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"And Kayla sings louder. She waves her hand in the air as she sings, and I know it, know the movement, know its how Leonie rubbed my back, rubbed Kaylas back, when we were frightened of the world" (284).

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"And Kayla sings louder. She waves her hand in the air as she sings, and I know it, know the movement, know its how Leonie rubbed my back, rubbed Kaylas back, when we were frightened of the world" (284).

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Kayla has taken up Mams mantle as the caregiver of the family. Much like Mam, she has great control over her gift, using it with a natural ease that no one else in the family can compared to. Her gift is also similar to Mams. Where Mam was able to hear singing, Kayla is able to be the singing. Like Mam, she has great motherly abilities. There are many references in this chapter to Kaylas motherly resemblence. Kayla now possesses a maternal quality to her, one that resembles Leonie, and one that would as a result, also resemble Mam. Just as Jojo has inherited Paps role in the family, Kayla has inherited Mams.

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"'I hear it. Sometimes. When the sun. Sets. When the sun. Rises. The Song. It snatches. The stars. A record. The Sky. A great record. The lives. The lives of the living. Of those beyond. See it in flashes. The sound. Beyond the waters.'" (281)

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"'I hear it. Sometimes. When the sun. Sets. When the sun. Rises. The Song. It snatches. The stars. A record. The Sky. A great record. The lives. The lives of the living. Of those beyond. See it in flashes. The sound. Beyond the waters.'" (281)

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This quote shows that Richie cannot fully go to the afterlife because he doesn't know he died and how the story ends. The song Richie hears is from people, living and dead. Relating back to an earlier quote, once Richie understands the song (knows why he died), he will be able to go onto the afterlife

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"Last night, Richie crawled under the house and sang. I listened to it rise up through the floor, and I couldn't sleep." (247)

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"Last night, Richie crawled under the house and sang. I listened to it rise up through the floor, and I couldn't sleep." (247)

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This quote embodies the important of Richie's singing in the novel. Richie's singing symbolizes the connection between the living and the dead. Because Jojo and Pop were so close, when Richie was alive, Jojo has an almost pre-established relationship with Richie. Jojo's unrest also shows the unrest of Richie wanting to know how he died.

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"'Mama,' looks at Leonie with so much understanding and forgiveness and love that I hear that song again... A great mouth opens in me and wails; I am an empty stomach" (245).

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"'Mama,' looks at Leonie with so much understanding and forgiveness and love that I hear that song again... A great mouth opens in me and wails; I am an empty stomach" (245).

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In this moment, Richie describes the love and compassion the Mam and Leonie share while Leonie gets ready to send Mam away. Suddenly, Richie claims that he hears a familiar tune, that he has heard before. This song represents the affection passed from one individual to another when they provide for someone else. This type of song appears a lot in Mam's abilities when she hears the song of others, and takes care of them, or when Jojo sings to Kayla to comfort her. Unfortunately for Richie, he will never be able to recieve something like this ever again. Pop was the one who originally took care of Richie, but now as a ghost, Richie is unable to come in contact with Pop. His empty stomach alludes to his hunger for nurture and comfort, and his sense of feeling unfinished without knowing how his story ends. Another interesting piece of this quote is the foreshadowing of Leonie becoming a better caregiver. It seems that Richie hears the singing come from Leonie taking care of Mam, not the other way around. Normally, Mam has been the caregiver in the story, and singing has been tied mainly to her; however, with the singing eminating to Leonie, this foreshadows her becoming more a of motherly figure.

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"They are never silent. Ever present is their singing: they don't move their mouths yet it comes from them" (241). 

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"They are never silent. Ever present is their singing: they don't move their mouths yet it comes from them" (241). 

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Throughout the novel, singing has been an element in the story that connects life together. In this moment, Richie is looking out into the landscape in his dream, and he sees all of the civilizations that have ever been created in the past up until the present. He watches as the new cities are created, and sees all of the tiny people, noting that they never stop singing. Wherever home is throughout the book, singing seems to follow, which is consistent with this dream. Home doesn't necessarily have to be a certain place, but it is where people can find comfort, and singing has appeared with comfort many times. Jojo sings Kayla to comfort her when the family gets pulled over by the cops, and Mam uses her singing to heal the sick. In this example singing is creating community, and everyone who sings belongs in that space; however, Richie comments that he does not understand a word of the singing. Richie has never truly had a place where he can call home, and he has never felt a sense of belonging in the story. The reason he can still feel the singing eminating in his dream though is because he has almost found his home. Richie's story is coming to an end, and him almost understanding the singing demonstrates his closeness to finding a home.

