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"Pop shakes his head. Looks at me like he's trying to figure out how tall I am, how big my hands, how long, my feet. I can wear his shoes now..."(249).

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"Pop shakes his head. Looks at me like he's trying to figure out how tall I am, how big my hands, how long, my feet. I can wear his shoes now..."(249).

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In this moment where Pop begins to tell Jojo the story of Richie's death he looks at him in such a was as if he is trying to decide whether or not Jojo is grown up enough to hear the story. He looms at him and ultimately decides that Jojo is in fact grown enough to hear the tragic story and begins to tell it. It is also possible that Pop knows if he has to recount what happened that day that Richie died he will shut down emotionally and partially psychically which he does in the following scenes and he needs to make for certain that in this event Jojo will be able to take over the caretaker roll and become the man of the house, the comforting soul. Pop was partially correct in assuming that Jojo was ready as he is able to comfort Pop upon him collapsing to his knees after telling the story and helping him cope/grief with the feeling that have completely consumed him. On the flip side Pop may have overestimated Jojo's emotional stability in the sense that after Mam passes away Jojo lashes out harshly at Leonie believing that she is in her same ways of sitting back and not taking any responsibilities seriously. Jojo does not know what Mam requested Leonie to do and Jojo assumes on his own measure that Leonie was in the wrong. Overall Pop was correct to assume that Jojo is grown enough to be a stable caretaker for the characters in need of help, however like everyone Jojo still has some learning and maturing to do in order to fully take the position of someone who is caring towards everyone.

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"Jojos straight, straight as Pop, all the little boy gone from his eyes" (272).

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"Jojos straight, straight as Pop, all the little boy gone from his eyes" (272).

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Leonie just hit both of her kids, and Jojo is terrified. He wants to be brave in this moment and stay calm for his sister. Jojo has been spending this entire book working on being like Pop and becoming a man. He has inherited so many of Pops characteristics and now that Pop is old, Jojo has to fill this role in his family. Leonie describes Jojo "straight, straight as Pop" which explains how Jojo is presenting himself as Pop would. When Leonie says, "all the little boy gone from his eyes" she is talking about how she is loosing her little boy and how he has grown up. Jojo has stepped up to fill this empty role in his family with his mother being addicted to drugs, and his father not being a good man. He is trying to be the bigger person for his sister, and be the "glue" that the family needs. Leonie even compares Jojo to her own father due to Jojo following in his footsteps and being so much like Pop. This can scare Leonie in some ways, as her only son is growing up to be more and more like her father, and doing more for her family than she can possibly do in her control. Leonies little boy is growing up, and she is realizing that he is so much more and can do so much more for the family than her and Michael.

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"Nothing... You  cant give me nothing" (271).

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"Nothing... You  cant give me nothing" (271).

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As the story unfolds and is gradually heading to an end Jojo makes the decision that he no longer needs Leonie to do anything for him, which she truthfully wasn't to begin with. Now that Mam has passed on Jojo feels alone and without a solid mother figure as Leonie did nothing for him. Eventually these feelings come to a head in him saying this to Leonie, he has now become his own man. He is no longer in need of anything Leonie could ever give him. The same way that Pop has always fended for himself by himself and protected those that needed it Jojo is now making the choice to be his own man, his own caretaker while simultaneously taking on the responsibility of caring for Kayla as Michael and Leonie are basically useless. Especially in Michael's case where he is psychically abusive to her. In his doing this Jojo, whether realizing it or not, has taken on the exact role Pop did for Richie all those years ago. He is now a lone man caring for someone who desperately needs his help.

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""You better watch out, boy. He used to look at me like that," Richie says. His teeth are white in the black: tiny and sharp as a kitten's. "And then he left me.""(222). 

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""You better watch out, boy. He used to look at me like that," Richie says. His teeth are white in the black: tiny and sharp as a kitten's. "And then he left me.""(222). 

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Richie recalls back to a time when Pop was taking care of him and looking out for him, yet failed and eventually was the one to end his time. Time repeating itself is brought to light, as Richie remembers how Pop was like his father and was a second family to him, much like how Jojo is literally Pop's blood and Pop is inheritably his grandfather. Richie warns Jojo that time will repeat itself and much like how Pop left Richie, he will leave Jojo. He infers that because Jojo is in his position at this point in time, he has "inherited" the bad luck and seems positive that Pop will repeat this abandonment again in this time.

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"Your mama's sick. She need this for her stomach." "I remember the gray water, the black stew from the leaves she boiled for Kayla" (173). 

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"Your mama's sick. She need this for her stomach." "I remember the gray water, the black stew from the leaves she boiled for Kayla" (173). 

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Michael is frantic because of Leonie being sick. Leonie is sick due to all of the drugs she has taken. Michael is not in a good place with substance use, and is not known for being a good dad at all. He is also not good at taking care of loved ones. Michael wants Jojo to get charcoal and milk to help cure Leonie. Jojo remembers the home remedies and medicines Leonie has created in the past. Leonie hasnt been the greatest mother too her kids, but she will always attempt to help them when in need. Jojo is trying to step up and be that figure for his mom now that she cant help herself and Michael can't help either. Jojo is now in a position where he has to be the parent for his own parent. Due to both of his parents being drug addicts and having a younger sister that doesn't know how to help herself, Jojo has to work with what he has learned from Leonie in the past to try and now be that figure for his family.

