Gem Of The Ocean Aunt Ester Character Analysis

In Gem of the Ocean, the incredible collection of interesting, eccentric, and even outspoken characters help immensely to move along the plot. With that in mind, it can easily be argued that Aunt Ester was the true “gem” of this play. Without her, this story would quickly fall back into the depths of memory for many of the members of the audience. She is a wealth of information and wisdom undoubtedly, but she is much more than that. She is charitable and kind in a time where much of the general population was only concerned with their self-preservation. Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean represents the idea to the community that it is wrong to give up hope of a brighter future. Because she’s managed to thrive for almost 3 centuries, she has accumulated …show more content…
“You ever looked at a piece of rope, Mr. Citizen? God made that rope. It come right out the ground. You twist it and weave it all together, and you get a rope. Rope can help you do a lot of things. You can tie it around a bucket and get water out of a well. You can tie things together with that piece of rope. God made the rope. It’s man who sometimes gets in the way of God’s creation and turns it over to the devil.” (Wilson, Scene II, Pg. 21) In this immensely emotional scene, where Ester describes how she lost her son Junebug, Ester is able to eloquently show the reader a heavy dose of her wisdom. She is able to see that man is not a perfect creation. She explains to Citizen Barlow how man can easily stray from God’s plan. The Bible infers that all men are created equal, and it would not be absurd for someone to understand that as a divine fact. Incredulously, white America during this time had seemed to completely ignore or forget this rule of life. Evidence was all around the main characters – from the “talk from Pennsylvania” to Causer, Black Mary’s brother who has seemingly been brainwashed by the white cause. Aunt Ester is there as a reminder to her acquaintances that man is the one who is flawed, and that faith should still be an important aspect of their daily life. Similarly, the reader may interpret that passage in another way. It could be looked at as an insinuation that time can change and subsequently heal all things. Just as a rope can hang a man by his neck, it can also raise buildings, bring water, and be an incredibly useful too. Just as a rope can change it’s area of expertise, man can change as well. As new tendencies and prejudices are formed, man’s handling of the circumstance can evolve as well just as it has for millions of years. In this example, it could be interpreted as Aunt Ester telling Citizen that if he