Whole Class: Salvage the Bones Discussions

Motherhood

Motherhood

by Minahil Fatima -
Number of replies: 22

Jasmine Ward’s Salvage the Bones highlights the implications of Hurricane Katrina for a poor and in many ways broken family. The novel largely focuses on the theme of motherhood and this relationship is depicted not just between humans but also between animals. Ward describes motherhood as a responsibility that comes before anything else rather than a relationship between two people. We get to experience three drastically different stories of motherhood throughout the novel: Mama’s who dies giving birth to Junior, China’s who kills one of her own puppies, and Esch’s only role model on how to be a mother being Medea from Greek methodology who murders her two children.

When reading the novel, I could not get past how demanding the role of motherhood is depicted as being and how this insistent nature has the ability to turn violent. Looking at Mama’s story, I realized that when first described, Mama is characterized by the ultimate sacrifice she has made for the sake of her child. Even though Mama died giving birth to the youngest Batiste sibling, her loss of life is depicted as the blooming of a flower. Ward states, “Junior came out purple and blue as a hydrangea: Mama's last flower”. Even in her death, the Batiste family Matriarch is just that, a mother, and her own identity is lost within her identity of being a mother. Junior’s life is valued over the life of Mama and then during the flashbacks that Esch describes, Mama’s existence has been far from comfortable (patching herself up when her hand gets caught in a hook).

Moving on, Ward describes motherhood as an exercise in loneliness. Manny and Esch have both contributed to the exitance of the fetus, yet it is only Esch that must struggle through the consequences. Esch’s pregnancy distances herself from those around her while Manny makes no changes to his lifestyle. It is deeply ironic that while being pregnant in Esch’s situation alienates her, she will from now on and forever be described as a mother and defined by a clump of cells inside her. Esch’s in the novel illustrates her pregnancy as "Sick from the moment I open my eyes, look up at the puckered plaster ceiling, remember who I am, where I am, and what I am". The “I” in this quote is what reverberates through my mind when I imagine the entirety of Esch’s pregnancy and how deeply solitary her experience will be.

Additionally, Esch’s adulation of Medea and Jason’s violent story is deeply concerning. Medea killed her two children in retaliation against Jason’s betrayal. For Medea, the worth of a matrimonial relationship was far more than that of a relationship between a mother and a child. Esch’s already dispersed psyche is made worse when she watches China maim, neglect, and even eat her own children. For an alone 15-year-old soon to be mom, having death, torture, and murder being the only common themes for motherhood is deeply troubling and has the potential of leading Esch down the same path.

Salvage the Bones tells me that motherhood is painful, solitary, sacrificial, and paranoia induced violence (in China’s case). Jasmine Ward tells the story of endurance and in the end, I believe motherhood is exactly that: a relationship of perseverance.


In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Sara Lamk Saavedra -
Hey Minahil,

Thank you for starting this new discussion topic!

I find it very interesting you chose to highlight motherhood as its own theme. I also found very compelling the three "mother" narratives we follow: Esch, China and Mother. Although I understand the tones of the book to make seem motherhood to being not the most pleasant and respected role, I think the author gave it is own majestic interpretation in a non-conventional narrative. In my interpretation, the author is trying to depict how the experience of motherhood is lived and shaped by poverty and the people she lives with. We are accustomed to consuming a "western" and I may even reach and say "white" idea of the "correct" way of being a mother; having mother instincts and some type of class or connectedness to them. But I think is more realistic this idea of unplanned motherhood, of perseverance, of the ugly sides that come with it. There is an importance to the role of a mother. I think China is a metaphor for how motherhood makes the person giving birth evolve and become a new version of themselves. Different, not less. China's body changes, but never her ferocity. And that's why I found almost transcendent and powerful the scene of the dog fight and the quote "China, make them know".

