Affiliations

James is pushed around by his older siblings, therefore he is forced to cope with the intimidation that is brought on by those who is inferior to. He learns to rise above those who push him down and survive to become a stronger person in the end. For example, on page 13-14 James is dropped off at the bus stop and his mother is not there. He begins to cry and is feeling very scared and finally he sees his siblings coming towards him, but they simply mock him and do not show him any comfort.
 * Familial Belittlement**

The McBride family was marginalized almost immediately because of their obvious appearance and religious affiliation. WIth this forefront of judgement placed on James's family, he learns to become self-reliant and define himself based on his inner being rather the prejudices thrust upon him. James learns to become proud of his identity and to surpass the pre-conceived notions that people anticipated for him. When he was younger, he really was not emotionally affiliated with his siblings. They were too encompasses in their own struggle to fit in with the judgmental world around them.
 * Marginalized Family**

Early on, James and his siblings are placed into a Jewish School, where they were the only black people. This alone is a very distinct way in which James was ostracized from a very early age. But as time progresses, he uses events like this to strengthen his own character and grow apart from the crowd. When James grows older and learns about his mother's religious heritage, he has a deepened appreciation for its value because of he had experienced marginalization first hand. His relationship with his mother is very different from many of the other Mother-Son relationships that we have read about. In the first years of his life he is in a way just a part of the McBride crowd. Although there were not many times when James was able to be alone with his mother, he expressed fear for her, because he realized just how vulnerable she was. As he develops into a honorable young man, his relationship with his mother flourishes into a deep and mutual understanding.