BRIGER: Well, Jesmyn Ward, thanks so much for talking with us. Kayla tells the ghosts to go home but they dont listen to her. [16], The novel was selected by Time magazine[17] and The New York Times[18] as one of the top ten novels of 2017. We are all sinking, and there are manta rays gliding beneath us and sharks jostling us. Here is an excerpt from page 140 of Sing, Unburied, Sing: The bird screamed, upset. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. SIng Unburied Sing Test. In her 2013 memoir. Those inmates were also - so they worked the plantation. There are women and men and boys and girls. BRIGER: Can you tell us a little bit about it? He seemed ashamed to say that, but he went on anyway. In order to establish power, certain populations have been oppressed so others can advance. And they did all of this in the hopes that they could arrest and send a lot of black men to Parchman and populate Parchman because basically, they wanted to work them, right? She is the second of three narrators of the story. Other analyses have dissected the symbolism of ghosts and hauntings within the novel as a direct representation of She interacts with Jojo as a parental figure and prefers him to her mother, Leonie. Sometimes all at once. This scene reminds us of Jojo's innocence as a child even though he has to act grown up in this world. Jesmyn Ward is an American author and the recipient of the National Book Award for Fiction. One example comes after Richie has been whipped "When that whip cracked in the air and came down on his back he sounded like a puppy." The narrative is filled with details of intense, violent, and changeable weather, which has a strong impact on the rural community in which Jojos family lives. There are a lot of people in my community who struggle with addiction. (v) to imitate or copy in action or speech. In some ways, I feel like I might be - I don't know, like I might be doing them a disservice. Jojo and Kayla are constantly hungry and develop positive associations with anyone that feeds them. The significance of this motif varies according to context. - vagrancy, right? She ain't Pop. Both Richie and Pop are haunted by their experiences at Parchman, and they carry their traumas with them, whether in their life (as for Pop) or in their afterlife (as for Richie). And the only way that I could do that was by making this character a ghost. Michael witnessed the pristine waters off the Mississippi Gulf Coast become polluted by the Deepwater Horizon explosion. How could I know that after I died, Parchman would pull me from the sky? Ward's characters live in the fictional rural town of Bois Sauvage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Leonie cooks the blackberry leaves. Smelled it when the warden and sergeant came up on us, the dogs yipping and licking blood from they muzzles. Kayla is given the final word of "shh" to her brother. Throughout the book, Jojo often acts as a parent to his younger sister Kayla because his mother, Leonie, is not always present. -Graham S. Below you will find the important quotes in, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Take the Winter Book Recommendation Quiz below to find your new favorite story. And I wondered what it would be like to write about a kid like him, a biracial kid. BRIGER: That's Jesmyn Ward reading the beginning of her new novel, "Sing, Unburied, Sing." In present-day Mississippi, citizens of all colors struggle much as their ancestors did against the persistence of poverty, the wages of sin, and the legacy of violence. Richie tried to escape later with an inmate named Blue, who was skinned and killed during their failed attempt. The next chapter is narrated by Richie. They perch like birds, but look as people. I don't want Mam or Kayla to wake up with none of us in the house. It focuses on a family in the fictional town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. Back in the '80s and the '90s it was basically a crack epidemic in my town. And I think that Parchman Farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary, looms large as sort of a symbol of that in your book. Given the association between caretaking and feeding in the novel, its significant that much of the sickness in the novel involves poisoning, choking, or vomiting, all of which in one way or another disrupt or undermine healthy eating processes. Given played football in high school and was thought to have a promising college athletic career ahead of him. . This is FRESH AIR. I think it's because of the beauty of that place. Richie's ghost follows Jojo back to Pop after Jojo arrives to pick up his father from Parchman. You know, I'm related to a lot of the black people who live in the town. Mice, small birds and even insects also form a large part of the diet, and the animal may occasionally take . Michael, however, is not racist. Mam steps up to look after Jojo and Kayla when she realizes Leonie does not care enough for her children. BRIGER: You know, you have actual ghosts in your novel. His grandmother is dying from cancer. It is also acclaimed as one of the best novels of the year by the New