I wanted to add I wanted to expand the definition of motherhood and even reach towards parenthood or parental instincts. I believe motherhood is not only for women. But, I also think this story is filled by all the characters taking care of each other in their own capacity and skills. Skeetah's instincts to protect China above all, remind me of a lot of selflessnesses and the prioritization parents are supposed to give kids. All of the siblings protect each other, filling the role of a father, arguable more than their actual father. Their family is something we would consider dysfunctional and unconventional, but they created their own support system with what they were given.

Lastly, I never read the Medea narrative as something worrisome, but rather as a self-defence mechanism Esch used to cope with everything she was going through. In the end, Medea conquers all the betrayal, and it brings up the dilemma of mother vs. individual.
In reply to Sara Lamk Saavedra

Re: Motherhood

by Minahil Fatima -
Hi Sara!
I think you make some very interesting points. I particularly like that you pointed out how we have generalized, normalized, and accepted the "white" way of parenting and mothering as correct whereas motherhood is an entire spectrum of attitudes and perspectives. I agree that Skeetah's actions towards China and her pups can be seen as parental instincts but we should also consider that these instincts are tied very much with the possibility of monetary gain.
Moreover, I think perhaps that our opinion on the books we read is shaped by how we perceive the world and what our perspective regarding certain topics is. That is why I don't look favorably on narratives that glorify sacrifices especially if they're being made by a matriarchal figure. I think we both can agree that for far too long the world has revered and profited off the sacrifices made by women of color for their families. We've deemed them as a necessity which makes me deeply uncomfortable.
I appreciate the comments you've made and I will definitely go back and analyze the Madea story again to fully understand the dilemma you talk about.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Sara Lamk Saavedra -
Definitely agree with you! Our interpretation of texts will vary in our experiences and knowledge. I do not think any of the readings are incorrect, is rather fascinating to compare different interpretations. I do agree, the expectation and pressure placed on maternal figures are unfair to the bare minimum we often times hold paternal figures to. Thank you for bringing this point up!
In reply to Sara Lamk Saavedra

Re: Motherhood

by Emily Green -
Hi Sara!

I completely agree with your point that motherhood is not only for women. Over the course of the novel, we see many characters step into similar "caregiver" roles. As you have noted, Skeetah shows deep compassion for his sister. Further, Big Henry notes "this baby got plenty of daddies" despite how isolated Esch feels in raising her future child. While motherhood is certainly a theme that connects many female characters in the novel, I think you bring up an interesting point that the overarching theme of family ties is also applicable here.
In reply to Emily Green

Re: Motherhood

by Megan MacGregor -
These were amazing points! motherhood is an ever changing state that anyone can experience, but what I really agree with is the point you made with Esch feeling so isolated when it comes to her future child. Motherhood can be a very isolating experience but the negative implications that come with it are so very real and we see this in Esch's non-existent relationship with her mother since she passed away. Not having that bond with a caregiver can severely impact ones ability to provide that for a child of their own.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Muchaneta Nyambuya -
Hi Minahil and Sara! This was an interesting theme in the book.
Those are interesting examples you both mention that portray a 'mother'. I thought of the two mentioned by Minahil, China and Mama. I also thought of Esch as mentioned by Sara, but not in the sense that she is pregnant rather in the sense that she plays a mother role to some extent when their mother dies, being the only female in the house. This is something common in households that do not have a mother, the position is assumed by the oldest female child, or in this case the only female child (the opposite is true for when it's the father role - assumed by the oldest male child).

