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Essays on august wilson's fences
Fences by august wilson character analysis
Essays on august wilson's fences
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The dynamics of a family are patterns of relating interactions among one another. Each family structure differentiates among the culture, beliefs and life style. The action of a family being torn apart and what holds it together is significant through the trials and tribulations that families encounter. In August Wilson’s Fences and Alice Walker’s Everyday Use, both pieces of literature have one factor that links the stories together is the leading character hurting those around them without realizing it. African American heritage is being portrayed and both Troy and Dee experience their own respective families suffer at the cost of one’s own ignorance. In Everyday Use, Alice Walker writes about a family unit consisting of a mother, Dee and …show more content…
Cultural capitalism is having assets that give an individual social mobility (Szeman & Kaposy 88). Such as, with knowledge and/or education, embody speech and personality and objectified: one’s belongings and/or clothing. Through the rise of the Civil Rights Era, Dee becomes more aware of the culture she came from through her surroundings and begins to “embrace” it. She visits Mama’s house to collect some the ancestral quilts in which she denied before. Dee attempts to get more in touch with her African roots by going as far as changing her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. When arriving at her mother’s house she shared the news of the name change. When Mama quickly questions her, “what happened to Dee?”, Wangero exclaims, “she is dead” (Walker 924). Wangero (Dee) goes the extra mile to her name to make a statement to those around her and becomes noticeable becomes Afrocentric. Mama explains to Wangero the deep family meaning to her name, Dee she nullifies her mother’s answer and explains to her that the name “Dee” originates from slaves given by white slave owners. In the process of Dee Wangero’s transformation to her “deep roots”, she dating an African American Muslim named Hakim-a-barber. With Dee Wangero changing her name and reclaiming her culture she offends her mother through the process but little does she know she is hurting her …show more content…
Dee Wangero and Troy do not mean to hurt their family through their actions, however, little do they know the pain they cause effects those around them.
The deep African American heritage that is portrayed throughout both pieces of literature and it deeply shows throughout the readings. The lack of compassion leads to Troy’s and Dee Wangero’s ignorance towards their family, which is the reason for them acting the way they do towards their
Fences is a play that deals with boundaries that hold people back and the trials and tribulations of those who try or wish to cross them. The characters are African-Americans in a time before the civil rights movement, living in an industrial city. The main character, Troy Manxson, is a talented baseball player who never had the chance to let his talent shine, with restrictions on race and his time in jail as the main obstacles that held him back. He is now hard working and loves his family. However, he tends to exaggerate and has his faults, most prevalent a wandering eye when it comes to women. His wife, Rose, is younger than him and loyal, but she may not have known about all of his faults when she married him. At the beginning of the play, Troy has a son from a previous marriage, Lyons, and a son with Rose, Cory. Also appearing are Bono, Troy’s drinking buddy, and Gabriel, his brother.
Troy?s relationship with his father was one, which produced much tension, and had a strong influence on Troy?s relationships with his loved ones as an adult. He had very little respect for his father because his father did not, in Troy?s mind, make his family a priority. At an early age, Troy?s father beat him ?like there was no tomorrow? because he caught Troy getting ?cozy? with a girl (549; I,4). Troy said that ?right there is where [he became] a man? (549; I,4). It was at that moment that Troy made the decision to free himself from his father?s power. Despite the fact that he did eventually escape his father?s wrath, the struggle with his father?s aggressive behavior and lack of love resulted in a coldness that resided in Troy?s heart toward life and love. His father did not care about his children; children were there to work for the food that he ate first. Troy describes his feelings toward his father by saying, ?Sometimes I wish I hadn?t known my daddy. He ain?t cared nothing about no kids. A kid to him wasn?t nothing. All he wanted was for you to learn how to walk so he could start you to working? (548; I,4). Although Troy had very little respect for his father and vowed to be nothing like him, many of his father?s harsh personality traits show up in his own personality. Despite Troy?s continuous attempts to push himself away from anything he had ever known about his father, the inheritance of such irrational behavior was inevitable because it was all he had ever known. The inheritance of this angry behavior was, in turn, the cause of his damaging relationships with his own family. Just as Troy endured his father?s cruel ways, Troy?s family is left with no choice but to try to learn to live with his similar ways.
We all lead lives filled with anxiety over certain issues, and with dread of the inevitable day of our death. In this play, Fences which was written by the well known playwright, August Wilson, we have the story of Troy Maxson and his family. Fences is about Troy Maxson, an aggressive man who has on going, imaginary battle with death. His life is based on supporting his family well and making sure they have the comforts that he did not have in his own childhood. Also, influenced by his own abusive childhood, he becomes an abusive father who rules his younger son, Cory?s life based on his own past experiences. When the issue comes up of Cory having a bright future ahead of him if he joins the football team, Troy refuses to allow him. The root of this decision lies in his own experience of not being allowed to join the baseball team due to the racial prejudices of his time. He does not realize that times have changed and because of his own past, he ruins his son?s life too. His wife, Rose, also plays a big part in the way the story develops. Troy has an affair with another woman called Alberta. When Rose finds out about the affair, she is devastated. In this situation we find out what her own hopes and dreams were. All she wanted was a happy home and family life because of her unstable past. The theme of this story is how a black family, in the late fifties to early sixties, faces the problems that many families are faced with, but in their own...