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"Given had carved a rose that looked like a muddy puddle, now worn smooth by Mama's feet" (156).

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"Given had carved a rose that looked like a muddy puddle, now worn smooth by Mama's feet" (156).

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The over-arching presence and feeling of dismay that comes with Given's entire character is a cornerstone of this book. The death of Given is an event in almost every main character's life that cannot be overlooked. The fact that Ward specifically mentions the fact that his rose drawing has been worn out on the stool is almost a symbol of him slowly fading out of the main character's focus and minds. However his drawing is not completely gone and is still visible enough to see what it is which shows how the character can never truly forget his presence even with a passage of time. Given's overall significance is the memory of him and the weight he places on the shoulders of his family who have to carry on without him in their lives and honor his memory. The idea that the rose serves as a symbol to Given's memory and life is a subliminal way of telling the reader that his memory may be slowly fading from the mind of the main characters.

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 "...he's sorry for me, for what I got to learn. "And time...You don't know shit about time"...When I was thirteen...I knew that hunger could hurt..."(184-185).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

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 "...he's sorry for me, for what I got to learn. "And time...You don't know shit about time"...When I was thirteen...I knew that hunger could hurt..."(184-185).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

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Richie and Jojo are talking about what Jojo doesn't know about life. Richie says that Jojo doesn't know about time, insinuating that he doesn't know how to use it right. Later on, Richie contrasts what he was like at Jojo's age. He acknowledged that at his age, Richie was brought into the wrong place, Parchman, and he underwent inhumane cruelty and brutal abuse while at the prison. At his age, Jojo's belly is soft as well as his mind and body are untouched. Times were quite literally different back then, the contrast evident in the two boy's lives at the same age. Inheritance is also an underlying theme as Jojo is only able to see and talk to Richie due to the gift he attained through blood. Richie could only escape Parchman after death and come with them due to Jojo being Pop's descendant.

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"And when I asked her what she meant, she said: Ain't no good in using anger just to lash. You pray for it to blow up a storm that's going to flush out the truth...She kicks. I want to hit her. Don't make me feel this for nothing, I think. Give me some truth. But ain't no truth coming..."(146)

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"And when I asked her what she meant, she said: Ain't no good in using anger just to lash. You pray for it to blow up a storm that's going to flush out the truth...She kicks. I want to hit her. Don't make me feel this for nothing, I think. Give me some truth. But ain't no truth coming..."(146)

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Leonie recalls back to a time when Mama would be mad at her or Given and instead of lashing out, she would start praying. Leonie asks her why she prays, and Mama explains that she does not think that there is any good in giving into anger and that she prays for it to go away. Leonie then comes back to the present when she is getting mad at Kayla and tries to pray and expel the anger but fails. She describes that she wants to hit Kayla and is close to it, how she is seeking for this truth, but it does not seem to come to her. There is a contrast in time as well as inheritance in this excerpt. Leonie is Mama's daughter, yet she does not seem to be anything like her no matter how hard she tries. There is no obvious inheritance of similar traits in Leonie that are from Mama. The contrast of time appears due to Leonie's flashback and how she tries to recreate it in a way but cannot, demonstrating how times have changed and in what way it contrasts.

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"Mama always told me they could be used for upset stomach, but only for adults. But if there was nothing else, she said I could make a tea and give it to kids. Not a lot, I remember her saying. From the leaves. Or was it from the vine? Or the roots? The heat beats down so hard I can't remember" (105)

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"Mama always told me they could be used for upset stomach, but only for adults. But if there was nothing else, she said I could make a tea and give it to kids. Not a lot, I remember her saying. From the leaves. Or was it from the vine? Or the roots? The heat beats down so hard I can't remember" (105)

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Mama has always been a very caring person to Leonie and has been there for her as a mother. Leonie is now a mother to her own kids and wants to be that figure to her kids like Mama was for her. Growing up, Mama had taught Leonie some tips and information that would be helpful for her some days with her own kids. Deep down Leonie wants to be like her mom and be that person for her own kids, but she can't. Leonie struggles with drug usage and struggles to be a stable mother for her children. She wants to be that mother for her kids like Mama was, but she can't. This relates to our time/inheritance motif in the way that Leonie wants to inherit the caringness and mother - like features, but cannot.

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"He says it so easy. Son. He got his arm on the back of the driver's seat his hand wrapped around the back of Leonie's neck rubbing it, squeezing it soft. It's something like the way Mam would hold me by the neck when we went to the grocery store when I was little..."(128).

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"He says it so easy. Son. He got his arm on the back of the driver's seat his hand wrapped around the back of Leonie's neck rubbing it, squeezing it soft. It's something like the way Mam would hold me by the neck when we went to the grocery store when I was little..."(128).

