In Savage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward places considerable emphasis on growth and change within Esch, whether it be multiple descriptions of Esch's pregnant belly, as well as how she sees herself as a fighter who breaks the stereotypical male-female dynamic by becoming the stronger, more mature party in her relationship with Manny. This focus is interesting because its growth is in almost all cases directly related to China. Especially in the case of Esch's journey into womanhood. In this essay I will show that China's role in the novel is to be a direct presence that guides Esch. Through many paradoxes of Chinese life, Esch is able to relate and learn. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay We first see evidence of China's direct impact on Esch's life on the very first page of the novel. As China is in labor giving birth to her cubs, Esch immediately connects this to her mother's death. Esch's mother gave birth to all four of her children in their Mississippi home, as China and Esch. His mother is described as a fighter. His mother was determined not to go to the hospital even though she had hemorrhaged blood after Junior's birth, and since China is giving birth in the same "pit" Esch relates to China as he tells his mother about China. Esch tells the reader how when she was a child, her father often compared her to her mother, describing them both as "fighters" (Ward, 2) and Esch later referred to China as a fighter as she endured childbirth. As the only other woman around after her mother's death, it's easy for Esch to allow Cina to emotionally play a maternal role in her life. As if fighting is an inherited trait, Esch makes it seem like fighting runs in the family and if his mother has it, as well as China, Esch sees them as one. This notion is exemplified when Esch personifies China during his birth. . Esch notes how Skeetah gives China feminine traits, especially when it comes to needing help. While preparing for Junior's birth, Esch recalls how she and her father "were no help at all, even though Dad said Mom told him he didn't need any help" (Ward, 1-2). This is exactly like Skeetah instructing China during childbirth, how a husband would focus not only on her “as a man focuses on a woman when he feels she is his, as China is” (Ward, 3), but also like Skeetah telling Esch that China “doesn't need help to push”.(Ward, 4) In this way China becomes equivalent to Esch's mother, and Esch through China relates directly to her spirit maternal. This is when Esch first begins to realize that she can learn from, compare, or take similar actions to China as she would if she were following in her mother's footsteps. In the second chapter, we see an extended description of China guiding Esch to find the pleasures of pregnancy. The chapter begins with Esch, who is led to a shed containing China and her cubs, who are nursed by her, and Skeetah calls them miracles. This is one of the joys that come with motherhood, followed almost immediately by Esch's memory of searching for eggs with her mother. This is one of the ways Ward connects China's actions to Esch's mother so that Esch can discover something new about herself. Esch looking for chicken eggs in her backyard becomes symbolic of the confusion she feels about her body and her unborn child, about herstill unknown. By allowing Esch to see the "miracles" of China (Ward, 21) right before the memory of her mother helping her find the eggs, Ward suggests that since she no longer has her mother and longs for her, her China is something to satisfy this desire. absence. At the end of the chapter Esch learns about her pregnancy and instead of thinking about how to fix the problem or hide it, Esch accepts the fact that for the first time there is something or someone inside her. With China only having children of her own, and because she sees parts of her mother in China, Esch uses China as a guide in her exploration of motherhood. Another direct correlation in which China guides Esch through a point in his life involves illness and health. In chapter three Esch says she is "sick from the moment I open my eyes" (Ward, 37), this is right before the reader finds out that China refuses to allow her cubs to nurse, because she is sick. It is Esch who emphasizes the idea that China does not want its children to catch the virus, and this is one of many pieces of evidence that Esch is making female connections with China. Esch is learning that being a mother will be difficult and that she will have to do things that might hurt her but are for her children. Esch not only had to struggle to keep food down, but she also had to endure vomiting due to the smells she is used to. China also shows its solidarity in this chapter by growling at Skeetah. Skeetah tried to get her cubs to nurse, which would end in their deaths. China proves that a mother must be a mother regardless of the circumstances. This is applied when Esch is rejected by Manny at the pond. Esch imagines himself as a fetus in the womb, trying to sink deeper. This can be compared to outside China after refusing to feed her puppy. Esch described her as having “droopy eyelids and suddenly looking tired. She is a tired goddess” (Ward, 40). After the pond scene, Esch realizes that she may have to be a single mother, also like China, and this puts a strain on her. Both China and Esch seem to want to escape and take a break from the burden of motherhood. But, like China who puts on a brave face and allows the rest of her cubs to "pull her swollen breasts" (Ward, 40) Esch returns to the surface knowing that she cannot hide and that she must be a mother, whatever her situation Further evidence that China has a direct impact on Esch's life concerns her rebellion against motherhood. In chapter five, when Esch recalls hearing girls at her school list ways to force a miscarriage, and she considered the option "throwing herself on something hard and metallic." (Ward 102). Esch thinks he might be able to find something to jump on, like the hood of the dump truck or a washing machine rotting in the yard. (Ward, 102) Following these thoughts the next chapter brings the death of a puppy. China lashes out at one of her pups and bites its neck until the pup is mangled. This scene parallels the mutilation of Esch's father's fingers, and as Ward describes the blood on the "pulpy puppy in China's mouth" (Ward, 129) and "the flesh of his fingers" being "red and wet as China” ( Ward, 130) the scene must be symbolic if we decide to throw ourselves at the truck. But, as Esch notes upon hearing Skeetah begin to moan, "Why did you do that?" the symbolism is confirmed. Once again looking to China for guidance, Esch again personifies China as she has "bloody mouth and bright eyes like Medea" (Ward, 130) and asks, "Is this motherhood?" (Ward, 130). This is a statement that Esch not only wants to learn from China, but.