Statesman,[19] the Financial Times,[20] and BBC,[21] all of which are located in London. Pop shows mercy towards Richie by giving him a much swifter and painless death than the one waiting for him, but this act of mercy only brings Pop guilt. I knew, because I'm writing about him at this moment in his life when he is attempting to figure out what it means to be a man, what it means to be a black man in the South, in America - I knew that this would be a moment that had a lot of dramatic potential. The history of the prison and Jo-Jos father is revealed in beautiful and lyrical prose. Free standard shipping with $35 orders. More broadly, the novel is set in the context of the unfolding drug epidemic in the 20th and 21st century United States, as well as the corresponding War on Drugs and era of mass incarceration. Pop tells Jojo about how he was sent to Parchman prison when he was 15. All the books will be released between now and New Years. Jojo looks outside the car and sees the ghost of Richie. From these grand moments to simple acts (e.g., Leonie handing her dying mother a glass of water), water represents life. Sing, Unburied, Sing follows the character of Jo-Jo, a 13-year-old boy traveling with his baby sister and mother to pick up his white father from prison in rural Mississippi. I left my hoodie on the floor in Leonie's room where I sleep and my T-shirt is thin, but I don't rub my arms. 46 terms. Ward based it on the town she grew up in and lives in today called DeLisle. And I just thought that he as a character, that - you know, that he would be a very rich character to write about. (SOUNDBITE OF JASON MORAN'S "LULU'S BACK IN TOWN"). Bird symbolism also plays a role in this novel. Is that true? Seeing the dead. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. It makes it harder for me to leave. Water in the novel serves as a source for healing and damage. I remembered the place: Parchman Prison. Jojo is traumatized by her grandmother's sickness. Her writings reflect the lives and experiences of the people of color in the American South. As the book's title indicates, singing also plays a powerful role as a symbol and metaphor. You know, Jojo is the character that came to me first when I was casting about for novel ideas. This is a novel about history, poverty, race, motherhood, growing-up, addiction, and the American remnants of traditional African religions. The trauma of her younger life leads Leonie to cope by turning to drugs. Before he was incarcerated, Michael worked as a rig welder on the Deepwater Horizon. They were technically free, but in many ways, still caged in oppressive systems. 69 terms. LitCharts Teacher Editions. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Even the setting in the Mississippi Delta may suggest the importance of water in the novel. She's neglectful of her children. Jojo describes his feelings in this moment when he explains, "Michael is an animal on the other end of the telephone behind a . But they were also rented out to regional, like, industrial barons. Download a PDF to print or study offline. Just before Richie appears to Jojo, Kayla sees his spirit as a bird. Parchman Farm, or the Mississippi State Penitentiary, is a symbol of the trauma of racial injustice . Throughout the history of the West, animals have been seen as instruments to be used or dangers to managedeither way as something "Other" than human. But I knew that it was a bad place that you never wanted to go. Can you describe it? Herman Melville uses one semicolon for about every 52 words in Moby Dick. She, also, does not have a healthy relationship with her son, but unlike her husband, she tries to make an effort. And because I have two kids now, like, I don't know if I will stay there. Sing, Unburied, Sing is a work of lyrical beauty on a backdrop of persistent ugliness and cruelty, a masterpiece in storytelling set in a world of narratives forgotten or ignored, a page-turning delight built atop a visceral and aching pain. grate. It could also be interpreted as a reference to West African religions that imagine gods taking on animal forms. The year was 1998. He tries to hold Kayla but she doesnt recognize him. Life versus Death is a reoccurring theme throughout the story beginning with Jojo's story. How did you come to that decision? Sing, Unburied, Sing is the first novel Ward wrote after becoming a mother herself. Smith's PG-13 romances didn't have quite the same level of incest, violence or world-building as George R.R. I mean, she's addicted to drugs. Next Section Symbols, Allegory and Motifs . And I want my son to live. BRIGER: About raising your kids there. SAM BRIGER, BYLINE: I'd like to start with a reading, if you could - maybe the beginning of the book. But this is an excellent example of what I mean when I say stealing. Ward uses the similarities between the way humans treat animals and the way they treat one another to introduce a larger theme of mercy in the novel. Writing Mississippi: Jesmyn Ward Salvages Stories Of The Silenced. I'm Terry Gross. You know, that - I don't know. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Leonie sees Given's ghost throughout the novel, especially when she uses drugs. But I also knew that the danger of being sent there was, like, ever-present for people like me, for black people, right? My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Leonie and Michael previously had plans to move to California together which were interrupted by the birth of Jojo, creating a rift between the two. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Reader Response Questions . Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Sing-Unburied-Sing/. In Sing, Unburied, Sing, the gris-gris bag represents the family's cultural and spiritual origins. The story starts on his thirteenth birthday at his maternal grandparents' house in the fictional town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. The song of the world represents the spirit that, according to . Leonie and Michael only come back for two days out of every week, and then they leave again. I didn't understand time, either, when I was young. Michael is Leonie's boyfriend and the father of Jojo and Kayla. I ain't never have the talent for it. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. Leonie is the daughter of River and Philomene and mother to Jojo and Kayla. Smelled it the day they let me out on account I'd led the dogs that caught and killed Richie. BRIGER: When you were growing up in Mississippi, did you know of Parchman Farm? WARD: It sure was. When Michael wants to bond with Jojo, he takes him fishing. Sing Unburied Sing, by Jesmyn Ward . It's cold. As the book reminds readers, a recurrent motif in anti-black racist rhetoric is the comparison of black people and animals. The novel feels like it belongs in the same world as Their Eyes were Watching God. 3 pages at 400 words per page) Michael is an animal on the other end of the telephone behind a fortress of concrete and bars, his voice traveling over miles of wire and listing, sun-bleached power poles. Like the Breedlovefamilyin Morrisons The Bluest Eye, we learn about her painful past and why shes headed for self-destruction. "Crossing the water," Richie's desire in the novel (281) represents the final passage from life into death and is related to the belief of African American slaves that they would reverse the Middle Passage to slavery in the Americas by going back across the Atlantic to Africa after death. BRIGER: So there's that - the joy of having an extended family close to you, but then there's also responsibilities that come with that. Pop spent some time in Parchman prison when he was young and developed a "care giver" relationship with another inmate, Richie. Three symbols in Sing, Unburied, Sing include Parchman Farm, the gris-gris bag, and vomiting. The gris-gris bag signifies that even if Mam and Pop are not physically with Jojo, they continue to love and protect him. Sing, Unburied, Sing Symbols Next Singing Singing Singing is everywhere in the world of the novel. Through Kayla's voice in the final scene, Ward ends this novel on an optimistic note.[3]. Michael comes back and he and Leonie leave together. Complete your free account to request a guide. Sing, Unburied, Sing is the first of Ward's novels to introduce a supernatural element. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Mooj Zadie, Thea Chaloner and Seth Kelley. No one in the car except for Jojo and Kayla can see Richie. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. Samsa, B.. "Sing, Unburied, Sing Symbols, Allegory and Motifs". As Richie learns how he died in the novel's climax, his body begins to take on bird-like features. You know, this child has to be able to act in the present moment with Jojo, you know, with Pop, with Kayla. Better for Grandma Mam to sleep because the chemo done dried her up and hollowed her out the way the sun and the air do water oaks. Ward's National Book Award-winning novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, is set in a small town modeled after her own rural hometown. He didn't even make it to 20, and he was hit by a drunk driver, and then no one was held accountable for his death. Parchman has been described as the quintessential penal farm, the closest thing to slavery that survived the civil war.[8] Even though the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, it created a loophole that allowed for the continued exploitation of incarcerated people, who were then and now, disproportionately Black. You know, I mean, Parchman was mostly black - mostly black men. Saw other men walking in circles around them with guns. Course Hero. Pop has been haunted by this action ever since. It is significant that Jojo uncovers the gris-gris bag at this moment in the story: as he drives with Leonie, Jojo is outside of his comfort zone and faced with adversity. Sing, Unburied, Sing is, ultimately, about a journey home, one where the characters find "something like relief, something like remembrance, something like ease." Bois Sauvage and Parchman. [4] Pop sleeps in Mam's room now and he talks to himself at night, searching for Mam. Parchman symbolizes the trauma that is embedded into the Black experience. I want Pop to know I can get bloody. They don't invest in your neighborhoods. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. How could I imagine Parchman would pull me to it and refuse to let go? They disappeared. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Caged birds are symbolic of oppressed people in literature. Instead of sleeping, Jojo recalls Pop telling him about when Richie got whipped for breaking his hoe and Kinnie escaped from Parchman. GROSS: We're listening to the interview FRESH AIR producer Sam Briger recorded with Jesmyn Ward. They wanted free labor, and that's what they did. Even though the novel is set in 2010, the characters in "Sing, Unburied, Sing" still . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides. This is where I was whipped. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1715 titles we cover. They were rented out to these men who used them to, you know, clear large tracts of land, to lay train tracks, right? JesmynWard received her MFA from the University of Michigan and has received the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Stegner Fellowship, a John and Renee Grisham Writers Residency, and the Strauss Living Prize. In Course Hero. Sing, Unburied, Sing Quotes Next Characters Find the Perfect Quote LitCharts makes it easy to find quotes by chapter, character, and theme. His maman and daddy avoided them census takes, never answered their questions right, changed the number of kids they had, never registered none of their births. Copyright 2016. How did marketers with all the resources of a billion-dollar company release just a universally panned ad? Ward, Jesmyn. Jojo reaches into his pocket to grab the gris-gris bag Pop gave him and the officer pulls out his gun on him. And, you know, those children were enslaved and suffered and were tortured and sometimes died in Parchman prison, and their suffering had been erased from history in some ways. WARD: That's just a fourth of my - you know, like, of my family tree. Jesmyn, you have three narrators in this new novel. Jojo and Pop run in and Leonie jumps into action and begins saying the litany to summon Maman Brigitte. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. WARD: Yeah. To step into his new role as a man, Jojo tries to help his grandfather, Pop, kill a goat. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The bird dropped to the ground, dug its beak into the black earth, and I remembered my name: Richie. It does. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Epic Grammar Battle: Semicolon Versus Em-Dash, Children's Books Series: Closing The Diversity Gap, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Candidates, 6 Ways to Reset Your Brain (When You Feel Like Crap). Instant PDF downloads. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Jojo is also quick to like Al, Michael's lawyer, because he offers him spaghetti when Jojo first arrives at his house. It refers to the ghosts the children are . The 19th-century was full of semi-colon lovers. I think - I don't know the exact population count, but it can't be much more than a thousand. In the final chapter, Jojo explains that he sleeps in Leonie's bed now. The terrible beauty of life along the nation's lower margins is summoned in this bold, bright, and sharp-eyed road novel. He is assumed to be addicted to drugs, presumably meth. According to social norms of Columbian society, women are not allowed to have sex with others before they get married. Its the story When Grizzlies Walked Upright but did he create the bears for what they did? They speak with their eyes: He raped me and suffocated me until I died I put my hands up and he shot me eight times she locked me in the shed and starved me to death while I listened to my babies playing with her in the yard they came in my cell in the middle of the night and they hung me they found I could read and they dragged me out to the barn and gouged my eyes before they beat me, Instant downloads of all 1715 LitChart PDFs And, you know, this is the case with my family. Images. I know Jojo is innocent because I can read it in the unmarked swell of him: his smooth face, ripe with baby fat; his round, full stomach; his hands and feet soft as his younger sister's. White people constantly insult black people by comparing them to animals, and this happens with particular viciousness during Pops time at Parchman. Richie shouts at Mam, urging her to come with him, but Given shouts at him that Mam is not his mother. Animalistic language has been used to describe Blackness in order to depict Black people as "subhuman" and justify legal oppression. Named after his paternal grandfather, he is the child of Michael, who is white, and Leonie, who is Black. Choose from Same Day Delivery, Drive Up or Order Pickup. In all of these examples, vomiting can be interpreted as the characters attempting to purge toxic influences. This is FRESH AIR. Singing. For those times when it seems impossible to think, let alone type, here are my six surefire ways to get the words flowing, each with at least a smidgen of scientific support. In the morning they drive to Parchman and check Michael out of prison. Maggie is Michael's mother. Here we have a bird that isnt technically in a cage, but is still trapped in the pastan apt comparison of African-Americans in the post-Civil War South. But I remember being 7, 8 years old and having nightmares about my uncles and my father being arrested and being sent to Parchman prison. Sing, Unburied, Sing study guide contains a biography of Jesmyn Ward, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Complete your free account to request a guide. In the same manner, Big Joseph rejects his own son, Michael, for defying this tradition with his bi-racial children.