How Does August Wilson Use Symbols In The Play Gem Of The Ocean

What does August Wilson use the symbols a chain link, bucket of nails and two pennies to represent throughout his play Gem of the Ocean? In August Wilson’s play Gem of the Ocean he uses a lot of items and as well as characters to symbolize many things. In the play Gem of the ocean August Wilson uses the chain link to symbolize good luck, a bucket of nails to symbolize freedom and two pennies to symbolize hope and/or passage.
Throughout the course of August Wilson’s life, he wrote a total sixteen plays. He began writing plays in the year 1973 and continued until 2005 where he wrote his last play. “Wilson built a strong relationship with the Penumbra Theatre Company, which produced many of his plays in the eighties “(Wilson’s Biography). According to august Wilson’s Biography he passed away in October of 2005 due to Cancer. As a reader, we are aware that August Wilson uses many symbols in his play. Anne Spiselman, a theater critic, says ”I still find parts of it overly symbolic and
When the reader is first introduced to the chain link Solly is giving it to Citizen. Solly says “That chain link brought me good luck many a time”(Wilson 2.2). Solly gives Citizen the chain link to give him good luck on his journey to the city of bones. Then when the reader reads about the chain link again is when Caesar shot Solly. Citizen says, “I got his chain link. He says he used it for good luck” (2.5). Citizen returns the chain link back to Solly for good luck; good luck that he will survive the shot wound. Citizen again says, “I keep thinking if he had it everything would have turned out all right.” (2.5) This tells the reader without having to guess that the chain link is a symbol of good luck. Citizen is saying that if Solly had had the chain link with him while he was escaping everything would have turned out as planned. Solly would have made it out of Pittsburg safe and