Wilson's "Fences"

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Recommended: Essays In Fences By August Wilson

Fences was published in 1983 but the setting was the 1950s in August Wilsons home town. Wilson’s main purpose of this play is to show how the separation of humans into racial groups can create social and finance instability and can have a huge effect on African Americans and whites. The 1950s was the middle of the civil rights era. The Maxsons Family is African American, In the 1950s there was not many jobs for African Americans; most people believed that this is what pushed Troy to steal things in order to provide for his family. Troy went to prison for murder and when he got out he was determined to do good deeds and to turn his life around; shortly after he got out of prison he got a job as a Garbage man. Troy is a tragic figure and a villain; he is a tragic figure because he made great effort to do good deeds for his family, but he allowed his imperfections to get in his way which led to a horrible death. Troy is a villain because of what he did to his wife Rose. (Shmoop; Editorial Team) A tragic figure is a person who displays characteristics more than the average person, but through downfalls does not have a good outcome. Troy is a tragic figure because he is resolute in stopping Cory from furthering his education on a football scholarship; the reason he is so resolute is because he is afraid that Cory won’t make it because of his race and because of how African Americans had been discriminated in the 50’s. Troy’s main reason why he won’t let Cory play football is because when he was playing baseball they turned him down and would not let him play in the Major league simply because he was African American or in other words black. Troy is a villain because he had an affair with another woman (Alberta) behind Rose (his wife) ... ... middle of paper ... ...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. Works Cited Sparknotes Editors, "SparkNote on Fences, "SparkNotes.com.SparkNote LLC.n.d.web.31.Mar.2014 Shmoop Editorial Team."Fences".shmoop.com.Shmoop University.Inc. 11 Nov. 2008, Work Cited: Kennedy X.J. Backpack Literature: Fences by August Wilson

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