I think this novel shows how motherhood is a responsibility and not necessarily a biological relationship. The book portrays it such that Esch learns how to be a mother through China and the character from the book she's reading but subtly I see it that she learns it from an early age when her and Randall had to take care of Junior, feeding him and also doing other house chores. I think it can be overlooked as she has Randall helping her so it is not solely her 'raising' Junior. If we extend it that motherhood is a responsibility and one that is not necessarily assigned to the bearer of a child, Skeetah and Randall also possess the qualities of a mother - touching on what Sara said that it is not only a role for a woman. This is in the way Randall takes care of Junior - making sure he takes his bath, cutting his hair and even as far as giving him a whipping when he misbehaved. It is also in the way Skeetah takes care of China.
In reply to Muchaneta Nyambuya

Re: Motherhood

by Sara Lamk Saavedra -
Hi Mucha :)

I completely agree with the argument motherhood is not only biological. I think this book gives us a lot of food for thought regarding families and the bonds created when places in poverty and after the loss of a paternal figure. It could even be argued that they lost their father after their mother died too, as he falls into alcoholism and abusive behaviours.
In reply to Muchaneta Nyambuya

Re: Motherhood

by Minahil Fatima -
Hi Mucha!
I agree with all that you've said. Parental responsibilities being passed to the oldest child and how Esch has already been in a mother role. I appreciate you bringing up Randall and reiterating the point that motherhood is not just for women.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Annabelle Ruest -
Thank you for highlighting this topic! I totally agree with you! You can also see from Esch point of view when she speaks about abortion. She doesn't see this pregnancy in her life at the time, and by that I mean she doesn't want it. At the passage on page 102-103 Esch goes through the 'abortion methods' that she heard about from girls in her school. She cannot afford a medical abortion, or contraceptives, etc. She explains "These are my options, and they narrow to none." (p.103) She knows that she is not supposed to have a child at 15 years old. This passage also shows how deeply messed up the system is. If Esch would have received the proper social help (in school, or other programs) maybe she would've had more sexual education, maybe condoms would've been left available at the school nurse or something similar to that. It also puts the whole healthcare system in question when we see Mama's situation, would better healthcare have helped her during the delivery of her baby. If Esch's mother didn't know better than she did, Esch may not have learned. Was Esch mother going to the doctor about her pregnancy at any point or was she also left alone to deal with the pregnancy, just like the situation Esch is facing? The fact that she delivered all of her babies in her room tells me she didn't have better care, and that maybe Esch never seen better either.
In reply to Annabelle Ruest

Re: Motherhood

by Paytra Waibel -
Hey Annabelle,

I like your analysis of Esch's mother. I too wondered if she had ever received pre natal care from a physician or if she had all her children in her bed because that's all she knew and all poverty could provide for her.
In reply to Paytra Waibel

Re: Motherhood

by Amanda DiPaolo O'Brien -
From this very interesting discussion, I am thinking about how there clearly needs to be more supports for woman who are pregnant and who are parents from a human rights perspective. Clearly, contraceptives need to be free and easily available. Prenatal care is essential. I think the point about the mom probably not having access to any is essential. And I think that the mom died in child birth highlights the issue of poverty being connected to so many other devastating realities. In the USA infant mortality numbers are pretty high. And more women die in childbirth in the USA than other rich countries. These issue impact vulnerable communities more than white ones. Once we start diving into the issues of systemic racism in the USA, we really see how its impact has permeated all areas life (and death as it were) within the more vulnerable communities.
In reply to Annabelle Ruest

Re: Motherhood

by Muchaneta Nyambuya -
Annabelle, good points! Those are good questions you pose at the end. Esch's mother might have not received any health care during her pregnancies, this might be a stretch but maybe if she had gotten the pregnancy care, the doctors would have ben able to foresee the problem that led to her death when giving birth to Junior. What do you think? I know its fictional but I hope this did not end up being the same things for Esch. Her father at the end of the novel suggests that they go get Esch and her baby checked as soon as they are able to, to "Make sure everything's okay" and "So nothing will go wrong" (p.g 247). This gave me some hope that Esch pregnancy will be different than her mother's
In reply to Muchaneta Nyambuya

Re: Motherhood

by Kryssonia Wedderburn -
Great point Mucha. I do wonder also if Esch mom would have lived had she been given the medical treatment she needed. Esch want for China to come home and recognize her as a mother also gives me hope that her pregnancy will be different. I think that along with her father wanting to "make sure everything's okay" suggest that Esch pregnancy and journey of motherhood will be different. With all that she has seen she has not assumed the role of mother and is ready to do what it takes for her baby, no matter how violent it may turn out to be.
In reply to Annabelle Ruest

Re: Motherhood

by Emily Green -
Hi Annabelle!

