Infidelity
The motif of infidelity occurs throughout An American Marriage as Roy and Celestial's marriage falls apart. Roy has a wandering eye at the beginning of the book and makes Celestial suspect that he is cheating on her, which he resents. Later in the book, Celestial falls in love with Andre while Roy is still in prison, resulting in some emotional infidelity, as those feelings develop while Roy and Celestial are still married. These incidents of infidelity represent the inevitable deterioration of Roy and Celestial's marriage and the way that their personalities and Roy's prison sentence damage their relationship.
Roy's parents' house
Roy's parents' house is a symbol for the way that change is permanent and can never be undone. Roy gets out of prison and goes back to his parents' house, but his mother is dead, his father is grieving, and his life is forever changed. He may get out of prison and try to reclaim his old life, but it can never be reclaimed because prison has forever changed him. The house is a symbol of this inability to change.
Condoms
Condoms are a symbol for the lack of trust between Roy and Celestial, which leads to the eventual collapse of their marriage. Celestial believes that Roy will cheat on her, so she won't have sex with him without a condom. Even after he gets out of prison and they are divorced, when Roy tries to reconcile with her, he thinks of the fact that she will only have sex with him if he wears a condom. This represents the trepidation between them even from the early days of their marriage, and reflects how their marriage might have been doomed even from the start.
Roy's prison sentence
Roy's prison sentence is an allegory for the inequality in the American justice system that unfairly imprisons black men. Although he is innocent and there is no evidence against him, he is still found guilty of rape and imprisoned, because as a black man he is believed by the justice system to be a violent criminal and does not have his story believed. These stories are a prominent part of our real world, and An American Marriage reflects that.
Roy's crime
Roy is accused of raping a white woman. The act of black men being falsely accused of raping white women is common throughout history and literature, such as in To Kill a Mockingbird, because black men are believed to be violent aggressors. This specific crime acts as an allegory for works of literature like To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as the numerous cases throughout history of men of color being falsely accused of rape.
