reliance on god helped him gain confidence, it helped him find the right path to recovery.when he was stressed James would prey to god pleading for his help. he asked god to aid him to become a man and to be strong. He asked god to rid him of anger. he didn't or couldn't change right away, but gradually he stopped smoking and drinking. His motivation to stop acting like a delinquent was to succeed further in life by spending it improving and learning to be a better person. Ruth,as an adult, also turned to religion when her 2nd husband passed away. she she dealt with this tragedy through silent suffering. She wouldn't share the burden of her loss with her kids, maybe to protect them from hurting inside. I think she was going through phases of depression due to the loss of the one person that held her family together. She prayed but also tried new thing, such as driving. She also kept movement within her daily routine. She'd take trips around New York through public transportation. Ruth's motivation as an adult was her children and providing a good life for them. But as a teenager she didn't have much motivation through her change into and adult, except the concept of movement. She went to New York after her graduation, and struggled to fit into the new atmosphere. But What helped her turn around as a teenager was the meeting of James's biological father, Andrew McBride.In the end the McBride Jordan family moves and this chance to start anew also helps James and Ruth to fully recover from their emotional turmoil or extreme changes they found within themselves.
When James and Ruth realize the great impacts the death of Hunter Jordan and the abortion of ruths baby, they start to think about why they made certain decisions. As they start to think about their mistakes they make self realization. For James, he realizes that substance abuse and stealing are not the answer, while for the mother she realizes prostitution is not the answer. As people in James' and Ruth's talk to them and help them realize the great mistakes they have made then are able to evolve as people. James starts goes to church again, does his homework along with studying and going to school, and spends more time with his family. While, his mother realizes that her children really need her after the death of her husband and their father, and she also realizes after her choice not to be a prostitute, that she could do do much more with her life that would be much more beneficial. Because of these chapters true insight into the characters realizations and change it has great importance in the plot of the book.
In these chapters, ruth and james begin to come to their senses. They start all over. They start to get a grip over their lives. They rely on the church and god to help them through their problem. James realizez that his actions are not right and he prays to god to help him. He tries to quit drugs and alchol and begins to attend school once more. Ruth depends on Dennis, he helped her through her problems. He convinced her not to become a prostitude. They begin to reconnect with eachother and begin to realize that they need eachother and love eachother.
In the chapter where James is the narrator, you begin to hear about how both Ruth and James are springing back from the effects of Hunter Jordan passing away. As she has done since she coverted to catholicism, Ruth was able to lean on her church and religious values to help herself get back into a state where she was physically and mentally able to take care of her family, and to continue their lives where they left off, before everything went wrong. For Ruth relying on religion for a while must have been easy, like going to see an old friend for the first time in a while. This whole process proved to be quite abit more difficult for James because he had already decided to quit attending church. It must have been tough for James to admit to his church, his family, and himself that he was actually in need of someone to watch over him. In the chapters where Ruth is the narrator, she speaks about her rebellious thoughts and actions when she was a teenager. After running away from home, she started to make more uncatious choices in terms of friends and occupations. She even stopped visiting her grandmother because it made her feel guilty that she wasn't telling her evrything, and she was afraid that her grandmother would convince her to stop what she was doing. Eventually, Dennis (Andrew McBride) made her more awware of what she was getting herslef into, and helped her gather the strength to go back to her grandmother, and leave her reckless ways behind.
I think that Ruth and James got on track because they realized what they were doing that was wrong and also tried to stop. James had to stop smoking refer and stop drinking. Ruth had to pay more attention to her kids and not live in her own world only caring about herself. One thing that kept them both going was church. They both believed that later god would but them back on the right path. Their faith in god was very strong.
After the death of Hunter Jordan, both James and Ruth go through extreme emotional changes. James becomes more rebellious and Ruth goes into an emotional turmoil. However, both James and Ruth turn to the church and Jesus Christ for their "safety." Also, since his "descent into madness", James has become slightly addicted to marijuana.
originally Ruth sees that the only way she can become happy is to fee to New York to escape her family. this does not completely work out as in new york she is abused by her aunt, and when she quits she has trubbles finding a job and eventually becomes in league with a pimp without knowing it. for her when she really starts to recover is when james's father tells her who the pimp is and she seeks refuge in her aunts house.
james had a bad streak. he did drugs, smoked stoll dropped out of school, and everything of that sort. he intended to live of the street like a thug until he consulted with chicken man, who to him was a great philosophers. he decide to get back on the right track and start up school. he saw that the only way to do this is by turning to god. a trick that helped his mother in her times o need.
for Ruth, recovery took many years because she loved james's step father well. she has had trouble copping and the way she deals with her pain is through moving from New York. she cannot deal with the pain anymore. speed and movement are her outlets from her emotional pain. james notices this and tries to begin anew. he tries to give up drugs. when they move, he switches from drugs to music as his outlet from pain. ruth however, is not inclined to move. she wants her daughters to be happy and her sons to be happy as well.
