Fence: Themes And Symbols In Troy Maxson's Fences

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Recommended: Fences relate to the theme of the play

A fence by definition is a barrier that encloses an area of ground to mark a boundary, control access, or prevent escape. What would you use a fence for? Is it used to hide something of yours and to keep it in or to avoid society and human interaction? In the play Fences, those aspects were in consideration, whether if the fence was controlling access, preventing escape, hiding a secret, or avoiding society. Furthermore, determining how a fence is used could say quite a bit about the person and from this statement; this is how the traits of the characters in the play are established. In Fences the fence is symbolic in different ways by each character such as controlling access, preventing escape, hiding a secret, and neglecting loved ones. …show more content…

The play consists of Troy Maxson, his son Lyons and Cory, Bono, Troy’s brother Gabriel, Troy’s daughter Raynell, and lastly, Troy’s wife Rose. Troy and Bono work together maneuvering items, but Troy exclaims, “ You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck. That ain’t no paper job!” (1.1) Moreover, Troy has a relationship with another woman and the relationship will soon bite him in the butt. Juggling between work, kids, the constant fight with life and death, his stubborn attitude, and his life ruled by baseball, Troy puts himself in a position where he always has to be in trouble, but he does not realize that it was him putting himself in these situations. Furthermore, at the end of the play, the one thing that he loves the most ends up killing him. One aspect that I would like to comment on is how Troy would not let his son Cory go to college for football. Being a parent and wanting the best for children is understandable; however, if their child has a passion for something, the parent should not stand in the …show more content…

The fence keeps people away, protects the house, prevents escape, and could even hide a secret. What is the reason why you have a fence? In the play Fences, each character has a different meaning for the fence for example, Rose uses the fence to keep people in, Troy uses the fence to control access and to also use the fence as an excuse to neglect his family and hide a secret. Bono sees the fence as a way to keep people in and to also shine a new hope for the Maxson family by giving a reason why troy should build the fence. The title of the play is Fences; notice that the title is plural and not singular. Symbolically, this could mean that even though the play only refers to one fence, each character uses the fence in a different way; therefore, the title is

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