In the book Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward the idea of addiction is a prevalent topic. In the story Leonie was in love with Michael before he was sent to Parchman. She was addicted to him, but all of the feelings she had toward him were based on her addiction to drugs. Leonie was unaware of how she was affecting her family in this situation and did not know that her idea of family was based on her use of drugs. When Leonie mentioned having another child it was not based on her love of having an actual family it was based on her realization that she had failed as a mother previously.
When Leonie decided to bring Jojo and Kayla to Parchman she wanted them to see Michael but furthermore she saw them more as an accessory. When Michael got out he did not want to see the children because he was so focused on where his next high was going to come from. Leonie and Michael are unaware that addiction is a family disease and it does not discriminate based on age, gender, or race. As Leonie develops into a more dynamic character readers realize that her drug addiction is not the only character trait that she has. Leonie is home for Michael but their children hold no involvement with their emotions. Drugs tear people apart from one another and many people never know how they will find their next high therefore they will go to all extent.
Jojo does not view Leonie as a mother, he views her as a platonic character. When Jojo is asked about his mother he denies that Leonie is his mother. This shame and embarrassment is built up from her drug abuse over the years causing Jojo to have to grow up quickly. When Pops and Mam step up to show their love for Jojo it allows him to console himself. Their ultimate goal is to raise Jojo and Kayla like their own because their parents are unfit to do so. These stories are important because those that are raised in families and have a good home life still have a great chance of things like addiction affecting them.
I agree with the fact that Leonie is addicted to Michael and their relationship towards one another is truly an addiction that they both don’t discover until later on in the novel. We see that drugs are prevalent in the book, with Leonie being addicted to cocaine, which causes a gap between the parents and the children. As a result, Leonie continues to fail as a parent to Jojo and Kayla. As you mentioned, Leonie even mentioned to Michael how having another child might be a different experience for them stating, “If we had another baby, we could get it right” (150). From this we can see that Leonie is understanding her inabilities as a parent, to which she thinks having another child will help her redeem herself in a sense. In addition, you mentioned how drugs in the novel are seen as breaking apart relationships which is true when we take a look at how Jojo acts towards Leonie. Jojo no longer calls his mother “mom” and has opted to call her by her first name, which denotes her role in his life because he no longer sees Leonie as a mother figure in his life but rather is grandmother and grandfather as parental figures. With the drug addiction that both Leonie and Michael have in the novel, they are becoming more and more distant with their children and in addition one another because of the severity of their addiction.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the book does a really good job of showing how addiction can impact a whole family. Leonie and Michael's bond, while it may have originally been based on love, is now just an extension of their respective addictions. This addiction has almost turned them into one single unit that has no serious regard for anything outside the unit. Their desire for drugs and each other trumps all other things in their lives. Leonie has begun to resent her children because they are an obstacle to getting high, and she really struggles being a mom because of how the drugs have impacted her. This causes various negative effects on her children and shows just how far reaching a single person's addiction can be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Leonie sees Michael as a drug due to the way that she looks at their relationship and sees him. In the beginning of their relationship, Leonie and Michael could have very well been in love with one another, but once drugs became part of their arrangement, it appears as though their relationship turned into more of an arrangement. They looked to each other to find the drugs and then do the drugs with one another. I think that this kind of changes the value of their relationship since it is purely based off an addiction. I think this also creates the illusion to Leonie that she loves Michael because it appears as though she is more into the idea of him and the safety of him more than the idea of loving him which is why she wants him around. I also agree that the effects of drug addiction impact more than just one person. Throughout this story, we see the way that Leonie’s children are affected from her addictions. They are neglected, and always seem to be around but not actually taken care of. When Kayla is getting sick in the car, Leonie acts mad and Jojo must comfort Kayla because Leonie is not willing to. I think the fact that Jojo must step in and be a bigger influence on his sister shows one of the ways that the family is impacted by the influence of addiction.
ReplyDelete