After a few difficult months for the two of them, both Ruth and James start to change. James goes back to school and takes an interest in music. He stops spending time with criminals and stops doing crime himself. Ruth relies on Dennis to steer her away from the path of Prostitution, which she almost takes. Ruth was pretty much living with Rocky (perosn who tried to turn her into a prostitute). When Dennis points tells Ruth that Being with Rocky is bad and that she should do better, Ruth moves back in with her Aunt and later moves in with Dennis. For James, it also takes the advice of another person to get him to change. After talking to chicken man, James realized that what he was doing was pointless, that it didn't make him special, and that if he continued like that he would end up stayingn on "The Corner" forever. James also saw how Chicken man died, which caused him to face the fact that he was wastni ghis life and should go back to school. For both Ruth and James, it takes the advice of another person and realization of hard truth to turn their lives around. This is true for most people: They need another person or event to get them to change for the better.
Ruth and James find their way back to life by friends, family and church. James at first was living his life off of drugs, thinking that it was his number one best friend that can cure him. Ruth recovered by the help of Dennis. Dennis made a big change on Ruths life because at first she was going down the bad road, by relying on some man she didn't know that well. And Dennis came into the picture making her realize that the things she was doing was innapropriate for someone like her. They got help from the best and moved on withe like making better decisions. -Kelsey
Both Ruth and James experienced an emotional breakdown after the death of James' stepfather. James became addicted to marijuana and Ruth lost her position as the boss of the family. She then realizes that although she lost someone very close to her, she still had God. Her faith in the church kept her "alive" in a way. When her husband died, it was like she lost a part of her soul, so she filled that void with the faith of God. James, on the other hand, dealth with the loss differently. He became rebellious and never followed rules. But he realized that he had to straighten out his life. He also got back in touch with his faith, which helped him with his drug addiction and his feeling of abandonment. He felt abandoned because he didn't have a father figure in his life anymore and also because he had responsibilities as the oldest kid in the house. He was not used to this. The fact that both his father and his older siblings were gone made him feel overwhelmed with being the leader of the house. This feeling was emphasized especialy because his mother was having a mental breakdown and she was not the "pack leader." she had too much on her mind to be responsible for others, even her kids. she felt that she had the opportunity to back from her responsibilities because James was "leader", but he didn't take the responsibility of leader eiter.
James turns to his family and the Christian religion for his complete recuperation. He finds faith again and "restores his soul". Ruth does the same thing where she finds god and relies on him to help her. She recalls the traumatic event when she was close to becoming a prostitute. Then she remembers Dennis who helps her and they find a way through it. One James and Ruth return to church they remember their faith and their religion and it leads them in a sense "Back to righteousness" - Pablo
Both of them start by trying to remove themselves from their problems. They run away. Ruth moves away from Virginia, getting away from one of her main problems; her father. Then when she gets into more trouble, with Ricky, she leaves again. She does not answer his calls, flowers, and pleads for her to come back to him. She removes herself from her problems again. James does this as well, he has to get away from his mother, he removes himself. They both get into trouble as teens, when their is less structure in their lives. Ruth had to re-create herself. She had to kill who she was before. Completely remove herself. James just needed time away from his initial problem, but then getting into more trouble. I think that he will find a way back into being himself again with time. Ruth turns to god in most cases, and James has to think to himself about what he wants in his life. He realizes that he is lying to everyone, that he is saying that he can quit this new life style. He says that he can stop smoking and drinking whenever he wants. But he realizes that he is not telling the truth, that he is lying to his friends and himself. He can't quit whenever, he finds that he is addicted. He does not want this lifestyle anymore and wants to be like the people that quit and left. Ruth makes changes in her life when she sees the disapointment in Dennis's face.
==James== At the end of Chapter 14, James returned from his stay with Sister Jack with the renewed vigor of hope. His stay with "Chicken Man" had taught him more about life as a self-decision tool, and that the direction of his time was not to be judged by his encounters but his determination.
James was able to overcome his drug addiction with the power of music. James resolved to rebuild his life; he did not want to end up like the other people on the Corner did. James realized that he had a much more lucrative life ahead if he chose to change. The future depended on choice, and he ultimately made a prudent decision.
