While slavery has been abolished by the time Jojo is alive, the story centers around Parchman, the Mississippi State Penitentiary. While the generally accepted worldview is that 'progress' occurs as we move forward in time, Sing, Unburied, Singoffers a perspective that challenges our singular focus on the future. People and ghosts exist and coexist, amplifying the needs of one another. In this way, connections traverse the borders that conventionally separate generations and geographies. While the main events of the story occur right around Jojo's birthday, the narrative weaves seamlessly between events and characters that have existed in 'years prior.' Connections exist between characters that are not alive at the same period of time: Leonie communicates with Given while Jojo develops a relationship with Richie. Instead, her story offers the idea that time is a circular system in which the same events are repeated according to a cyclical pattern. Ward makes a clear point to reject the notion of a perpetual, linear structure of time. As the novel progresses and Jojo is awakened to the suffering in the world, he begins to empathize with Leonie and better understand her. Because Jojo has been harmed by Leonie's negligence, he is unable to understand that Leonie suffers.

While Michael is equally as negligent as Leonie, Jojo is far more affected by his mother's absence than his father's. Jojo's feelings towards Leonie also reflect how he has been influenced by societal expectations of motherhood. Leonie's battle with drug addiction causes her to make brash and self-focused decisions, which often negatively impacts the people that surround her. She also struggles to support her family while her husband, Michael, is in prison. Leonie experiences intense grief over the loss of her brother, Given. Jojo's own mother, Leonie, is quite different from Mam. He looks to Mam, a supportive, loving, and healing confidante, as the archetypal mother figure. Throughout the story, Jojo has a clear expectation in his mind for what a mother should be. Buy Study Guide The Pressures of Motherhood

Sing unburied