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King Hedley: Compare And Contrast

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“You need some good dirt. Them seeds ain’t gonna grow in that dirt” (10). In the play King Hedley II by August Wilson, Ruby argues that seeds won’t grow in bad dirt, but is that entirely true? King Hedley is convinced that the dirt plays no role in the growth of the seeds, but each opinion has a backstory. The seeds and the dirt have a deeper meaning that intertwines with everyone’s past; however there seems to be conflict on the relationship between them. Speaking literally, Ruby believes that King’s seeds stand no chance of growing in the bad soil that he planted them in, but there is more to it than that. Ruby is not speaking only of seeds; she is talking about people, the seeds, and their surroundings, the dirt. If seeds can’t grow in bad soil, then people won’t grow up well when they are trapped in a bad environment. King is her son and she knows that he is lucky to be alive, but he has a bad record because he was raised in a dysfunctional family. King doesn’t know about his true history, so he believes that his seeds will grow in any soil and that people will turn out properly even when they are forced into a rough lifestyle. The seeds did eventually grow, and even after being stepped on, they continued to grow throughout the …show more content…

Ester got her medication from King when she was sick, but he said that the medicine didn’t do her any good and she ended up dying anyway. Aunt Ester was being given good soil, but she ended up suffering anyway. How can this be? Ruby and Stool Pigeon know that you need good soil to grow a seed, even if that seed is 366 years old, but maybe King was right in saying that the soil doesn’t matter. King may have gotten his point proven to him in a bitter and cruel way, but what’s the use in having one flower in a whole garden of otherwise lifeless soil and rotting seeds? Aunt Ester was doomed to die from the moment the family met

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