Another reason I had feelings of anger for the character Dee, was that she was uneducated. Not the usual education, such as in college, because she had that, but the education of her heritage, or past. The second statement to her mother was when her mother says "Dee", Dee replied saying her new name Wangero, followed by the statement that Dee is dead and that she could no longer bear the name of the people that oppress her. At no point during the story was Dee oppressed or even mentioned being oppressed in the past. Then she tries to track back where her name came from, to show her mother it was a slave name or something along those lines. Her mother tracked it back as far as she could remember and no such thing was pointed out. To move on to another situation where Dee made herself look foolish and uneducated is, when they are leaving, she tells her mother that she just doesn't understand.
Looking at Troy's relationship with his eldest son, Lyons, you can immediately see that their relationship is strained from the minute that Lyons makes his first appearance. During the time when the audience first meets Lyons, Troy rudely greets him by asking "What you come 'Hey, Popping' me for?" (13). You soon learn that Lyons is a struggling musician who often asks to borrow money from his father. You also learn that Troy is not at all supportive of Lyons' dreams of being a musician, even though that is what makes Lyons' happy. Troy constantly insults Lyons' by telling him that he is lazy because he would rather pursue his dreams than get a job similar to the one that Troy holds as a garbage man. Although Troy's relationship with Lyons is the least complicated of all of his relationships, the strain...
August Wilson brings out the struggle of Troy Maxson in his play, Fences. All those that matter to him end up feeling this struggle, for it remains constantly inside of him. As it overcomes Troy the respect and love that he was previously given dwindles to nothing. Troy’s actions and failure to fix them makes his true character known. Troy Maxson’s flawed nature is shown when he fails his family by giving way to his selfishness and the traits of his father.
...eless, he essentially lived his life in a constant low point. Troy’s anger is undoubtedly misguided, but entirely permissible considering his hardships. The story of Troy Maxon begs the question: is it ever justifiable to pass judgment on someone without understanding his or her life story? After analyzing Troy’s struggle and resulting attitude, it seems that passing judgment is exceptionally risky. Without recognizing the early hardships of Troy’s life, it is easy to dismiss him and his cynical outlook. What can be learned from his story is evident. Never judge someone for his or her seemingly unwarranted attitude because there is a good chance it is completely defensible.
Alice Walkers “Everyday Use”, is a story about a family of African Americans that are faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it. Two sisters and two hand stitched quilts become the center of focus for this short story. Walker paints for us the most vivid representation through a third person perspective of family values and how people from the same environment and upbringing can become different types of people.
Alice Walker is a well-known African- American writer known for published fiction, poetry, and biography. She received a number of awards for many of her publications. One of Walker's best short stories titled "Everyday Use," tells the story of a mother and her two daughters' conflicting ideas about their heritage. The mother narrates the story of the visit by her daughter, Dee. She is an educated woman who now lives in the city, visiting from college. She starts a conflict with the other daughter, Maggie over the possession of the heirloom quilts. Maggie still lives the lifestyle of her ancestors; she deserves the right of the quilts. This story explores heritage by using symbolism of the daughters' actions, family items, and tradition.
In Fences, August Wilson introduces an African American family whose life is based around a fence. In the dirt yard of the Maxson’s house, many relationships come to blossom and wither here. The main character, Troy Maxson, prevents anyone from intruding into his life by surrounding himself around a literal and metaphorical fence that affects his relationships with his wife, son, and mortality.
this popularization itself can actually turn into a form of exploitation. By telling the story from the mother's point of view, Walker's representation of Wangero is seeped in irony, and therefore Wangero's love of her African. heritage becomes an exploitation of it. Because the mother is so closely related to the characters in the story, her perception of them is biased. Walker uses this point of view to her advantage, because the reader is familiar with Wangero's somewhat stereotypical "blacksploitive" personality, this one.
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 a situation is resolved is when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell.
“Everyday Use” is a story based in the era of racial separation between communities of diverse ethnicity. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker merely scratches the surface of racial heritage and the elimination of previous ways of living. This discontinuation of poverty driven physical labor shines through Dee as she grows to know more of her heritage throughout her years in school. An example of this is when Dee changes her name; this is an indication of Dee/Wangero wanting to change her lifestyle after the harsh truth she is hit with while going to school. Dee learns about the struggles of African Americans during this time, which changes her view on the unforgiving reality of her family’s lifestyle. In “Everyday Use”, the author opens the mind
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story about an African American family that struggles to make it. Mama tries her best to give Maggie and Dee a better life than what she had. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” Dee is the older sister and Maggie is younger. Dee is described as selfish and self-centered. Maggie is generous, kind, and cares the family’s history together. She would go out of her way to make sure that her older sister, Dee has everything she needs and wants. Maggie is also willing to share what she has with her sister. Maggie is also shy and vulnerable. Mama is the mother of Maggie and Dee. Mama is fair and always keeps her promises to her children. Hakim-a-barber is the boyfriend
August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep things inside or outside Troy used the fence he was building to keep out death, his family, and his disappointments in life while Rose used the fence to keep those she cared about inside and help them bond.