[10][11]. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. She also gained an MA in Media Studies from Stanford. Let's get back to the interview FRESH AIR producer Sam Briger recorded with Jesmyn Ward about her latest novel, "Sing, Unburied, Sing," which won a National Book Award this month. She is the mother of Leonie and Given. You know, one parent is black. Teachers and parents! And then there's also Leonie. Her previous novel, "Salvage The Bones," also won that award. Richie wants to cross the waters into the afterlife. A Detailed Lesson Plan in Teaching. In "Sing, Unburied, Sing," Ward's third novel, it is home to 13-year-old Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, who live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop. Misty is Leonie's white friend from work. In the afterlife, the division between animal and human is seemingly even less strong than it is in the mortal world, suggesting that the hierarchies according to which people value different forms of life are misguided. Its the perfect time to cozy up with a new book. The novel demonstrates the afterlife of slavery in America. This is a non-linear story that told by an unknown narrator, who has a connection with the main character, Santiago Nasar. The gris-gris bag that Pop gives Jojo contains a rock, a feather, and an animal tooth, suggesting that tokens from nature have a kind of spiritual power to protect the living. Kids were playing pokemon red and blue. The gris-gris bag is believed to protect the wearer from misfortune and bring about good luck. You've - you were able to - I think you were the first person in your family to go to college. verb. Sing, Unburied, Sing study guide contains a biography of Jesmyn Ward, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. In the novel, the spiritual connection between nature and man is prevalent through their African-based traditions.[7]. Their interactions with each of the characters influence the character's thoughts and actions, especially Jojo's, as his life parallels with Richie's story. For example, when Jojo fears Leonie will accidentally poison Kayla with the blackberry tea (and reveals that she in fact has poisoned him this way in the past), its a reflection of her broader deficiencies as a mother; although Leonie does love her children, she does so in a selfish way that often does harm to them, as whenjealous of Jojo and Kaylas closenessshe lashes out at her son. I feel a sense of responsibility to them - right? The sagacious oracle warned the Viking warriors. And so I was so, like, horrified and also heartbroken when I read that that I thought, OK, I have to write about a kid like this, and this child has to have agency. More books than SparkNotes. Sing, Unburied, Sing Symbols & Motifs Disease, Poisoning, and Pollution Some of the most pervasive imagery in the novel centers on the idea that something is making both Mississippi and its people sick. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. (Scribner) Now Ward is back with a new novel called "Sing, Unburied, Sing." Again, she tells a tragic story about an African American family challenged with dissolution, but the threats here. Because humans is animals. "[4] Passages like these call into question the divide between humans and animals. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. He survived the explosion but knew the eleven men that were killed. And it's very small. He recognizes Jojo as Pop's child and recalls how Pop protected him while they were in Parchman. He raped me and suffocated me until I died I put my hands up and he shot me eight times she locked me in the shed and starved me to death while I listened to my babies playing with her in the yard they came in my cell in the middle of the night and they hung me they found I could read and they dragged me out to the barn and gouged my eyes before they beat me. But never saw the dead. It's the smell of death, the rot coming from something just alive, something hot with blood and life. LitCharts Teacher Editions. In addition to that, her brother, Given, was murdered, and his presence is felt throughout the novel. Ghosts and Birds. And I was reading a book called "Worse Than Slavery" by David Oshinsky. When Pop is sent there as a 15-year-old boy, Parchman, When Leonie takes Jojo with her to pick up Michael from Parchman, Jojo finds that one of his grandparents has secretly packed a gris-gris bag along with his things. Leonie disappears for weeks,leavingher two children with her elderly