August Wilson's Fences Essay

1065 Words3 Pages

August Wilson’s Fences, follows Troy Maxson and the relationship with his family. Throughout the play it comes to reveal that Troy Maxson and Rose Maxson, his wife, have failed to create a simple happy family due to their struggle with racism as black people in America, along with the tension shared between them. Essentially, Troy and Rose are “fenced” into their house together, trapped in this unhealthy marriage in an attempt to become a perfect household in the 1950s. In the Play Fences, Wilson presents Troy selling his soul to the devil, and Rose’s declaration that she sacrificed her wants to be with Troy in order to highlight the sacrifices they made to mask themselves as a healthy household. Thus, ultimately illustrating the sacrifices …show more content…

The fact that Troy’s contract with the devil formed due to his desperation to create a home, along with his rejection from white institutions, underscores the difficulty black Americans face in blending into American society. The purchase of furniture may seem like a simple purchase, but it is a powerful reflection of a family's stability. Black Americans constantly go great lengths in order to obtain these necessities, such as the furniture; These necessities are often denied to black families and favorably given to white families, which is why Black Americans, such as Troy, are forced to make sacrifices in order to blend in with such a racist and biased society. Wilson uses the idea of the Fence to contend that Rose locked herself into a life she didn't want out of fear of experiencing an abnormal household. When Rose is first introduced, her thoughts are projected to the audience. Rose admits that settling with Troy was the best of the “worst” choices as she fears an even more unstable household such as baby mama drama or single motherhood. Essentially, Rose chose to trap herself in this situation despite it not being what she

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