Power In Jesmyn Ward's Salvage The Bones

Women’s power is very unpredictable and becomes even more unpredictable during motherhood. This is made clear from Jesmyn Ward’s passage in the book Salvage the Bones when the mother, China, struggles to nurture her sick puppies, which leads to the mother snapping and killing one of her puppies. Everyone, including the the China was having a tough time accepting what China just Ward uses symbolism to express the unpredictable power of women.
China symbolizes the unpredictable power of woman when she beats Kilo. China is a very aggressive dog and has a lot of power. In a way, China resembles Esch because they both get stronger when they became mothers. For example, when Skeetah says, “You serious? That's when they come into strength. They got something to protect” (96). The power of motherhood makes anyone strong if they have something to fight for. Another example of power happened during Kilo and china’s big fight when Skeetah …show more content…
Medea and Esch are very powerful, but mostly show their power through vulnerability. In the story, The Golden Fleece, Jason uses Medea for his selfish needs. In return, Medea kills Jason’s new wife by burning her alive. “But no sooner had she put it on than a fearful, devouring fire enveloped her. For example, when Esch said “I loved you! This is Medea wielding the knife. This is Medea cutting” (204). Since Esch was vulnerable, she started to attack Manny. This is also what happened to Medea. After Jason used Medea, her vulnerability made her kill Jason. Another example is when Esch said “But even with all her power, Jason bends her like a young pine in a hard pine; he makes her double in two. I know her. Esch is saying that she feels Medea’s pain because she is also vulnerable because of Manny, but the vulnerability brings her power. Medea is strongest when she’s weakest. This is the same for Esch, because the baby made her weak, but it also made her stronger than she ever has