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The theme of racial discrimination in fences
Themes of racism in fences
The theme of racial discrimination in fences
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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. The trials of Troy’s life are filled with racial discrimination which mentally scars him. His attitude and behavior towards others are governed by experiences and in most cases he uses the symbol of death in his fictional stories to represent the oppression of the white man. The play Fences, which is largely about Troy, begins with Troy entertaining Bono and Rose with an epic tale of his struggle with death or in other word... ... middle of paper ... ...fence it was already too late. His actions and decisions had already destroyed his family to the point where the meaning of the fence was rendered inert. The effects of racism clearly affected Troy’s entire role. The play also goes on to suggest that social and political forces are pivotal roles that impacted the lives of African Americans during the 1950’s and that years of oppression were factors that affected the way in which black people lived. In the end Troy died living behind a trail of animosity between him and his family. In my opinion his story is that of a tragic hero. He began being loved and praised by his family but eventually and gradually, he began to succumb to the weight of racism. It can be said that the effects of racism finally took the better of Troy, and consequentially it ruled his life. Like his fictional stories, death finally took him.
As a result of Troy being unable to find a place to live or a job he started stealing to get by. Eventually the situation escalated and he murdered someone in a robbery gone wrong; this led to him being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prison is where he found his love for baseball. He became quite good with a bat and hoped that when he got out he could play professionally. Unfortunately due to the segregation of the MLB Troy was never able to pursue that career and he is resentful of the situation his whole life.This caused him to be a very bitter person for the remainder of his life and this also caused him to shoot down the hopes and dreams of his son Corey by telling him things like “...The white man ain’t gonna let you go nowhere with that football
At the end of Troy’s story when he finishes his battle with death, he says that “Death stood up, throwed on his robe...had him a white robe with a hood on it...” This quote shows the significance of color in his life. It makes readers aware that to Troy, white is the color of danger where it is typically seen as the color of purity. He also mentions that death has an army and followers, implying that death is not alone. These details put together a very terrifying picture for Troy. Death for Troy, presumably, is viewed as white people, specifically the KKK. White folk are a threat to Troy in every aspect of his life and struggles with segregation and discrimination issues throughout the play. The use of white for imagery when describing death helps readers understand the real dangers and concerns for Troy and his family during this
Troy is a very self-centered individual. He is only concerned with issues regarding him. For instance, he wants to be able to drive the trash trucks at his job like the white men do. In Act One, scene one, Troy tells Bono that he talked to his boss, Mr. Rand, about driving the trucks. “How come you got all the whites driving and the colored lifting?” (1332). If things in Troy’s life aren’t going the way he wants them to, he makes himself into the victim and searches for sympathy from others. In addition, if he ever does something erroneous, he never accepts responsibility, never admits his wrongdoing and no matter how much anguish he causes someone, he never apologizes for it.
For Troy, the fence represents many issues. In a sense, Troy has more than one fence with which to deal. Racial discrimination and an abusive father shaped much of Troy’s life. Troy leaves home when he is fourteen years old due to conflict with his father; being on his own was difficult. Troy ends up turning to a life of crime, which lands him in prison for manslaughter (Wolfe). The reason he went to prison was that he crossed the “fence” into a life of crime, a life the deemed necessary at the time because of race. In prison, Troy discovered his love for baseball; he even becomes a star in the Negro League. However, his fame came at a time when color prevented him from reaching the Majors. To ...
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.
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 shaped 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.
Decades ago, African Americans were treated worse than domesticated animals, even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1873. Blacks struggled to retain even the simplest of rights, such as job equality. This is exhibited in the play Fences, by August Wilson. This play takes place in the 1950’s, just before the civil rights movement. The main character, Troy, discusses how the sanitation service he is employed through does not have a single black truck driver with his best friend Bono. Troy and Bono have been friends for countless years. Through those years, Bono has watched Troy get married to his wife, Rose, and have a child with her named Corey. The play talks about opportunity when Corey is given a chance to become a professional football
Starting with Troy Maxson and Cory in the Fences play, they are two different generation, live together in the family. Troy Maxson, the antagonist is the perfect evolutionary character of August Wilson, is the son of an African-American sharecropper. He had the bitter suffering with the past experience in whole his African-American life. The author drew of the constant conflict of the feudal society in 1957 through life of a Black American, Troy Maxson. He is represented for the lowest society's mainstream of historical racist time of American. That is such a big advertisement about racism. They are poor, shabby, and the major Black could not have a job, and never have a good job. The play was set up with dark, poor, and dirty colors. Rose,
In the drama play “Fences”, by American Playwright August Wilson, introduces his readers to a hardworking African American man, that fights to keep his family afloat during the late 1950s. In this play, that is built around the main character, Troy Maxson, you can observe the many life obstacles and lessons that he has undergone in result of being raised by a hard-hearted father.
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.
Death is a marching soldier with a sickle in hand, wearing a white robe, waiting to fight yet another fight with Troy (Fences, p.16-17). The devil, stated by Troy as a “white fellow” with “good clothes,” happy to extend credit to Troy for a little interest (Fences,p20). The devil is referenced again as Troy is talking about a fight he had with his father, and the realization that his father IS the devil (Fences, p.51). While we know these are tall tales, as we go further into the story, we see more examples of death. The meaning behind both Death and the Devil is that they are an entity meant to do nothing more than to take away something that belongs to Troy, whether material or emotional. They have scarred Troy, and he is always looking over his shoulder, waiting for one or the other to cross his
Robert Frost once said, “Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.” In life there are really only two reasons why a fence is put up; to keep out the outside influences, or protect what is on the inside. These two reasons are why the title of August Wilson's dramatic play, “Fences”, is so appropriate. In the dramatic comedy, “fences” by Augusta Wilson the main characters, Rose, Cory, and Troy, all perceive the idea of a “fence” in a different but symbolic way, which accounts for most of the conflict In the play. Rose is using the fences to keep her loved ones at home. Troy is using the fence to have two lives, while Cory is being almost held hostage by the fence and his father's influence.
Later Troy and Cory get into a big argument in the front yard and Troy kicks Cory out of the house and looses his son’s respect. In the last scene Troy dies and is sent to heaven with Gabriel’s trumpet, he is forgiven and is redeemed as a flawed hero. In August Wilson’s “Fences” Troy is viewed as a tragic hero, to be a tragic hero one must have dignity, something to fight for, and a downfall, Troy is the perfect example of a tragic hero because he possess all three of these qualities.
The play Fences by August Wilson revolves around Troy Maxson, an African American who works in the sanitation department during the late 1950s through to 1965, a period best known for the Struggle for Civil Rights and fight to end racism for the African-Americans. Troy in order to escape his abusive father made his way north where the black lived in poverty and had hard time finding jobs. Troy is sent to prison for stealing and killing, where he learns how to play baseball. His baseball dream is shattered when he is not accepted to the Negro Leagues. His anger over racism for denying him rights over the years creates a home environment filled with resentment and negativity, which begins to deteriorate his relationship with his wife, Rose,
As with most works of literature, the title Fences is more than just a title. It could be initially noted that there is only one physical fence being built by the characters onstage, but what are more important are the ideas that are being kept inside and outside of the fences that are being built by Troy and some of the other characters in Fences. The fence building becomes quite figurative, as Troy tries to fence in his own desires and infidelities. Through this act of trying to contain his desires and hypocrisies one might say, Troy finds himself fenced in, caught between his pragmatic and illusory ideals. On the one side of the fence, Troy creates illusions and embellishments on the truth, talking about how he wrestled with death, his encounters with the devil, later confronting the d...