Bale, Kjersty, and Hilde Bondevik. “4 Magical Thinking: Experiences of Grief and Mourning in George Saunders’ Lincoln in The Bardo and Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing.” Exploring Grief Towards a Sociology of Sorrow, edited by Michael Hviid Jacobsen and Anders Petersen, Routledge, 2020, pp. 69-84.
This chapter analyzes Leonie’s feelings for her husband and her own children. Next, the authors proceed to analyze the feelings of children whose sadness is caused by the fact that it is difficult for them to live with a drug addict mother. This is especially difficult for them in the conditions that there is no trusting relationship with their father, since he is in prison. Heroes experience the whole spectrum of negative emotions, while they do not have the opportunity to talk about their problems or get advice. The authors note that this interweaving of feelings – anger, embarrassment and fear – as a result leads to a feeling of universal grief. The quote from the article that I want to use as an argument is “Throughout the novel, Leonie’s sense of guilt increases”(Bale and Bondevik 73). I want to use this chapter in my research work as an argument for why Leonie chose a certain model of behavior towards her children. The article is quite difficult to read, and is not quite concise, as it contains a large number of terms from psychology.
Evans, Rebecca. “Geomemory and genre friction: Infrastructural violence and plantation afterlives in contemporary African American novels.” American Literature, vol. 93, no. 3, 2021, pp. 445-472.
In this article, the author addresses the traumatic situation of the African people. Citing various examples from the literature, Evans dwels on how it influenced the collective consciousness. Using the situation of Leonie, who sees ghosts, the author reveals the close connection of African history with the present. Evans interprets the ghost as a metaphor for the colonial past. Despite the years that have passed, the injuries of the ancestors still have their effect. The quote from the work that I would like to use is “Without realizing it, Leonie carries the traumas of past generations of African Americans” (Evans 452). I plan to use this article for my research work, as it explains in a deeper sense why it was impossible for Leonie to choose another model of behavior. The article has a rich imagery, so it is not fully clear and concise.
Leader-Picone, Cameron. “On The Whiteness of Post-Blackness: Colson Whitehead and Racial Individualism.” Black and More than Black: African American Fiction in the Post Era (Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies), University Press of Mississippi, 2019, pp. 3-44.
This scientific paper dwells on the influence of racism. The family of heroes faces it during a trip to pick up their father from prison. The quote I chose sounds the following way: “Racism affects the fate of not only the whole society as a whole, but also the micro spaces of individual families” (Leader-Picone 10). I plan to use this article in my research paper to show how the pressure of society from the outside influenced the relationships within the black family. In my opinion, this chapter is the clearest and most concise of all the sources I have used.
Li, Stephanie. “Learning to Listen in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing.” Reading Contemporary Black British and African American Women Writers, edited by Jean Wyatt and Sheldon George, Routledge, 2020, pp. 88-104.
.This chapter analyzes the problems of modern black society raised in the book. The quote I plan to use is “Drugs, single-parenting and racism have unfortunately become the norm in many African-American families below the poverty line” (Li 89). It characterizes all the problems that author mentions. I plan to utilize this article for my research paper to more clearly identify the range of problems raised in the introduction. The chapter is clear and concise, its content was easy for me to understand.
Olah, Natalie. “Cruel Brittany.” Steal as Much as You Can: How to Win the Culture Wars in an Age of Austerity, Repeater, 2019, pp. 175-199.
This chapter draws the connection of modern racist realities with what is happening in the book. Olah touches on the issues of racism in the everyday life of a typical African-American family. The quote I will use is “The atmosphere of racism does not cease to affect the lives of ordinary people”(Olah 190). The article itself will be utilized by me in research paper in order to highlight how the surrounding social environment influenced the formation of Leonie’s character. The chapter is written in clear and concise manner.