August Wilson Fences Analysis

August Wilson did not name his play, Fences, simply due to the melodramatic actions that take place in the Maxson household, but rather the relationships that bond and break because of the “fence”. The “fence” serves as a structural device because the character's lives are constantly changing during the construction of the fence. The dramatic actions in the play strongly depend on the building of the fence in the Maxson’s backyard. Fences represents the metaphorical walls or fences that the main characters are creating around themselves in order to keep people in or vice versa. The title may seem straightforward, but in actuality it is a powerful symbol which can either have positive or

In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character, Troy Maxson is involved in numerous relationships with family members throughout the entire eight years that the story takes place. Troy is a father, husband, and brother to other characters in the play. Unfortunately for Troy, a strong-minded and aggressive man, he constantly complicates the relationships with his family members. Troy's hurtful actions and words make it nearly impossible for him to sustain healthy relationships with not only his two sons, but also his wife and brother.

The play “Fence” by August Wilson’s has a connection with real world fence. “The yard is a small dirt yard, partially fenced, except for the last scene, with a wooden sawhorse, a pile of lumber, and other fence-building equipment set off to the side. The Opposite is a tree from which hangs a ball made of rags. A baseball bat leans against the tree. Two oil drums serve as garbage receptacles and sit near the house at right to complete the setting” (Wilson 2). He mentions that the fence has three parts open, unopened and cornerstone. The word yard and fence are symbolically represented structure and dream of country, society and Troy’s family.

Troy’s personality is very conservative. He is an angry man who has been a victim of racial violence and allowed his bitterness to become a barrier to new opportunities that opened at this time. As a child Troy wanted out of his abusive father’s relationship. His father barely looked after his 11 children and had always puts himself first before anyone else. Instead, young Troy escapes north to Pittsburg ending himself in jail due to theft, which is where he meets his ace

Throughout time there have always been conflicts of morality and injustice. August Wilson wrote this play about issues that were prevalent in the 1950’s but also still are sadly present today. In Fences, there is an abundance of evidence of cultural clashes. In this play these clashes span over racial, generational, and even gender lines and its effects on the characters.

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

Troy took care of his family as a man should. He took care of his sons with all that he had, but the love for his family was not evident in his character, especially with what he did to Rose. Cheating on Rose was a very selfish, and disrespectful act that showed no love towards his family. Troy’s behavior does not derive from racism, but stems from the relationship he had with his father when he was a teenager. Without him knowing, Troy was very similar to his father. His father “stayed right here with his family. But he was just as evil as he could be” (Wilson 905). Troy’s description of his father was the same person he was. In his conversation with Cory he says to him: “like you? I go out of here every morning…bust my butt…putting gup with them crackers

I didn't know anything about August Wilson before I began my research. I was very surprised to learn about his separatist views, because his play seemed so universal to me. I was also very surprised to learn that he had left school two years early because of a racial comment from a teacher, and that he had acquired the remainder of his education from hours spent at the library. What I had not known was that many aspects of Fences can be seen as

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

“Jesus be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way” (Wilson 1.2.21). The play Fences follows the journey of an African American family, the Maxons, and their struggle to handle the appearance of both physical and metaphorical fences. Fences shows the difficulties that the Maxons face in an attempt to balance love, loss, and laughter. The Maxson family lives in Pittsburgh during the 1950’s, and they meet tensions when searching for equality within their relationships and in their larger community. Throughout the play, tension builds between characters. To portray this tension, the author, August Wilson utilizes the narrative elements of parallel plots through storytelling, developing characters

Fences are used to keep people in. However, it’s not that simple in the play by August Wilson Fences. There is symbolism of fences in two main characters from the play, Troy and Rose.

Troy Maxon. Troy is a bitter man, withering away in his own hatred for the way things

Throughout history, civilizations have built fences to keep enemies out and keep those they want to protect inside. In society today, people create metaphorical fences in order to fence in their feelings, while others create literal fences in order to keep the unwanted away. In the play Fences, the Maxon family lives in 1950’s America whose love for sports and one another are questioned at times when they need to be together the most. In the play Fences by August Wilson, two main characters Troy and Cory Maxon build a fence, literally and metaphorically, which as the book progresses, becomes a symbol that allows each character to truly understand each other.

Regardless of head-ships and difficulties, the Maxon family clearly shows that, with the contribution of both Rose and Troy, has a foundation of love. This foundation is what holds the symbolic fence between the family and the rest of the world. This foundation is strong, and is especially tested by Troy, Who, despite his later betrayal, genuinely loves his wife, Rose

Fences is a short history written by the African-American author August Wilson in 1985, that follows a tragic flow and explores significant social issues like racism, family conflicts, mental illness and gender inequality that took place in the post- World War II era, and still affecting us today. To support his ideas, the author takes us into the life of its characters in order to examine their societal and self-imposed limitations; also, the effective use of symbols, setting and themes create a broad perspective of this societal issues analyzing its origin, developing and culmination, in order to let the readers make their own conclusions.