Gem of the Ocean

by

August Wilson

The Bill of Sale

The Bill of Sale, which is a record of Aunt Ester’s former enslavement, symbolizes the gap between what’s moral and what’s legal. The Bill of Sale—a legal document—says that Aunt Ester was sold from…

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The City of Bones

The mystical City of Bones—which is inhabited by the souls of enslaved Africans who died on slave ships—symbolizes the unexpected benefits of uniting with others in a sense of shared suffering. When Aunt Ester helps…

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