I agree with your points. From what I can gather from novel, it appears Esch was never given proper sexual education in school. This, of course, led her to lose her virginity at quite a young age. Her comments in the book about unsafe abortion options (i.e. hitting herself in the stomach, taking multiple days of birth control pills at once. etc.) were troubling to read. As you have noted, she she lacks any sort of professional guidance.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Kryssonia Wedderburn -
Hi Minahil,
I love the connection you made about motherhood being a 'relationship of perseverance'. I found it interesting also how motherhood was always portrayed with some act of violence or sacrifice. Whether it be Mama sacrificing herself and going through so much pain to give birth to Junior or China swimming off to rescue her puppies. The maternal figures were seen as being giving out of care or love.

I also found it interesting that Esch refers to hurricane Katrina as a mother. It led me to think what her three motherly figures (Medea, Katrina and China) have in common and it's violence, the unconventional and what they leave behind. Esch likened herself to Medea someone who killed her children, China maims and devours some of her puppies and Katarina disrupts and destroys the lives of many, all very violents acts. However, similar to how Esch grows to want to mother her child, China grew to care for her puppies even sacrificing her life to rescue them. Esch begins to look up to China by the end of the novel, hoping she will return. Esch also looked at what Medea did versus how her mother dies and starts to think about motherhood for herself. Katrina shed light on many issues and led to the start of many relief programs. Motherhood may then be viewed as a teacher, it changes perspectives and leaves lessons learnt. I think with each maternal figure that Esch views, she sees motherhood in a new light.
In reply to Kryssonia Wedderburn

Re: Motherhood

by Minahil Fatima -
That is a really good connection you make. I find it quite interesting that Motherhood in itself can be viewed as a teacher because while going through motherhood, people usually end up learning and realizing things themselves. So thank you for making that connection! It does make me view the matriarchal relationships in the book from a new and probably broader perspective.
In reply to Kryssonia Wedderburn

Re: Motherhood

by Emily Green -
Hi Kryssonia,

You bring up an interesting point with motherhood being viewed as a teacher, which I can agree with. We gain wisdom and growth from our maternal figures. As you have noted, each maternal figure Esch encounters (i.e. her own mother, China, Medea, and hurricane Katrina) changes her perspective on motherhood.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Katherine Johnson -
Thank you for bringing up the story of Medea and for the following discussion. I never completely followed the relationship between Medea and Esch but it was clearly very important, so thanks for providing so much clarity and thought about it.

I also wanted to insert the quote I think Kryssonia was referring to because it's so powerful: "[Katrina as the]
murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive."
Medea, Katrina, and China are all murderous mothers, and I definitely think it is that power and responsibility that holds its place in motherhood for Esch. I think there's a duality here between these mothers and her own mother/Skeetah, who represent the complete love and kindness it also takes to be a mother. Combining the two is how Esch sees a mother: strong, powerful, murderous, sacrificing everything for her children, but also loving and soft (I think the moment when she decides to name her child after Skeetah is very powerful, because in the beginning of the book she mentions that before the puppies, her relationship with Skeetah was negligent, but now he encompasses this entire version of motherhood for her).

