A major theme in Sing, Unburied, Sing is food and how it relates each of the characters toward one another. When Jojo and Kayla are on the road trip with Leonie they are hungry since they are not given food all day. Once at Al’s house, he offers food to the whole party, but Leonie at first does not want to accept the gesture. “We find him in the kitchen, boiling noodles for spaghetti. My mouth turns to water. I have never been so hungry… ‘Figured y’all would be hungry’… ‘No,’ Leonie says. She crosses her arms when she says it. ‘We’re not hungry’” (Ward 111-112). Leonie knows her children must be hungry since they had not eaten all day, but she lacks the caregiving qualities needed to put her pride aside and accept food for her kids. I find this scene to be especially pivotal in displaying Leonie’s faults as a mother, because it shows that her lack of care for her children does not stem from a lack of resources. Ward makes it clear that the family is not well-off, but this scene makes it clear that money is not what is preventing Jojo and Kayla from getting good care.
Most scenes that involve food follow a common theme, but one
passage stands out to me as different from the rest. In other passages, one
character serves as a caregiver for another when they offer food. However, a
later scene with Michael seems to switch this pattern around. When Michael comes
home, he cooks a breakfast of bacon for Jojo and Kayla. Michael’s fatherly
actions display a love for his children, and a yearning to be present in their lives
as a caregiver. However, he becomes quick to hit Kayla after she starts whining
and screaming. “’Goddamnit,’ Michael says. ‘Michaela!’ And then he’s hunching
over both of us, and his arm whips out, whips in, and he’s dopped the fork and
he’s smacking Kayla hard on the thigh…” (Ward 228). Michael’s response to his
young daughter’s crying is not that of a responsible and caring parent. I think
that Ward uses the combination of events in this scene to show Michael’s true
character. He is first shown as a parent who is desperate to improve for his
children, but his hitting tells the reader that Michael is uncapable of being a
good caregiver for Jojo and Kayla. By showing a quick change in Michael’s relationship
with his kids, Ward could also be using the presence of this scene to foreshadow
later events in the novel when Michael and Leonie leave their children.
Hi! I agree with the statements about food you integrated with the themes of Sing, Unburied, Sing. I never really thought about it like that! This is especially with Leonie; throughout the book, she seems to always seems to show a sense of jealousy of how Jojo can be this caring/parental figure to Kayla. Even when they are in the car to Parchman, Kayla is vomiting; Jojo is the main provider of care for Kayla. Both kids resent Leonie to some extent and depend on each other for love and support. Then, after not eating anything from the car ride, once they are offered food, Leonie doesn’t seem to care about her kids being hungry. It’s like she has no idea how to be a mother, even though Mam, her mother, seems to be a great parental role to the kids. I think Leonie and the kids are all disappointed in her; Leonie knows what to do, but fails to act as if she is scared of acting motherly. Then, the kids, especially Jojo has to repeatedly step up and grow up fast to take care of his little sister, resenting Leonie every day. Then, with Michael, he gets out of jail and wants to act as this fatherly figure, but with the food scene, still wants to hit Kayla when she is whining about his food. Both Leonie and Michael don’t seem to have the caring qualities of being parents and seem to care about more of their relationship with one another than with their kids.
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