In many societies, motherhood is essential to the development of the child. There are many experiences that every mother goes through during her maternal years. In "Salvage the Bones", Jesmyn Ward introduces the theme of motherhood. Ward represents motherhood throughout the chapters using multiple examples. For some background information, Salvage the Bones is about a single-parent family in Bois Sauvage where everyone has their own problems as a young Hurricane Katrina makes its way across the Gulf of Mexico. The representation of motherhood is shown through many cases such as Esch, China, Mama and Katrina. Mother died after giving birth to the youngest in the family, but motherhood and mother's love influenced Esch and his development. Jesmyn Ward uses China in "Salvage the Bones" to mother her cubs and Esch's flashbacks of her mother show how Esch grows up and defines motherhood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Esch's cynic on motherhood at the beginning of the story because she is so paranoid that she can't call what's inside her a child. 'What would babysitting my belly be like a water balloon makes me feel ready to burst' (Ward 45). Esch is too afraid that this will become possible if she calls what is inside her a child. Esch then begins to grow as a mother and finally accept what is in her. “My belly is as strong as a pumpkin, because this baby is inside me” (Ward 57). Esch is no longer afraid if he does. She even calls herself a mom at the end of the book. 'China will bark and call me Sister... she'll know I'm a mother.' He says it shows readers how much Esch has grown over the course of the book. She went from not being able to recognize the reality of the child inside herself to finally being able to define herself as a mother and identify with the Mother and with China. From his experiences with them, he learned to do all this. One of the most significant ways that motherhood is conveyed in Ward's book Salvage the Bones is through memories of Esch's relationship with MamaMama. Esch appears to be worried about her daughter. In every flashback where Esch saw how much MamaMama loved her children. In one flashback, in particular, Esch talks about a time when they were fishing and dad took the hook into mom's hand. The mom didn't make a scene in front of her kids. Calmly, he sewed his hand back together and went on with his day. Esch talks about how he could feel the scar left by Dad's hook every time he held his mother's hand. This memory said what motherhood is. Mothers think first of their children. When mothers get hurt, it's not a big deal, because they need to treat their injuries quickly, so they can take care of their children. When one of the Chinese puppies gets sick, Esch's brother Skeetah decides to kill the puppy so that none of the other puppies get sick. After Skeetah kills the cub, China does not mourn the loss of the cub. She is still feeding her other puppies. This shows Esch much of what motherhood should be like. When something terrible happens, mothers don't just stop and cry; they move forward and take care of their children as best they can. After the puppy dies, Esch's brother decides to take a cow dewormer, so that the other puppies and China don't get sick. If he sends the dewormer to China, she will get sick. Even though she is tired, China continues to feed her cubs. This is also another important part of motherhood. Mothers don't take sick days. They have to take care of their children, even if they don't feel well. Here, 20(2), 134-153.