The play, Fences was written by an American author August Wilson in the 1983. This play takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1950’s which happened before any major work regarding the civil rights movement was noticeable. The play is about a man named Troy Maxson, who is a fifty-three year old who works in the sanitation department. His son Cory wants to play football and does not let him pursue his dream because he doesn't want him to get hurt. August Wilson’s play, Fences, follows the formal conventions of its genre, which helps convey the story to the audience because he uses stage directions, theme, symbolism, and figurative language. The stage direction gives a better explanation to a play because it shows how the characters This two things are the main focus of the play because it gives us a message that the author wants to give us to secretly while we read. A theme that was given in Fences is oppression does not choose to hurt people of color, but gender as well. In the beginning of the play Troy and Bono are discussing about their sanitary job and Troy says “I ain't worried about them firing me. They gonna fire me cause I asked a question?” (Wilson 2). What this quote is stating is that people were not being treated equally and had trouble accomplish what others did. During this time they were being treated unfair and this shows how white men are to be more credible than anyone else, in other words, if a white person would say anything it will always be true. When Troy went to Taylor’s to watch the game and Rose ask him for the score he says “What I care about the game? Come here, woman.” He tries to kiss her. (Wilson 30). This is basically stating that women are men property and they can do anything they want to them. Women might not feel uncomfortable or mistreated because men can do anything to them and even tell them to go away like if they were One of the symbols that is given is a fence. A fence is something that surrounds for example your home and additional things that need to be secure. In Fences, the fence is a symbol because they want the fence to be built because they want to keep the love ones inside the gate along with, keeping the enemies out. The second symbol I found was baseball. In the book baseball does not refer to the sport with a ball and a bat, what it symbolises is when Troy found out that black people were being discriminated which is mention plenty of times when Cory talks to him about him signing the paper to let him be recruited. The purpose of themes and symbolism in play’s is to keep the focus of the play and helps you gather information to answer your own answers at the end. While symbolisms makes you think a little more to get the hint they are trying to give
...e he ruined his marriage by cheating on her. Rose takes care of Troy’s newborn baby Raynell because she believes that Raynell needs a mother figure in her life and not a worthless man; she then kicks Troy out of the house. After Troy dies, Rose forgives him. Rose married Troy after he was released from prison. Troy knows that he is unsuccessful in accomplishing what he wanted for him and his family. Troy is a garbage man who feels that the white man kept him from doing a lot of things that he wanted to do in life. Troy does not have many goals in life. Troy is in own little world and does not like to be judged.
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
Wilson uses many symbols in the play to depict oppression. The primary symbol used is racism. Troy files a complaint to the Commissioner’s office against the Sanitation Department in reference to white men are the only men driving trucks. This complaint gets Troy promoted and he also becomes the first African American to drive a sanitation truck. Racism and segregation also play a major factor in Troy’s dream to be a professional baseball player in the Major Leagues. Since he is African American, he could only play in Negro League baseball. This defeat in his life now affects Troy’s son, Cory. Cory has an opportunity for a college education by be...
Everything in August Wilson’s play Fences, can be related to or is a fence of some sort. The main character, Troy Maxson, is a retired negro league baseball star whose whole life revolves around fences. Fences is completely driven by this idea of metaphorical and physical fences. Pride and alcohol are the fences that really cloud Troy’s views. His son, Cory, has fences in this play as well. All these fences intertwine to create a story that addresses many of society's problems.
World War I, or the Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1918. In harsh battles between some of the world’s strongest economic powers, millions of people were killed and wounded. Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States during these years, and he yearned for peace. Towards the end of the conflict, Wilson delivered a speech called “Fourteen Points” on January 8, 1918. His goal in doing so was to create some stability in a time of crisis. Even though the leaders of some countries did not jump on board right away, they eventually agreed to signing the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the war. Through emphasizing peace, security, and freedom, President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” paid off overall, ultimately revealing that
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history. The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and...
Troy is the type of person that only cares about himself and will only do things that benefit him. He does not care about who hurts while doing it as long as he benefits he is satisfied. When Troy was telling Rose about getting Alberta pregnant his excuse was that he, “just might be able to steal second”(2.1.118). Troy was unsatisfied with still being on “first”. He was tired of Rose and the way his life was he just wanted something different. Troy just wanted to steal second. He did not care about how his actions may affect Rose and his family he just did what would make him happy. Troy has no sympathy for anyone in his life. He knows his actions affect everyone around him negativity but he does not care because it is beneficial to him. Being unsympathetic to the people he supposedly loves also proves why Troy is the villain of this
Should a neglected, discriminated, and misplaced black man living in the mid 1900s possessing a spectacular, yet unfulfilled talent for baseball be satisfied or miserable? The play Fences, written by August Wilson, answers this question by depicting the challenging journey of the main character, Troy Maxon. Troy, an exceptional baseball player during his youth, cannot break the color barrier and is kept from playing in the big leagues. That being his major life setback, Troy has a pessimistic view on the world. His attitude is unpleasant, but not without justification. Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes out his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasures. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism in misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty.