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"the high would trill through my veins like a discordant song" (104). 

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"the high would trill through my veins like a discordant song" (104). 

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In this quote, Jesmyn Ward illustrates the differences between Leonie's and Mam's relationship with song, and their overall way of life. In this case, singing is being used to describe the high that Leonie has and her feelings of disorganization during it; however, Mam's relationship with music is much different. Mam embodies a connection between singing and a sort of back to the basics type of reality where singing is helping her become closer to nature. Because of this closeness with nature, Mam is able to benefit from her relatioship with song, and she gains healing abilities from that bond. Leonie on the other hand seems to be constantly resenting singing, and this is seen in the contrast between her and Mams relationship with nature. Leonie does not have the gift of healing, and she resorts to very unnatural products like drugs to solve her problems. We even see this disconnection in the way she describes her high, when she says "discordant song". Her connection with music is similar to Mam's, but much darker and more inconsistent, as it seems to appear only when she is under the influence of drugs.

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"And I sing songs without words. The songs come to me out of the same air that brings the sound of the waters: I open my mouth and I hear the rushing of the waves" (240).

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"And I sing songs without words. The songs come to me out of the same air that brings the sound of the waters: I open my mouth and I hear the rushing of the waves" (240).

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Water has multiple meanings in the story. Either it supports and cradles, or it drowns and sweeps away. Often times Richie compares Mam and Jojo to the water, and says water supports them. On the other hand, Richie expresses that he is helpless against the current, while Mam and Jojo are in control. Perhaps his voice now sounding like waves represents how he is losing control of the situation. Jojo refuses to ask River about Richie on Richies behalf, and Richie is unable to do anything about it, helpless to Jojo and helpless to his own prediciment as a ghost. Richie needs Jojo to help him because he can't help himself, and he is forced to follow Jojos journey, just like a piece of debris swallowed by the relentless tide.

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"It is the most beautiful song I have ever heard, but I can't understand a word" (241)

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"It is the most beautiful song I have ever heard, but I can't understand a word" (241)

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During this scene, Richie describes the world he is seeing in front of him. The world he sees is all of civilization growing and developing over time. The "song" being referred to is a "song of life", but since Richie is dead he doesn't understand this song.

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"I am singing nursery rhymes with Kayla while Leonie throws up because I want Kayla to pay attention to me." (179)

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"I am singing nursery rhymes with Kayla while Leonie throws up because I want Kayla to pay attention to me." (179)

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This piece of text highlights Jojo's responsibility in his family, to act as a mother figure. When Leonie is vomitting because of all the drugs in her body, Jojo is protecting Kayla from hearing it by singing her nursery rhymes. Although he is singing the nursery songs all wrong because Leonie sang them to him so long ago, before she did drugs, he is still activley trying to protect Kayla from the reality of his mother.

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"'Marie-Therese herself could hear. Could look at a woman and hear singing: If she was pregnant, could tell her when she was going to have the baby, what sex the baby was going to be." (41).

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"'Marie-Therese herself could hear. Could look at a woman and hear singing: If she was pregnant, could tell her when she was going to have the baby, what sex the baby was going to be." (41).

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When Mam says this she means that you can tell a lot about someone just by the way they sing. In this case, Marie-Therese can tell when a woman is going to have a baby and what gender the said baby would be, just by the way she sings. This relates back to the beginning of the book when Jojo's family was singing him happy birthday. Kayla is too young to sing, Mam isn't able to sing, Leonie's voice cracks when she is singing, and Pop doesn't sing the words to the song.

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"I sing the nursery rhymes all wrong, Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap," (179).

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"I sing the nursery rhymes all wrong, Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap," (179).

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Jojos inability to sing the nursery rhymes correctly shows a loss of innocence and growing up. Nursery rhymes remind him of his happy childhood, an inherently familiy reliant genre of songs and poems. When Jojo thinks of nursery rhymes, he remembers when Leonie still tried to act like a mother and he didn't need to take care of Kayla. However, Leonie grew detached from Jojo overtime and no longer acted like his mother, causing Jojo to lose his close relationship with his mother and his happy childhood. In present time, Jojo can hardly remember what it was like back when they were a truly family, and as a result, lost the ability to sing nursery rhymes.

