The seeds
The play begins with the description of King planting seeds in the small garden near his house. King struggles to find meaning in his life and as such he puts all his hope in the seeds he planted. Throughout the play, King comes back to his seeds to watch them grow and in a sense he grows with them as well. Because of this, we can argue the seeds are used here as a metaphor to suggest King's desire to grow into a well respected person who has everything he wants.
The child
An important moment is, the play is the scene in which Tonya tells King she is pregnant with their child. Because of their financial situation and because King was involved in illegal activities, the two think about aborting the baby. The act of aborting the baby is proof the two do not believe they can have a better future, one in which they could provide a child with a good life. Thus, the act of aborting the baby is seen as a metaphor for King's and Tonya's hopelessness.
The gun
Most of the characters in the play have a violent past and a violent present. Many of the close family members of the main characters died a long time ago while the surviving members tried to live with the ghost of their past hanging over their head. The guns which are mentioned in the play are as such used as metaphors to suggest the violent lives he main characters had.
The video store
After being released from prison, King returns to the home he shared with his wife and mother. Once there, he comes up with a plan to make a better life for himself and for his family, one which involves buying a video store. The video store is as such used as a metaphor for the possibility of a better future.
Jewelry
When Elmore returns, he tries to win Tonya back and convince her he is a better match for her than King. In an attempt to win her heart, Elmore buys Tonya jewelry which she accepts. The jewelry in this case is used as a metaphor to suggest the manipulative ways through which the characters would often try to gain something they were not entitled to.
