Salvage The Bones Analysis

Adulthood

“It is not that adults produce children, but more importantly that children produce adults” (Peter De Vries). In the novel, Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward takes the readers on a quest through the life of Esch. Esch is only fifteen years old when she realizes that her life is collapsing in on her. She is the only girl in a world full of men; from her drunken father to the love of her life, Manny. Esch’s mother died when she was giving birth to her seven year old brother, Junior, forcing her to take care of this damaged family. Skeetah, one of Esch’s three brothers, is occupied with the care and upkeep of his pit bull, China, and her puppies. Skeetah engages the family in his dog-fights while his friends take interest in Esch at
Esch never accepts her transformation into Mama’s motherly role because Mama is considered to be virtuous, but other characters and the readers can recognize that Esch becomes like Mama. Esch’s development begins when she is forced into taking care of her father and brothers. ‘“Junior, stop being orner”. It’s what Mama used to say to us when we were little, and I say it to Junior out of habit” (Ward 24). Esch raises her brothers the way Mama would have raised them. The text shows that Mama is a powerful influence on Esch from the simple use of language in the household. She unconsciously already acts as mother yet degrades herself when she is compared to Mama. When Skeetah witnesses the resemblance in Mama and Esch he explains, “You look like her. You know that? …You not as big as her, but in the face. Something about your lips and eyes. The older you get the more you do.’ I don’t know what to say, so I half grimace and I shake my head. But Mama, Mama always here. See?” (Ward 222). Esch becomes Mama’s motherly persona throughout the novel simply because Mama’s memory is always with her. Mama shows through Esch’s external and internal features as she gets older and older. By being forced into the position of taking care of her brothers and experiencing challenges and problems other teenagers do not go through, she is forced to grow into an adult. The memory of
Throughout Esch’s quest to salvage herself, China is always alongside to give insight on the harsh world of motherhood. Esch notices how China handles the cruel world of motherhood; it is not from a fairytale or the cliché lives that white, privileged women brag about. Instead, motherhood is terrifying and dangerous. When Esch catches China killing one of her puppies, she observes, “China is bloody-mouthed and bright-eyed as Medea. If she could speak, this is what I would ask her: Is this what motherhood is?” (Ward 130). As Esch observes China’s malicious being, her question towards motherhood is full of fear. She witnesses the craze of these influential females, such as Medea and China, and realizes that becoming a mother will take hard work and therefore she prepares herself for the challenges that lie ahead in life. When Hurricane Katrina destroys Esch’s home, she recognizes that motherhood can also lead to a new beginning. Ward’s description of Katrina says, “ She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies…She left us to learn to crawl” (255). It is evident that although Katrina destroys Esch’s home, the storm also cleanses Esch’s life and soul. Hurricane Katrina gave Esch and her family the opportunity “to learn to crawl” or to start their journey to adulthood. Hurricane Katrina