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"How the clearest voices sang over the jumble of the rest... From the man who run the store who had a leg that sang: The blood turns black and pools, the toes rot. How a cow's belly said: The calf is coming hooves first" (41).

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"How the clearest voices sang over the jumble of the rest... From the man who run the store who had a leg that sang: The blood turns black and pools, the toes rot. How a cow's belly said: The calf is coming hooves first" (41).

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Throughout the novel, Jesmyn Ward gives the readers insight to some of the unique abilities that Jojo's family possess, such as the ability to the the songs of other souls around them. This trait thrives in the women of Jojo's family, and gives the user the power to hear voices inside other living beings. The voices are suggestive of the idea of that every spirit has their own melody, and through song, the users of the gift are able to understand what is going on inside of them. These gifts serve different purposes in the lives of the family, and each has their own benefit. Mam's gift enhances her motherly traits as it gives her insight to the internal situation of others, allowing her to access what they need at a certain time. She accepts her gift with pride, and in return to the gift provides for her, allowing her to create and form various natural remedies for different illnesses and fevers.

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"Here he come. Been singing for weeks" (156).

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"Here he come. Been singing for weeks" (156).

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When Leonie approaches Mam, Mam mutters these two sentences. Because of her gift of hearing medical conditions, Mam knows beforehand that Leonie is pregnant. By saying 'he', Mam implies that she knows the gender of Leonies baby, who will eventually be born as a male. Mams gift lets her hear Jojo before he is born, likely when he first became conscious in the womb. This is indicated by an earlier statement that Leonie is 10 months pregnant when she approaches Mam about her pregnancy. Based on the knowledge that Mam only heard Jojo in the womb a couple weeks prior to this conversation, perhaps that means Mam is only able to hear medical conditions when they are attached to a person with a conscious or when the medical condition itself gains conscious. This knowledge also connnects to earlier in the book about Marie-Therese. It appears that Mam too is able to tell if someone is pregnant and what gender the baby is. Considering that the other gifts seen in the book are related to ghosts, it could mean that a conscious is the defining factor to when the family gift can activate.

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"Come in, a man's voice sings, and there's music behind it" (111).

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"Come in, a man's voice sings, and there's music behind it" (111).

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The man who tells Leonie and her family to come in to the house is the polar opposite of them. He is a white man, unlike Leonie. However, he has a musical quality to his voice that has only ever been described in Leonie and Mam. Considering that Leonie has the special gift, the fact that she describes his voice as musical might imply that the man is also connected to nature or shares something in common with Leonie. Otherwise, it could be that he has a unique quality that resonates with Leonies gift, or that Leonies earlier reflection on life with Mam caused her to think in the same way Mam does. Mam listens more closely to the world around her, and its possible that Leonie is unconsciously imitating her.

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"Men strung out across the fields... the caller yelling to the sun, throwing his work song out. Like a fishing net. Us caught and struggling" (69).

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"Men strung out across the fields... the caller yelling to the sun, throwing his work song out. Like a fishing net. Us caught and struggling" (69).

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In this flashback of Jojo remembering a time when he asked Pop what prison was like, he recalls a story Pop told him about the working conditions on the fields. Pop portrays a "caller" throwing out a work song to the rest of the men, compelling them to work harder. In this simili, singing is being compared to the formulative structure of prison life that commands all of the prisoners to keep enduring labor. This imagery is ironic because normally singing is tied with positive and joyful celebrations; however, in this example singing is trapping all of the prisoners. The comparison between the work song and a fishing net catching the prisoners, is interesting because throughout the novel we have seen song connecting life rather than trapping and enclosing it. Singing has offered comfort to many characters, but in this example singing is taking away any feeling of joy; however, song does not always have to be happy. Music in general has several different genres, and it can provide a variety of different feelings to the listener. This song is reminiscent of the different elements that appear in traditional slaves songs, which involve a tune from the leader, and thena response from the listeners, or in this case workers.