==Ruth== Just a few chapters before, Ruth wrote about her love interest. However, she was devastated when she learned that he was engaged to someone else. It was an emotional setback. At the same time, Ruth began to show acts of defiance against her father. Howsoever far she could cross the line, Ruth could not defy her identity as a Jewish child of Fishel Shilsky, and regretfully refused to enter a Protestant Church.
In New York, she met up with Andrew "Dennis" McBride in Aunt Mary's factory, her future husband and counselor. It was also in this chapter that Ruth left her job. She began to wander the streets of Harlem to look for a new job. Sometime later she found a nice job as a manicurist in a parlor owned by Rocky. He slowly dragged her into a trap, and was smart to get out of it after guidance from Dennis. It is spiky enough that even in emotional distress, physical danger is enough to reinvigorate her conscience.
In these chapters, 15-17, you experience a new direction in both James and Ruth's life. James feels that after getting yelled at by the Chicken man that a life of drugs and alcohol wasn't for him when realizing that he is needed at home that is falling apart itself. So he takes his life into his hands by trying to slowly stray away from his addictions, even though he doesn't believe he has an addiction or problem. Quitting to him seems easier said than done, but his time as a lost adolescent are changing as he starts to rebuild his life. He does this by going back to school and studying hard again, reconnecting with his family, and praying to God. In these chapters, 15-17, you experience a new direction in both James and Ruth's life. James feels that after getting yelled at by the Chicken man that a life of drugs and alcohol wasn't for him when realizing that he is needed at home that is falling apart itself. So he takes his life into his hands by trying to slowly stray away from his addictions, even though he doesn't believe he has an addiction or problem. Quitting to him seems easier said than done, but his time as a lost adolescent are changing as he starts to rebuild his life. He does this by going back to school and studying hard again, reconnecting with his family, and praying to God. "I lay in bed at night praying to Him to make me strong, to rid me of anger, to make me a man, and He listened, and I began to change." In that quote what seems to keep James going is his renewed relationship with God. With the thought of God listening, is what slowly turns James' life around. As a teen growing up in a troubled life, Ruth's mother sends Ruth to her family in New York when learning that Ruth was pregnant. When she got there she started to work in her Aunt Mary's leather factory and stayed with her grandmother, Bubeh, mostly. Knowing that her father would kill her to find out that she was pregnant especially by a black man, Ruth told her Aunt Betts the whole story of her romance. Aunt Betts than had Ruth have an abortion. Later on, Ruth returned to Virginia, then back to New York. Again working in her aunt's leather factory she soon meets Dennis McBride. Later on, Ruth quits her job at the factory and starts to look for a new one. She finds a job as a manicurist working for a man named Rocky. Soon enough, Ruth finds herself as what she describes, "I was living high off the hog." When in actuality, she was going down the road of a prostitute. When she told Dennis of her "great" life, he gave her a look of disappointment. Ruth also then realizes that she misses her Bubeh. Dennis is the person who turns Ruth's life around making her recognize her naiveness. Afterward, Dennis helps Ruth go down the road to God. A similarity between James and Ruth's recoveries is that in the end return to God in their adolescents in a time where the bottom seemed endless.
James and Ruth have always tried to forgot about their problems by having another occupation sometimes one that gets them in trouble. When they are really sad they go to church.
i agree that both ruth and james are going through troubling times and are struggling to deal. James is getting back on track after meeting chicken man an image of what he may have become. Ruth is receiving the opposite help and finds dennis a guide rather than a terrible vision (as in james case). James has decided to try and mend what is broken inside him and stay on track.As people have stated both characters are receiving help from the spiritual world and the real world yet struggle to find their way. Both are making tough disisions about who they are and whether or not they want to stay in the mold their family has created for them or break it as their models have demonstrated
Ruth and James both have issues they need to deal with. They are both helping each other out and are looking up to God for help. James is finding new ways to stay of the streets like going to church. Ruth had close encounters with a becoming a prostitute. hey are both helping each other out by going to church and also by forgiving themselves for what they have done in the past and are not holding grudges on themselves
They get help from people who they trust. James relies on family, god and church while Ruth relies on Dennis. James wants to be like he was before and Ruth wants to be safe and not a prostitue.
james had been grieving but he was getting over it. ruth was saved from becoming a prostitute by dennis. for james he grieved by becoming a drug addict to the point at which he couldn't stop whatever he said. his eyes were opened to what his life would really be like if he continued on this way and he didn't want that to happen. they both had to do something to be released from the terrible reality of death. james realized that he had to get his life back together because he couldn't live that way anymore. they both relied on the church to get them out of there deep problems. for ruth the church came with dennis because he helped her rid herself of her past which she no longer was a part of. when james was trying to rid himself of his bad habits and become a better person he turned to god for help strength renewal and forgiveness for a better life.
