Why has Jojo started calling his biological parents by their first names, Leonie and Michael? What do you notice about his relationship with his biological parents?

Jojo calls his parents by their first names for he feels that they are neglectful parents and did not seem to care for him and his baby sister. Moreover, he feels more connected and cares for his maternal grandparents who seem to be the primary carers of the two.

His relationship with his parents seems to be a strained one, for while the mother is busy working and doing drugs, the father is in prison. And Jojo is more like a parent to his sister. He also feels closer to Pop and Mam.

Explanation:

The novel Sing, Unburied, Sing, written by Jesmyn Ward, tells the story of Joseph "Jojo" who lives with his black grandparents and has a strained relationship with his parents and his paternal grandparents. The story deals with the themes of family and the hope and struggle, especially in the young teenage boy's life.

Jojo loved his Pop and Mam, his black grandparents but called his own biological parents by their first names. This is not always the case. But he started calling them after they changed, with his mother Leonie getting into drugs and alcohol while his father Michael getting into trouble and kept in prison. He used to call them Mama and Pop but "that was when there was more good than bad". Now, they have changed which led to him calling them by their real first names.

His relationship with his biological parents seems to be a strained one. Leonie always is either drunk or working, into drugs with her "only friend" Misty while Michael gets involved with bad things and ended up in prison. Added to that, his namesake Big Joseph, his paternal grandfather was a white racist man who would not even acknowledge his grandchildren. So, he has only his Pop and Mam to feel for, and who he also deeply respects and loves. He also states that he basically is the parent of her three-year-old baby sister Kayla. Leonie also seems to be deeply traumatized by the death of her brother Given that she turns into a neglectful mother to her children.