August Wilson Fences Analysis

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Fences serve as an enclosure, a barrier or a boundary to something. A fence does not have to be physical, it can be metaphorical one serving as an enclosure or a boundary to ideas. In Fences August Wilson uses metaphorical fences created by Troy and Cory to show the struggles of Black America. Because of his experience with segregation, Troy builds fences in his relationships.
Despite integration, the segregation in sports in the causes Troy to have a bad perspective on sports. Troy Maxson’s experience with baseball in the negro leagues, and him not being able to make it to the major leagues, has left him bitter, not believing in integration. He believes that despite the major leagues slowly becoming integrated, colored players a not treated equally. For instance in the integrated major leagues, colored players “got to be twice as good” to be on the team, and once they are on the team, the teams “don’t use them” which is the “same as not having them”(34). However, the unequal treatment of players in the major leagues was not limited to african american players. For example the Pittsburgh Pirates seldom played their …show more content…

The fence between Troy and Cory continues to grow until it completely separates Troy and Cory after their final fight. Cory leaves the house with all his things that are on “the other side of that fence” indicating Cory’s total separation not only from Troy but from his family. Cory builds a fence between himself and his family and is now “bound in the rule of the Marine Corps”(Fences 1). Cory believes building a fence with his family is necessary because it is the only way for him to get rid of Troy’s shadow that “weighed on [Cory] and sunk into [Cory’s] flesh”(96). He removes himself from one fence, by building another. Wilson wants the audience to see that all these fences are part of one big fence “against which all black are forced to struggle”(Fences

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