Ruth has always been able to rely on religion just as she has in the past. When ever there has been a problem with her her religious background has been able to lean on religion. This has defiantly been able to help her get over the death of her husband. James has also been able to rely on religion to solve his problems. Church has also been able to stay off the streets with religion. Religion was defiantly the the way away from their problems.
In chapters 15-17, James and Ruth have dramatic changes in thier lives. Not only does Ruth tell more about her past, but James begins to be more aware of his negative actions that affect not only Ruth but himself. I belive Ruth relies on James to be more responsible and take care of James younger sibblings, however she mostly relies on Dennis because of the way he leads his new family to a better start. James and Ruth are now headed positive direction in thier new life. =Emma♥=
Ruth and James begin to recover from there downfall. They both got help from people they trusted and loved. It was easier foor Ruth to get back on track but for James it was harder. James riles on family, god and church. His mother relies on James father, Dennis. I agree with Zoya that they first turn to church/ god to forgive them and ask him for help to get them through these diffuclt times. The also rely on family but not as much.
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Ruth and James' are getting back on track with their lives. The both get help from people they love. James' relies on his family, god, and church. Ruth relies on Dennis who leads her away from danger. Ruth had a close encounter from becoming a prostitute. James' wanted to get away from drugs and become a better kid like he was before. He prays to god to lead him to the right directions. He also goes to church to stay away from the streets. They both rely on people or things to help them get through their problems.
James and Ruth rely heavily on the church to get them through their hard times. For Ruth, the church first came in the form of Dennis, James's father. Ruth was on the brink of a career in prostitution and Dennis swooped in and made her think about her situation. Luckily, she steered away from that path. James, when he realizes what a mess he has become, turns to the church for forgiveness, much like ruth had done years ago. I think it may have been the notion that somebody cared about him, even if that somebody was god, that brought him through. After the stepfathers death, both james and ruth turned to the church, and although they seem very different, this action shows that in a lot of ways they act similarly in times of need.
Ruth and James go through extremely troubling times that changed their opinion on life for better or worst. James became a drug addict, he barley was able to quit. In New York City, he could not and got into a ton of trouble with his mother. To get out of it, he convinced his mom to move out of New York City, he also goes to church and prays for strength. The mother uses friends and family to lean on in these troubling times. Her Grandmother the most, her grandmother carried her through this turmoil lifted her up and let her fly. The grandmother was there when when she got pregnant. the grandmother got her an abortion. also the grandmother let her obtain the freedom she never had. This is what got James and Ruth out of their messes.
This is Kevin
Both Ruth and James have recoveries in chapters 15-17. Both almost shed their old life and start new. They both turn their lives around for the better. James begins to rethink his life. He "rebuilds" himself. He goes back to school and starts to study, stops stealing, tries to get off drugs and alcohol and begins to go to church. I believe he does this for a couple of reasons. First and mostly for his mother. I think as he sees his mother falls apart he comes to the realization that the family will be destroyed without him. He also does this because of his time with chicken man. He begins to take in what chicken man says and think about what he wants in his life and how he wants to be portrayed. Ruth recovers similar to James. I believe that Ruth recovers because she really wants a new life, away from Virginia and away from her father. Bubeh and Dennis are what keep her going. I think she wants to be seen in a positive way her grandma who she loves.
Ruth and James both start regaining a grip on their lives in these chapters. They both try to run away from their problems, Ruth in more of a literal sense and James in more of a physcological sense. Ruth actually runs away from home to start off on a new foot opposed to James who just tries to mentally heal himself before he takes action. James turns to god to guide him through his struggles of rehabilitation. I think what keeps Ruth going is just the dream of independence and living a meaningful life. She wants to experience culture and rebel. Since she wants to be experienced and exciting, she forms a relationship with a "pimp" and almost becomes a prostitute but not because he pressures her, but because she wants the experience. She wants life and not to be under close supervision of her superiors. James, who wasn't ever under close supervision, is striving to heal himself on his own.
Ruth leaves her hard past behind by enrolling in a all girls high school in the city. But because it was so hard, she moved back to Virginia so she could graduate from high school on time. She also leaves her boyfriend which probably relieved much of the stress she was feeling with having a black boyfriend. After graduating from high school, Ruth decides to totally leave her old life behind a start a new one by moving to New York. While in New York it is her close friends and family that keep her going when she starts falling into the cracks, they are the ones that help her.
