The Theme Of Redemption In Fences And The Keepers Of The House

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Recommended: Features of father-son relationships in August Wilson's drama, Fences

In both the play Fences by August Wilson and the novel The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau, the sins of the fathers significantly affect their surroundings, especially their connections with the family members. However, the two authors show different ways of redemption through the use of symbols in the end scenes. In Fences, Wilson delivers the message that any individual has a chance for redemption through forgiveness and that Troy Maxson’s sins will not affect the children if they put in their best effort to create their own identity. In Keepers of the House, Grau shows Abigail Tolliver’s possibility of redemption through rebirth without the society’s influence in the sins of her Grandfather. In both works, the root of the father’s sins comes from prejudice that infects the family. To …show more content…

Despite Troy’s sins that hurt the familial relationships, the whole family joins together on his funeral day to help him to enter the gates of Heaven. For example, Gabe’s trumpet symbolizes a key to open the gates of Heaven, and Gabe performs an ancestral dance that connects back to the African Movement. Wilson describes Troy’s redemption from his sins with the power of forgiveness when a sound is heard from Gabe’s trumpet the third time and “the gates of heaven stand open as wide as God’s closet” (Wilson 1743). In comparison, in the end scene of The Keepers of the House, Abigail realizes she has wasted her life in revenge and hate. The juxtaposition of fetus and funeral describes Abigail's inner state as she is dying away from her old self and being reborn into a matured individual. Also, the prism colors equal to the rainbow colors that relates to Noah’s covenant with God in the Bible as she is reborn with a new perception that there is always evil inside good. Like Troy’s redemption from forgiveness in his family, Grau shows the hopefulness of Abigail’s redemption through

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