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The entire story up to this point has had the looming anticipation of meeting Michael and finding out what his character is like. It is extremely abundant that even though he is technically his son, Jojo does not view Michael as a father figure. This could certainly be in part to the fact that Michael was absent for so much of Jojo's childhood for his own selfish and self destructive reasons. Jojo sees the way Michael has his hand around Leonie's neck and it makes him think of the way Mam used to hold him. The difference is though that Michael is not Mam and seeing someone that he has basically zero emotional ties with mimic something his beloved grandmother sued to do has a heavy effect on Jojo.

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"I don't want Leonie giving her that. I know that's what she think she need to do, but she ain't Mam. She ain't Pop. She aint' never healed nothing or grown nothing in her life, and she don't know" (107). 

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"I don't want Leonie giving her that. I know that's what she think she need to do, but she ain't Mam. She ain't Pop. She aint' never healed nothing or grown nothing in her life, and she don't know" (107). 

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Leonie inherits her abnormal ability to see extraordinary things in the ordinary world from her mother, Mam, but the way she inherits and uses it is completely different to how Mam uses it. Mam continually uses her gift to heal others and herself, whereas Leonie uses it to see her dead brother whenever she is high, a stark comparison of their uses of the ability. In this passage, Leonie is trying to help heal Kayla by trying to use the knowledge she inherited from Mam about the gift, but she is failing. Jojo recognizes how she is trying to be just like Mam and Pop, as if her being their daughter is enough to be just like them, that inheritance of their genes would be enough to change her completely in these moments. The contrast in time and in inheritance is shown. Leonie has never once healed or grown anything but is trying to rely on her inherited genes to allow her to do the impossible. Time is also brought up, as later on Jojo recalls when Leonie made him his own healing concoction and the mixture made him sicker and even killed a cat (116). This comparison in time shows how Leonie has not changed and neither has the way she uses her inherited ability.

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"A year after Given died, Mama planted a tree for him. One every anniversary, she said, pain cracking in her voice. If I live long enough, going to be a forest here, she said, a whispering forest... I dream about it. Dream I can see Given again, walking through the door in his boots. But then I wake up. And I don't." (Ward 50-51)

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"A year after Given died, Mama planted a tree for him. One every anniversary, she said, pain cracking in her voice. If I live long enough, going to be a forest here, she said, a whispering forest... I dream about it. Dream I can see Given again, walking through the door in his boots. But then I wake up. And I don't." (Ward 50-51)

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Mama is expressing how much she cares for Given, and about the situation by planting a tree. She wants there to be a forest in honor of Given. Mama dreams of being able to see Given again, when he was a child. But those dreams never become a reality. Mama is using the time to heal her grief over Given. She is attempting to build this forest in his honor. When Mama says, " If I live long enough, going to be a forest here, she said, a whispering forest" this symbolizes how Mama has very little time left to live, as she has serious cancer. Mama having only a certain amount of time left to live, Given dying, and Mama's dreams about Given all tie into the time motif.

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"There were lines, new since the cancer, running from her hose down to the edges of her mouth. She smiled a half smile" (67).

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"There were lines, new since the cancer, running from her hose down to the edges of her mouth. She smiled a half smile" (67).

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Throughout the story thus far it has been known that Mama has cancer. However there are no real defining traits given to her disease or the effects it has on her besides a small mention here or there. In this instance the imagery of smile lines appearing seemingly out of thin air caused by the disease gives the feeling of time running out. The psychical changes caused by the cancer are like a ticking clock counting down Mama's days and slowly eating away at everything about her down to her very smile. The feeling of a clock ticking or time running out of her life has a looming effect over the other characters as well as the reader themselves. Everyone knows that there is nothing that can be done about it, but still having to essentially watch a person that they deeply care for and love die slowly from something out of their control has a heavy affect on the characters.

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""I think it runs in the blood...rise over the water in generations. My mama ain't have it...That it skips from sister to child to cousin...Usually come around full-blown when you bleed for the first time"(40). 

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""I think it runs in the blood...rise over the water in generations. My mama ain't have it...That it skips from sister to child to cousin...Usually come around full-blown when you bleed for the first time"(40). 

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Mama is confessing that the ability that allows Leonie to see such abnormal people and scenarios is passed down through blood. It is a gene that is inherited and also seems to have a pattern that it follows, skipping from family member to family member. This ties to inheritance because it explains how a gift/ability is literally being inherited from a mother to a daughter and to a cousin and back and forth. Time also plays a role in this conversation, as it appears that the ability does not grow to full strength until one has bled for the first time.

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"I looked at her and said: No, Leonie. It was a new thing, to look at her rubbing hands and her crooked teeth and not hear Mama in my head, but her name: Leonie"(Ward 16).

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"I looked at her and said: No, Leonie. It was a new thing, to look at her rubbing hands and her crooked teeth and not hear Mama in my head, but her name: Leonie"(Ward 16).

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Over time, Jojo lost the sense of childhood that compelled him to call Leonie, 'Mom'. Even most adults call their mother, Mom, and very rarely use their first name. The reason that Jojo calls his mom by her real first name is that fact that over time their relationship has been strained. Showing that with the passage of time and the absence presence of person in a relationship, dynamics change.