James on the other hand becomes older and a bit wiser in his decision making. He also turned to God for help, he started to pray. He started to understand the impacts that the drugs that he took in previous years and what it did to his mental state.
Both Ruth and James looked for Jesus for their answers, it was their salvation. The book describes Ruth being a bit more renewed after going to church.
Something that helps James recover from drugs and all the illiagal activities he was doing was God and chicken man. He prays to God so he can be the same staight-A student he was and so he can quit drugs. This helped him a lot but it did not "heal" him innmideatly. When James started ttending cgurch and praying it really helped him getting back on the right path. Dennis helped Ruth realize that a life as a hoe/prostitute. Dennis was the turning point for Ruth at her young age thanks to him she didn't become the woman she probably would have. After Dennis helping her she moves back with Bubeh.
Ruth and James both had problems in their lives. Ruth was going to become a prostitute, but she saw what would happen to her, because of Dennis, James's father. James was going to spend the rest of his life living as a drunk, on the streets, with no food. His salvation came in the form of Jesus. James, like his mother turned to god, and prayed to him to make him get over his drug addiction. james used to brag that he could quite whenever he wanted, but really he had been struggling with himself to pull out. He was jealous of the people in is drug circle that pulled out, an tried to himself. He prayed to God, and his plea was answered. James slowly got over drugs, and turned to music. He played instruments, and when he lived in Delaware, he joined the band.
Both Ruth and James were in hazardous positions. They were saved, before it was too late. Even though this time in their lives has passed, they always kept these memories with them, and learned from these events.
Ruth and james depend on a lot of things. its true they depend on the people they love and the church. they depend on more things also. i think though they depend a lot on each other. i think that Ruth needs her children. if she doesnt have someone or something to take care of she will fall apart. also if she cant take care of someone or something then she needs someone to take care of her. which can be a husband or james. james is a confused child who needs help. his mom controls him and shapes his mind. together their lives are changing. they both need each other. without each other they would be nothing
James and Ruth started depending on God to lead them in the right direction in life. God was the motor of their change. James wanted to get leave drugs for good and to be a studious boy like he once was. Ruth wanted to get out of her life as a prostitute. She finds Dennis, James' father, to help her change her ways. They both want to start their lives over and search for people to help them.
James recovers through self-realization and the reliance on god. he realizes that he has an addiction to weed and that not only is it hurting himself but it is also affecting his mother, whom is already suffering with the death of Mr. Jordan. he knew that he wasn't raised to drink or smoke, but it was habit that he picked up by himself from his "friends." But he is also influence greatly by his sister Jack. she said to him "You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you what for yourself." Meaning, James had to make a choice, did he want to follow the path that others had expected him to follow, or was he going to create a path of his own? on his return he arrived in New York and told himself that he had to go back to school to get his grades up if he had wanted to graduate for High School. James's reliance on god helped him gain confidence, it helped him find the right path to recovery.when he was stressed James would prey to god pleading for his help. he asked god to aid him to become a man and to be strong. He asked god to rid him of anger. he didn't or couldn't change right away, but gradually he stopped smoking and drinking. His motivation to stop acting like a delinquent was to succeed further in life by spending it improving and learning to be a better person.
Ruth,as an adult, also turned to religion when her 2nd husband passed away. she she dealt with this tragedy through silent suffering. She wouldn't share the burden of her loss with her kids, maybe to protect them from hurting inside. I think she was going through phases of depression due to the loss of the one person that held her family together. She prayed but also tried new thing, such as driving. She also kept movement within her daily routine. She'd take trips around New York through public transportation. Ruth's motivation as an adult was her children and providing a good life for them. But as a teenager she didn't have much motivation through her change into and adult, except the concept of movement. She went to New York after her graduation, and struggled to fit into the new atmosphere. But What helped her turn around as a teenager was the meeting of James's biological father, Andrew McBride.In the end the McBride Jordan family moves and this chance to start anew also helps James and Ruth to fully recover from their emotional turmoil or extreme changes they found within themselves.
When James and Ruth realize the great impacts the death of Hunter Jordan and the abortion of ruths baby, they start to think about why they made certain decisions. As they start to think about their mistakes they make self realization. For James, he realizes that substance abuse and stealing are not the answer, while for the mother she realizes prostitution is not the answer. As people in James' and Ruth's talk to them and help them realize the great mistakes they have made then are able to evolve as people. James starts goes to church again, does his homework along with studying and going to school, and spends more time with his family. While, his mother realizes that her children really need her after the death of her husband and their father, and she also realizes after her choice not to be a prostitute, that she could do do
much more with her life that would be much more beneficial. Because of these chapters true insight into the characters realizations and change it has great importance in the plot of the book.
