Grief is a major topic of “Sing, Unburied. Sing” that drives many of the characters throughout the book. The effects can be easily seen in the way it leaves Leonie such an awful parent and unlikable character. But another character who it affected more than we see is River. He carries an immense weight throughout the book that likely impacts his standing relationships that the audience only gets insight into near the very end of the book. The stoicism he portrays can be thought of as brought about by the death of Given, but the end of the book suggests that it was Richie’s death that had more influence.
River’s guilt is so important because of what he means for Jojo. Jojo sees River as his only real father figure, with Michael out of the picture, and he strives to impress and imitate. The book opens with the slaughter of a goat where Jojo tries his best not to react because he knows that River “will see” (Ward 2) and Jojo doesn’t want to disappoint him. Additionally, both Richie and Leonie make comments throughout the book as to how much Jojo has started to resemble River, in both stature and mannerisms. With this influence in mind, it is important to question where River’s grief stems from. The book offers little information about how River was before Given’s death, but we do see a glimpse of their interaction just before Given dies. River warns him, “They look at you and see difference, son. Don’t matter what you see,” (48) which the audience can attribute to the things River saw and learned from his time in Parchman. While we don’t get much information about how River handles Given’s death, Leonie notes that he (and Mam) isolated themselves in their grief. It is reasonable to assume that to some extent, River blamed himself for not doing enough to keep Given safe.
This point is emphasized when Jojo finally hears the end of the story about what happened to Richie. When telling the story, we see River in a way that is new. He is described in ways that show how much the events affected him as he acts defeated, shakes, and “working his hands like he doesn’t know how to use them” (256). The entire section is riddled with language that contrast the stoicism and wholeness that Jojo had come to see from River, which further underscores how likely it was that the grief from Richie’s death is what haunted him. The difference in grief is further emphasized by the differences in the deaths of both boys River viewed as his own sons; he couldn’t do enough to keep Given alive, but he actively killed Richie. We see a slight reversal of the roles as Jojo “hold[s] Pop like [he] hold[s] Kayla” (257) as the influence of River’s grief begins to come full circle.
I thoroughly enjoyed your response and explanation of River’s grief towards the end of the novel because as a reader, I found River’s character to be the most enjoyable and also this aspect of his story most heartbreaking. River contrasts his own daughter, Leonie, so much and is the real parent for Jojo, shaping him into a true man like himself. The numerous lessons, morals, and mannerisms that Pop teaches Jojo I think is the reason that we can like him as a character because we see Jojo being such a kind and caring figure towards Kayla in the same way that Pop has been to him. That’s part of the reason why it’s so impactful that we finally find out about his role in the death of Richie at the end of the book, and how he’s been carrying this grief with him for years. River specifically describes the sensory details of his grief like how he couldn’t get the smell of blood, or the feeling of it, out of his hands. Even if he doesn’t usually show it, the grief is always on his mind. The way you pointed out how he is physically affected and Jojo is the one comforting him at the end of the book is also a great insight, because we always see Pop being the support for Jojo. I also liked how you touched on the similarities in the deaths of both Given and Richie, how River viewed both of them as his sons, making it even more painful that River was the one to kill Richie.
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