Gem of the Ocean Symbolism
Aaron Papp
Dr. Bell
ENGL 1102
8 February 2013
Symbolism at Its Finest Many authors through time and through this day and age have used symbolism in their works. Critics may say there is too much symbolism in some works. There is never too much symbolism in a work. Symbolism enhances the characters, words, places, and objects to levels that a average work could not reach without the use of symbolism. The more symbolism an author uses, the more attached a reader becomes to the story. Look at August Wilson 's Gem Of the Ocean play. It is loaded with symbolism and has a deep meaning to the story. Every main character has something that symbolizes them. It shows the character 's back rounds and what they have been through. For example Solly Two Kings has a piece of iron chain link he keeps in his pocket. The link is part of what kept him bound as a slave. The link of chain symbolizes Solly 's freedom when he reached Canada through the underground railroad. Once Solly reached Canada he could not bear to think about all of his people that were still enslaved while he walk free. He traveled all the way back down to the south risking his life to work in the underground railroad. Later on in the play Solly hands Citizen his good luck chain link and says, "Here put this piece of chain in your pocket...That chain link brought me good luck many a time" (62). In all reality it 's just a piece of forged iron but to Solly it means so much more than that. This is the second piece of symbolism that Wilson uses to depict Solly Two Kings. When reading the play the reader begins to connect the pieces of symbolism. Just by the chain link and the walking stick the reader senses the horrific past of Solly Two Kings. Correspondingly Solly Two Kings ' sixty two notched walking stick symbolizes that there is still a fight to be made for blacks to earn their rights and become citizens in the United States. In Gem Of the Ocean Citizen stole a bucket of nails because the mill would not
Dr. Bell
ENGL 1102
8 February 2013
Symbolism at Its Finest Many authors through time and through this day and age have used symbolism in their works. Critics may say there is too much symbolism in some works. There is never too much symbolism in a work. Symbolism enhances the characters, words, places, and objects to levels that a average work could not reach without the use of symbolism. The more symbolism an author uses, the more attached a reader becomes to the story. Look at August Wilson 's Gem Of the Ocean play. It is loaded with symbolism and has a deep meaning to the story. Every main character has something that symbolizes them. It shows the character 's back rounds and what they have been through. For example Solly Two Kings has a piece of iron chain link he keeps in his pocket. The link is part of what kept him bound as a slave. The link of chain symbolizes Solly 's freedom when he reached Canada through the underground railroad. Once Solly reached Canada he could not bear to think about all of his people that were still enslaved while he walk free. He traveled all the way back down to the south risking his life to work in the underground railroad. Later on in the play Solly hands Citizen his good luck chain link and says, "Here put this piece of chain in your pocket...That chain link brought me good luck many a time" (62). In all reality it 's just a piece of forged iron but to Solly it means so much more than that. This is the second piece of symbolism that Wilson uses to depict Solly Two Kings. When reading the play the reader begins to connect the pieces of symbolism. Just by the chain link and the walking stick the reader senses the horrific past of Solly Two Kings. Correspondingly Solly Two Kings ' sixty two notched walking stick symbolizes that there is still a fight to be made for blacks to earn their rights and become citizens in the United States. In Gem Of the Ocean Citizen stole a bucket of nails because the mill would not
Cited: Wilson, August Gem Of the Ocean New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2006