James and Ruth begin to recover from the drastic changes by relying on the church and the family. like always, they rely heavily on god.
In these chapters, ruth and james begin to come to their senses. They start all over. They start to get a grip over their lives. They rely on the church and god to help them through their problem. James realizez that his actions are not right and he prays to god to help him. He tries to quit drugs and alchol and begins to attend school once more. Ruth depends on Dennis, he helped her through her problems. He convinced her not to become a prostitude. They begin to reconnect with eachother and begin to realize that they need eachother and love eachother.
this is karina
In the chapter where James is the narrator, you begin to hear about how both Ruth and James are springing back from the effects of Hunter Jordan passing away. As she has done since she coverted to catholicism, Ruth was able to lean on her church and religious values to help herself get back into a state where she was physically and mentally able to take care of her family, and to continue their lives where they left off, before everything went wrong. For Ruth relying on religion for a while must have been easy, like going to see an old friend for the first time in a while. This whole process proved to be quite abit more difficult for James because he had already decided to quit attending church. It must have been tough for James to admit to his church, his family, and himself that he was actually in need of someone to watch over him. In the chapters where Ruth is the narrator, she speaks about her rebellious thoughts and actions when she was a teenager. After running away from home, she started to make more uncatious choices in terms of friends and occupations. She even stopped visiting her grandmother because it made her feel guilty that she wasn't telling her evrything, and she was afraid that her grandmother would convince her to stop what she was doing. Eventually, Dennis (Andrew McBride) made her more awware of what she was getting herslef into, and helped her gather the strength to go back to her grandmother, and leave her reckless ways behind.
I think that Ruth and James got on track because they realized what they were doing that was wrong and also tried to stop. James had to stop smoking refer and stop drinking. Ruth had to pay more attention to her kids and not live in her own world only caring about herself. One thing that kept them both going was church. They both believed that later god would but them back on the right path. Their faith in god was very strong.
After the death of Hunter Jordan, both James and Ruth go through extreme emotional changes. James becomes more rebellious and Ruth goes into an emotional turmoil. However, both James and Ruth turn to the church and Jesus Christ for their "safety." Also, since his "descent into madness", James has become slightly addicted to marijuana.
originally Ruth sees that the only way she can become happy is to fee to New York to escape her family. this does not completely work out as in new york she is abused by her aunt, and when she quits she has trubbles finding a job and eventually becomes in league with a pimp without knowing it. for her when she really starts to recover is when james's father tells her who the pimp is and she seeks refuge in her aunts house.
james had a bad streak. he did drugs, smoked stoll dropped out of school, and everything of that sort. he intended to live of the street like a thug until he consulted with chicken man, who to him was a great philosophers. he decide to get back on the right track and start up school. he saw that the only way to do this is by turning to god. a trick that helped his mother in her times o need.
for Ruth, recovery took many years because she loved james's step father well. she has had trouble copping and the way she deals with her pain is through moving from New York. she cannot deal with the pain anymore. speed and movement are her outlets from her emotional pain. james notices this and tries to begin anew. he tries to give up drugs. when they move, he switches from drugs to music as his outlet from pain. ruth however, is not inclined to move. she wants her daughters to be happy and her sons to be happy as well.
After a few difficult months for the two of them, both Ruth and James start to change. James goes back to school and takes an interest in music. He stops spending time with criminals and stops doing crime himself. Ruth relies on Dennis to steer her away from the path of Prostitution, which she almost takes. Ruth was pretty much living with Rocky (perosn who tried to turn her into a prostitute). When Dennis points tells Ruth that Being with Rocky is bad and that she should do better, Ruth moves back in with her Aunt and later moves in with Dennis.
For James, it also takes the advice of another person to get him to change. After talking to chicken man, James realized that what he was doing was pointless, that it didn't make him special, and that if he continued like that he would end up stayingn on "The Corner" forever. James also saw how Chicken man died, which caused him to face the fact that he was wastni ghis life and should go back to school.
For both Ruth and James, it takes the advice of another person and realization of hard truth to turn their lives around. This is true for most people: They need another person or event to get them to change for the better.