Alan Nadel argues that the object of the fence in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” symbolizes a great struggle between the literal and figurative definitions of humanity and blackness. The author summarizes the play and uses the character Troy to explain the characterization of black abilities, such as Troy’s baseball talents, as “metaphoric,” which does not enable Troy to play in the white leagues as the period is set during segregation (Nadel 92). The author is trying to use the characters from the play as examples of black people during the segregation years to show how people of that time considered black people not as literal entities and more like figurative caricatures. Stating that these individuals were considered to be in a kind of limbo between human and object. Nadel’s thesis is easy to spot, and is actually pointed out directly on page 88 of the text. It reads that August Wilson’s play actually investigates the position of black persons as the metaphorical “fence” between humanity and property, arguing that the effects of this situation interacts within the “context of white [America]” so that a wider range of people are able to view the internal struggles of the black community.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him, and he never gave anyone a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish.
He shares his thoughts with Troy on the matter, "Some people build fences to keep people out and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you." She protects their child Cory by trying to keep him from having altercations with Troy. She tries to get Cory to clean his room and to do his chores before he goes to football practice. The ongoing argument between her and Troy is a symbol of the shattered marriage that they are living in and her attempt to protect what is left. [you might want to rephrase that. Do you mean she can 't protect her marriage but still tries to hold the family together? You could analyze her "solution" to the problem posed by Troy 's infidelity: she does not leave him and destroy the family; she simply declares him "womanless" for his infidelity and then accepts his daughter into the
Racism is everywhere; it is all around us and at most times it resides within us. Racism basically refers to the characterization of people (ethnicity based) with certain distinct traits. It is a tool with which people use to distinguish themselves between each other, where some use it to purposely inflict verbal, physical or mental attacks on others while some use it to simply distinguish or differentiate from one another. It all depends on the context in which it is used. The play Fences by August Wilson, takes place during the late 1950’s through to 1965, a period of time when the fights against segregation are barely blossoming results. The main protagonist, Troy Maxson is an African American who works in the sanitation department; he is also a responsible man whose thwarted dreams make him prone to believing in self-created illusions. Wilson's most apparent intention in the play ‘Fences’, is to show how racial segregation creates social and economic gaps between African Americans and whites. Racism play a very influential role in Troy’s but more importantly it has been the force behind his actions that has seen him make biased and judgmental decisions for himself and his family. Lessons from the play intend to shed light on how racism can affect the mental and physical lives of Troy Maxson and his family.
Troy was met with many hardships in his life that left him feeling like he needed to protect himself from the things that have hurt him and could hurt him. The fence that Rose told Troy to build symbolized the barrier that he puts up to protect himself from the things that have hurt him and could hurt him in the future. Troy uses the fence to symbolize the emotional separation and neglect he has towards his family; Rose and Cory in particular. The main reason why the fence took the whole play to complete is because Troy neglected it and spent his time with his mistress which symbolized his neglect towards his family. Cory brings this to attention when he tells Troy that he "don't never do nothing, but go down to Taylors'", which is obviously his mistress’s home (Henderson). This was Troy’s f...
A fence provides a barrier intended to keep something in or possibly keep something else out. The hurdles of those that try or wish to cross boundaries that hold them back is the focus of the play Fences by August Wilson. Throughout the play He creates an extraordinary symbolic idea behind the fences built around his house. As the story progresses the various symbolic meanings of fences are revealed. Wilson’s play is a story of injustice, repressed feelings, and pride set during the 1950s.
August Wilson uses the symbol of a 'fence' in his play, Fences, in numerous occasions. Three of the most important occasions fences are symbolized are by protection, Rose Maxson and Troy Maxson's relationship, and Troy against Mr. Death. Throughout the play, characters create 'fences' symbolically and physically to be protected or to protect. Examples such as Rose protecting herself from Troy and Troy protecting himself form Death. This play focuses on the symbol of a fence which helps readers receive a better understanding of these events. The characters' lives mentioned change around the fence building project which serves as both a literal and a figurative symbol, representing the relationships that bond and break in the backyard.