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"The animals are quieting in grunts and snorts and yips. Thankyou, they say. Thank you thank you thank you, the sing" (257)

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"The animals are quieting in grunts and snorts and yips. Thankyou, they say. Thank you thank you thank you, the sing" (257)

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The animals listen and sympathize with Richie's story, as Pop tells the story of how Richie was killed. He explains how Richie was going to be brutally tortured and killed after he was found with Blue, so Pop took matters into his own hands, and killed Richie by stabbing him in the neck. Pop felt it was necessary to kill Richie, even though he feels he is a parental figure for him, and cares for him deeply. If Pop didn't kill Richie himself, Richie would face a death much worse. Even the goat Pop killed in the beginning of the novel was treated with more respect than Blue when they killed him, and Pop couldn't let that happen to Richie. After hearing the story, the animals sing thank you to Richie, before Richie dissapears. The animals all singing together represents how all living things are connected to one another, through song.

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"Where my family lived... it's a wall. It's a hard floor, wood. Then concrete. No opening. No heartbeat. No air... The place is the song and I'm going to be part of the song" (183).

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"Where my family lived... it's a wall. It's a hard floor, wood. Then concrete. No opening. No heartbeat. No air... The place is the song and I'm going to be part of the song" (183).

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Richie explains how where he used to live had no heartbeat, no air. Home is where there is heartbeat and song. Where he used to live, he was treated very poorly, and not taken care of. With Pop, Richie feels nurtured and feels at home with him. Richie says that everything is connected by songs you cannot see, but you can feel. Home is where you feel comfort, and songs also help comfort people.

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"I ain't never have the talent for it. Seeing the dead. I could read people, read the future or the past in they bodies. Know what was wrong or needed by their songs: in the plants, in the animals, too. But never saw the dead. Wanted it so bad after Given died. . . Mam turns her head to one side, hearing Richie's song. 'Is there something outside?" (237)

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"I ain't never have the talent for it. Seeing the dead. I could read people, read the future or the past in they bodies. Know what was wrong or needed by their songs: in the plants, in the animals, too. But never saw the dead. Wanted it so bad after Given died. . . Mam turns her head to one side, hearing Richie's song. 'Is there something outside?" (237)

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Mam tells Jojo how she wishes she could see the dead. She has the gift to hear others songs, but never could communicate with dead people. She hears Richie singing, and is not sure what it is. This symbolizes how as Mam is getting sicker and closer to death, she is more connected with those who passed.

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"When I was younger, I didn't know because I had a whole family singing to me: Mam, Leonie, and Micheal. But this year, when Mam can't sing because she's sick and Kayla makes up words to the melody and Michael's gone, I know Pop isn't singing... There's no happiness here." (28).

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"When I was younger, I didn't know because I had a whole family singing to me: Mam, Leonie, and Micheal. But this year, when Mam can't sing because she's sick and Kayla makes up words to the melody and Michael's gone, I know Pop isn't singing... There's no happiness here." (28).

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Insight: Without the people that Jojo wants, the people in his family, it takes the happiness out of his birthday. When he was younger he was innocent and didn't realize that not everyone was singing but now he realizes. This is a clear loss of innocence. This is proof that Jojo is growing up, becoming more aware, and realizing the issues in his family. The mood is off because it doesn't feel like his birthday.

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"How she might hear a multitude of voices ringing from any living thing, and how she followed the loudest voices, 'cause these were the most likely" (41).

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"How she might hear a multitude of voices ringing from any living thing, and how she followed the loudest voices, 'cause these were the most likely" (41).

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Mam tells Leonie how the gift to hear people's songs runs in their blood. She explains to Leonie how this gift allows the women in their family to perceive others feelings. When someone sings, they are sharing a part of themself that cannot be expressed through words. Mama informs Leonie that Marie-Therese might hear many voices coming from someone at times, and that she follows the most resounding ones. When the family is singing happy birthday to Jojo earlier in the novel, Leonie has a voice crack.  This shows how Leonie does not have this gift of singing and hearing people's songs, like Mam.

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Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap both of us singing" (179).

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Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap both of us singing" (179).

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Jojo uses singing to distract Kayla. He does not want his little sister to see her mother hunched over sick, or Micheal looking like he's about to cry, or Misty's red face. Leonie has sung these nursery rhymes to him long ago, and it made the family so happy. Jojo uses music as a way to cope with hard times, because it reminds him of good times he had singing with his mom. Furthermore, the fact that Jojo is remembering this happy moment with Leonie, when she is hunched over sick, shows how he is trying to make the best of Leonie's parenting.