Theme Of Love In Sing Unburied Sing

In the novel Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, love is highlighted as exclusiveness in some cases, and in other cases is shown as both constructive and destructive to different relationships. In Michael and Leoni’s instance, their relationship is toxic and exclusive. This means that they can’t find anyone else to be with when they are feeling empty or distressed. In Jojo and Kayla and Jojo and Pop’s instance, their relationships are positive. Kayla lacks a mother figure and a guardian, so Jojo works to support her. Pop has gone through horrible events in his life, from losing Given to Michael’s Cousin to his fateful events in Parchman when he was trying to protect Richie. In this novel, the theme of love is depicted as dependence and fulfillment,

At the beginning of the novel, Jojo, Misty, Leoni, and Kayla are preparing to leave for Parchman jail to pick up Michael. Jojo describes how he walks up to Pop before he leaves: “I stepped into Pop and Hugged Him. I couldn’t remember the last time I had, but it seemed important to do then”(61). The phrase, “It seemed important to do then”, demonstrates how empathetic Jojo is to the events Pop experienced at Parchman Jail. Being in Parchman for so long brought much pain and suffering into Pop’s life. After their hug, Pop says “You a man, You hear?”(61). This highlights how Pop believes Jojo can handle this situation, but it also shows how Pop reassures himself that nothing like what he experienced with Richie will occur this time. The reader can assume that Pop’s only thoughts at this moment are of Richie getting tortured at Parchman prison and how eventually Pop had to kill him for safety. At the beginning of the book, Jojo was deemed, “not a real man” after the grandfather and grandson were killing and skinning a goat. Jojo and Pop are fulfilling each other's needs, proving their tight bond as a grandfather and

During the visit to Big Al’s house on the way to Parchman, Kayla is still feeling ill and Leoni suggests that she tries and recreates one of Mam’s special recipes. Jojo recalls how poorly the last attempt went for Leoni. When she created the potion she threw the remains of it on the back step and Jojo later found a dead animal lying next to the spot of the potion. After Leoni feeds the concoction to Kayla, Jojo hurries her to their room. Jojo decides to make Kayla throw up by sticking his finger down her throat. Jojo describes, “I turn off the light and go back into the room and wipe her with my shirt and lay in the bed with her, scared that Leonie is going to walk in and find all that red throw-up in the bathroom, find out how I made Kayla throw-up Leonie's potion” (118). In this scene, Jojo proves the complete absence and ignorance of Leonie. The Mother is supposed to be the one helping their daughter, not hurting her. The fact that Jojo calls Leonie’s concoction a “potion” shows how untrustworthy Leonie is as a person, and as a mother. Jojo also mentions that he is scared Leonie will find out about him making Kayla throw up. After Kayla finishes throwing up, Jojo remembers the feeling of when his finger was down her throat. He knew that Kayla was trying to communicate “I love you. Why do you make me, Jojo?”. The simple words “I love you”,