Ruth and James find their way back to life by friends, family and church. James at first was living his life off of drugs, thinking that it was his number one best friend that can cure him. Ruth recovered by the help of Dennis. Dennis made a big change on Ruths life because at first she was going down the bad road, by relying on some man she didn't know that well. And Dennis came into the picture making her realize that the things she was doing was innapropriate for someone like her. They got help from the best and moved on withe like making better decisions. -Kelsey
They seem to be finding themselves spiritually. Not through but through trying harder to reconnect with their familys. Family truly turns them around.
Both Ruth and James experienced an emotional breakdown after the death of James' stepfather. James became addicted to marijuana and Ruth lost her position as the boss of the family. She then realizes that although she lost someone very close to her, she still had God. Her faith in the church kept her "alive" in a way. When her husband died, it was like she lost a part of her soul, so she filled that void with the faith of God. James, on the other hand, dealth with the loss differently. He became rebellious and never followed rules. But he realized that he had to straighten out his life. He also got back in touch with his faith, which helped him with his drug addiction and his feeling of abandonment. He felt abandoned because he didn't have a father figure in his life anymore and also because he had responsibilities as the oldest kid in the house. He was not used to this. The fact that both his father and his older siblings were gone made him feel overwhelmed with being the leader of the house. This feeling was emphasized especialy because his mother was having a mental breakdown and she was not the "pack leader." she had too much on her mind to be responsible for others, even her kids. she felt that she had the opportunity to back from her responsibilities because James was "leader", but he didn't take the responsibility of leader eiter.
James turns to his family and the Christian religion for his complete recuperation. He finds faith again and "restores his soul". Ruth does the same thing where she finds god and relies on him to help her. She recalls the traumatic event when she was close to becoming a prostitute. Then she remembers Dennis who helps her and they find a way through it. One James and Ruth return to church they remember their faith and their religion and it leads them in a sense "Back to righteousness"
- Pablo
Both of them start by trying to remove themselves from their problems. They run away. Ruth moves away from Virginia, getting away from one of her main problems; her father. Then when she gets into more trouble, with Ricky, she leaves again. She does not answer his calls, flowers, and pleads for her to come back to him. She removes herself from her problems again.
James does this as well, he has to get away from his mother, he removes himself. They both get into trouble as teens, when their is less structure in their lives.
Ruth had to re-create herself. She had to kill who she was before. Completely remove herself. James just needed time away from his initial problem, but then getting into more trouble. I think that he will find a way back into being himself again with time.
Ruth turns to god in most cases, and James has to think to himself about what he wants in his life. He realizes that he is lying to everyone, that he is saying that he can quit this new life style. He says that he can stop smoking and drinking whenever he wants. But he realizes that he is not telling the truth, that he is lying to his friends and himself. He can't quit whenever, he finds that he is addicted. He does not want this lifestyle anymore and wants to be like the people that quit and left.
Ruth makes changes in her life when she sees the disapointment in Dennis's face.
==James==
At the end of Chapter 14, James returned from his stay with Sister Jack with the renewed vigor of hope. His stay with "Chicken Man" had taught him more about life as a self-decision tool, and that the direction of his time was not to be judged by his encounters but his determination.
James was able to overcome his drug addiction with the power of music. James resolved to rebuild his life; he did not want to end up like the other people on the Corner did. James realized that he had a much more lucrative life ahead if he chose to change. The future depended on choice, and he ultimately made a prudent decision.
==Ruth==
Just a few chapters before, Ruth wrote about her love interest. However, she was devastated when she learned that he was engaged to someone else. It was an emotional setback. At the same time, Ruth began to show acts of defiance against her father. Howsoever far she could cross the line, Ruth could not defy her identity as a Jewish child of Fishel Shilsky, and regretfully refused to enter a Protestant Church.
In New York, she met up with Andrew "Dennis" McBride in Aunt Mary's factory, her future husband and counselor. It was also in this chapter that Ruth left her job. She began to wander the streets of Harlem to look for a new job. Sometime later she found a nice job as a manicurist in a parlor owned by Rocky. He slowly dragged her into a trap, and was smart to get out of it after guidance from Dennis. It is spiky enough that even in emotional distress, physical danger is enough to reinvigorate her conscience.