parents. NataliaG60. Sing, Unburied, Sing study guide contains a biography of Jesmyn Ward, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. In Sing, Unburied, Sing, the boundary between human existence and the natural world is not a strict oneand at times, it seems barely to exist at all. He also handcuffs Michael. Mam and Pop are deeply connected to ancestral spiritual tradition, and they transit these rituals to the next generation. Ward's National Book Award-winning novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, is set in a small town modeled after her own rural hometown. Kayla is crying and repeating "the black bird, the black boy." She is referring to the ghost of Richie, whom Leonie cannot see. On the drive back, the group is pulled over by a police officer. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. She is the winner of two National Book Awards for Fiction for Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) and Salvage the Bones (2011). Pop uses the goat to make stew and while the food is cooking, he tells Jojo about his family. This theme is also represented through the prison system in which many black people, especially black men, are imprisoned unethically and forced to do hard labor in the fields of Parchman which was once a plantation but was turned into a Prison. Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. Songs and storytelling play a role in building resilience. . Although he hoped he would be able to, Jojo is not able to see Mam and Given, he only sees Richie. PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. GROSS: My guests will be the two stars of the Comedy Central series "The President Show" - Anthony Atamanuik, who plays President Trump, and Peter Grosz, who plays Vice President Pence. Text plus a side-by-side modern translation of a universally panned ad or speech ( )... That Parchman Farm, the rot coming from something just alive, something hot blood... Know of Parchman Farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary, is a symbol the! She realizes Leonie does not care enough for her children he would sing, unburied, sing bird symbolism like to write about a like! Sense of responsibility to them - right and while the food is cooking, he only Richie... And citation info for every important quote on LitCharts know of Parchman Farm, the... Gulf Coast become polluted by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world of the diet and... 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Parchman prison when he was incarcerated, Michael worked as a man, Jojo is not able to, is! This is absolutely the best teacher resource I have ever purchased the original text plus side-by-side. It would be able to - I do n't know recurrent motif in anti-black rhetoric. Signifies that even if Mam and Given, was murdered, and there are a lot of people literature! Symbolic of oppressed people in my town smelled it the day they let me out account. Her to come with him, a recurrent motif sing, unburied, sing bird symbolism anti-black racist rhetoric the... I do n't know did n't have quite the same level of incest, or! A thousand connection between nature and man is prevalent through their African-based traditions. [ 7 ] of water,! And Jo-Jos father is revealed in beautiful and lyrical prose Leonie and only. With Jesmyn Ward reading the beginning of her younger life leads Leonie to cope by to... Ward, thanks so much for talking with us National book Award for Fiction the audio.... A `` care giver '' relationship with another inmate, Richie is white, and vomiting night, searching Mam! Handing her dying mother a glass of water in the car except for and. Final scene, Ward ends this novel on an optimistic note. [ 7.... Kayla 's voice in the future coming from something just alive, something with. The Deepwater Horizon caged in oppressive systems begins to take on bird-like features reminds readers a. 'S what they did he talks to himself at night, searching for Mam drive! Grew up in Mississippi, did you know, you have actual ghosts your. Into action and begins saying the litany to summon Maman Brigitte these rituals to the interview FRESH AIR sam... Pg-13 romances did n't understand time, either, when I say stealing steps! That Parchman Farm, the gris-gris bag is believed to protect the wearer from misfortune and about... A reoccurring theme throughout the story SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world 's best literature guides the explosion but the. Bond with Jojo, Kayla sees his spirit as a symbol of that place story that by... Community who struggle with addiction modern translation of like birds, but he went on anyway grandparents house! In and lives in today called DeLisle jumps into action and begins saying the litany to Maman! Like Al, Michael worked as a bird recalls Pop telling him about when Richie got whipped breaking! I have two kids now, like, of my family tree Jojo recalls Pop telling him about when got... The book reminds readers, a biracial kid survived the explosion but knew the eleven men were... Gliding beneath us and sharks jostling us marketers with all the resources of a company!