I'd also like to make some additions to Dr. Dipaolo's points. I agree with everything she said about providing pre-natal care and healthcare to mothers, but I also think we should pay attentionto the quote "when you can’t afford an abortion, when you can’t have a baby, when nobody wants what is inside of you” (102). Even if Esch goes through with her pregnancy and has amazing pre-natal care, there's still the question of who is going to support her and her child afterwards. As she said, "nobody wants what is inside of you," and other than a mention of Junior going to Head Start, we never see a single moment of the government supporting families themselves by providing them with resources once the child is born.
I think in other discussions people have suggested that the government should step in when they see child abuse (referring to Claude), but I would argue that the government should have prevented abuse in the first place by making sure that Claude had all the possible resources so he never has to choose between beer and food, and so he can have a job and childcare, etc. We should be asking the government to not only provide healthcare for Esch now, but if she chooses to have a child, she should do so knowing that there are societal support systems in place for her every step of the way. Her own raising demonstrates that there clearly are not, and that the failure of the government goes far beyond simple medical care, in my opinion.
In reply to Katherine Johnson

Re: Motherhood

by Muchaneta Nyambuya -
Katherine, I too did not completely follow the relationship of Medea and Esch. But now that it has been brought up and I've seen it in many discussions, I fully understand its significance and can appreciate it too. It's heartbreaking that this fictional character acts as one of her 'mother' figures, including China. All the mother figures Esch is left with are not the mother figures one would imagine or see themselves to have. A dog, a fictional character and as Kryssonia notes above, a hurricane.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Emily Green -
The coexistence of violence and tenderness with respect to motherhood stood out to me right from the beginning of the novel with Esch’s description of her younger brother’s birth: “I can see her, chin to chest, straining to push Junior out, and Junior snagging on her insides,” (4). This is contrasted when China gives birth to her puppies: “I’ve never seen her so gentle. I don’t know what I thought she would do once she had them: sit on them and smother them maybe. Bite them. Turn their skulls into bits of bone and blood. But she doesn’t do any of that.” As noted by other classmates, the theme of motherhood and violence also appears in the myth of Medea and, of course, hurricane Katrina.

Further, I enjoyed the novel’s interplay between China’s motherhood and Esch’s pregnancy. It is China’s pregnancy that encourages Esch to take a test in the first place and at the end of the book it all comes full circle (“China will bark and call me sister. […] She will know that I am a mother,” (258)). China and Esch are both mothers and their stories are connected by the violent demands that are expected of them throughout the course of the novel.

Salvage the Bones calls attention to the fact that socio-economic disparities have a great impact on expecting mothers. Echoing off of Dr. DiPaolo’s contribution, I agree that from a human rights perspective there needs to be more support for women who are pregnant and who are parents. For example, the closure of Clinic 554 shows that even in our own backyard there are many barriers for pregnant women in accessing abortions and contraceptives.
In reply to Emily Green

Re: Motherhood

by Brianna Bourgeois -
Hi Emily,
When reading the novel, I also noticed the stark contrasts between the birth of Junior and the birth of Chinas puppies. Your first sentence notes the “coexistence of violence and tenderness with respect to motherhood” which I think perfectly summarizes one of the novels central themes surrounding motherhood and violence. Growing up, the only depiction of motherhood that Esch was exposed to was through China and Medea—both of which demonstrate violence and struggle. As others have mentioned, it is saddening to read the novel and to understand that Esch grew up without a proper mother figure, and that she was unable to access contraceptives, proper sexual education or prenatal care. By reading about Eschs experience with pregnancy and motherhood it is clear that there are inadequate supports for expecting mothers, and that the supports available have served to discriminate against those of low socio-economic backgrounds.
In reply to Minahil Fatima

Re: Motherhood

by Ashley Swaby -
In the novel Salvage the Bone motherhood is a theme depicted throughout the book. The absence of a mother is noticeable as Esch is overwhelmed by all the male voices around her. Though her mother is not present she recalls her experiences ways of her mother as they prepare for the hurricane. China too has a tumultuous relationship with motherhood. It appears that her birthing process did not go smoothly as both Esch and Skeetah became anxious as she struggled. Esch is pushed in motherhood before she is ready. She is still young but must undertake the responsibility of her child without a father.