In these chapters, 15-17, you experience a new direction in both James and Ruth's life. James feels that after getting yelled at by the Chicken man that a life of drugs and alcohol wasn't for him when realizing that he is needed at home that is falling apart itself. So he takes his life into his hands by trying to slowly stray away from his addictions, even though he doesn't believe he has an addiction or problem. Quitting to him seems easier said than done, but his time as a lost adolescent are changing as he starts to rebuild his life. He does this by going back to school and studying hard again, reconnecting with his family, and praying to God. In these chapters, 15-17, you experience a new direction in both James and Ruth's life. James feels that after getting yelled at by the Chicken man that a life of drugs and alcohol wasn't for him when realizing that he is needed at home that is falling apart itself. So he takes his life into his hands by trying to slowly stray away from his addictions, even though he doesn't believe he has an addiction or problem. Quitting to him seems easier said than done, but his time as a lost adolescent are changing as he starts to rebuild his life. He does this by going back to school and studying hard again, reconnecting with his family, and praying to God. "I lay in bed at night praying to Him to make me strong, to rid me of anger, to make me a man, and He listened, and I began to change." In that quote what seems to keep James going is his renewed relationship with God. With the thought of God listening, is what slowly turns James' life around.
As a teen growing up in a troubled life, Ruth's mother sends Ruth to her family in New York when learning that Ruth was pregnant. When she got there she started to work in her Aunt Mary's leather factory and stayed with her grandmother, Bubeh, mostly. Knowing that her father would kill her to find out that she was pregnant especially by a black man, Ruth told her Aunt Betts the whole story of her romance. Aunt Betts than had Ruth have an abortion. Later on, Ruth returned to Virginia, then back to New York. Again working in her aunt's leather factory she soon meets Dennis McBride. Later on, Ruth quits her job at the factory and starts to look for a new one. She finds a job as a manicurist working for a man named Rocky. Soon enough, Ruth finds herself as what she describes, "I was living high off the hog." When in actuality, she was going down the road of a prostitute. When she told Dennis of her "great" life, he gave her a look of disappointment. Ruth also then realizes that she misses her Bubeh. Dennis is the person who turns Ruth's life around making her recognize her naiveness. Afterward, Dennis helps Ruth go down the road to God.
A similarity between James and Ruth's recoveries is that in the end return to God in their adolescents in a time where the bottom seemed endless.
James and Ruth have always tried to forgot about their problems by having another occupation sometimes one that gets them in trouble. When they are really sad they go to church.
i agree that both ruth and james are going through troubling times and are struggling to deal. James is getting back on track after meeting chicken man an image of what he may have become. Ruth is receiving the opposite help and finds dennis a guide rather than a terrible vision (as in james case). James has decided to try and mend what is broken inside him and stay on track.As people have stated both characters are receiving help from the spiritual world and the real world yet struggle to find their way. Both are making tough disisions about who they are and whether or not they want to stay in the mold their family has created for them or break it as their models have demonstrated
Ruth and James both have issues they need to deal with. They are both helping each other out and are looking up to God for help. James is finding new ways to stay of the streets like going to church. Ruth had close encounters with a becoming a prostitute. hey are both helping each other out by going to church and also by forgiving themselves for what they have done in the past and are not holding grudges on themselves
They get help from people who they trust. James relies on family, god and church while Ruth relies on Dennis. James wants to be like he was before and Ruth wants to be safe and not a prostitue.
james had been grieving but he was getting over it. ruth was saved from becoming a prostitute by dennis. for james he grieved by becoming a drug addict to the point at which he couldn't stop whatever he said. his eyes were opened to what his life would really be like if he continued on this way and he didn't want that to happen. they both had to do something to be released from the terrible reality of death. james realized that he had to get his life back together because he couldn't live that way anymore. they both relied on the church to get them out of there deep problems. for ruth the church came with dennis because he helped her rid herself of her past which she no longer was a part of. when james was trying to rid himself of his bad habits and become a better person he turned to god for help strength renewal and forgiveness for a better life.
Ruth has always been able to rely on religion just as she has in the past. When ever there has been a problem with her her religious background has been able to lean on religion. This has defiantly been able to help her get over the death of her husband. James has also been able to rely on religion to solve his problems. Church has also been able to stay off the streets with religion. Religion was defiantly the the way away from their problems.
In chapters 15-17, James and Ruth have dramatic changes in thier lives. Not only does Ruth tell more about her past, but James begins to be more aware of his negative actions that affect not only Ruth but himself. I belive Ruth relies on James to be more responsible and take care of James younger sibblings, however she mostly relies on Dennis because of the way he leads his new family to a better start. James and Ruth are now headed positive direction in thier new life.
=Emma♥=
Ruth and James begin to recover from there downfall. They both got help from people they trusted and loved. It was easier foor Ruth to get back on track but for James it was harder. James riles on family, god and church. His mother relies on James father, Dennis. I agree with Zoya that they first turn to church/ god to forgive them and ask him for help to get them through these diffuclt times. The also rely on family but not as much.
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