Analysis Of August Wilson 's ' Fences '

Troy's lack of commitment to finishing the fence that Rose wants put up represents his lack of commitment in his marriage. He doesn't understand that Rose wants to keep the family close because he never truly had a close family. He becomes a womanless man. “From right now… this child got a mother. But you a womanless man” (79). Troy pushes Lyons away by refusing to hear him play his "Chinese music" (48). He also damages his relationship with his other son, Cory, by preventing him from playing football and rejecting his only chance to get recruited by a college football team. The “fence” also depicts that Troy is disowning Cory when they get into an argument and Troy kicks him out on to the streets. Troy states that Cory’s things will be on “the other side of that fence” (89). As a result, Troy ends up driving everybody away just like his father. The “fence” acts like a physical divider between the Maxson’s household and the outside world because Troy doesn’t bring anything others would normally have into his house and Rose does not want any outsider intruding her family.

Troy makes himself appear to be more of a suave, debonair gentlemen to Rose by fabricating events from their past. Despite Troy’s attempts of romancing her, Rose knows better than to believe Troy’s mendacity. In Act One, scene one, Troy tells the story of how he met Rose. ”Baby, I don’t wanna marry, I just wanna be your man” (1333). Rose says, “Troy, you ought not talk like that. Troy ain’t doing nothing but telling a lie” (1333). Troy tries to make himself appear more engaging than he really is. Troy's lying makes him seem more gallant than he really is. He also talks about how he defeated Death. In Act One, scene one, Troy says to Rose and Bono, “I wrestled with Death for three days and three nights and I’m standing here to tell you about it” (1336). Every story Troy tells, he emphasizes the fact that he is such a stout and audacious man. Troy assumes that people actually believe his over embellished stories.

Throughout the play, readers see an incomplete fence which symbolizes Rose (Troy’s wife) and Troy’s drifting relationship. Rose wants Troy and Cory to build a fence to keep her loved ones protected. This is evident when Rose is seen singing the church hymn, “Jesus, be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on

As Bono says, “Some people build fences to keep people out…and other people build fences to keep people in.” This is why Rose wants the fence to be built. When faced with Troy’s infidelity she gets only a cursory, self-serving response from Troy. It’s hard to decipher why exactly she stays with Troy, but a very simple, valid reason would be that she has no other place to go, and feels a strong responsibility to try and care for her children. Eventually her compassion leads her to make an unspoken ultimatum to Troy: I can either take in this bastard child, or I can take in you. Troy misses this ultimatum and sees the well-being of the child, Raynell, as the only option.

The members of the family that makes the most effort to keep the family level is Troy?s wife, Rose. The narrator tells us that Rose is a gentle woman. She cares a great deal for her family and her husband, despite the challenge of making her home a positive environment under the strains of a man with such impossible qualities. The author explains her reasons for enduring Troy by saying that ? her devotion to him stems from her recognition of the possibilities of her life without him: a succession of abusive men and their babies, a life of partying and running the streets, the Church, or aloneness with its attendant pain and frustration? (526; I, 1). In light of the fact that Troy is a good man and provides for their family in a way of his duty, Rose loves and supports him and ?either ignores or forgives his faults, only some of which she recognizes? (526; I, 1). Despite his love and respect for his wife, Troy acts extremely disrespectfully towards Rose. Due to the lack of love and respect that Troy was shown as a boy, he does not know feelings to his family. He talks down to his wife as if she were a child, while at the same time he declares his love for her to his friend, Bono. Troy?s fault, however, in declaring his love for his wife and family. He says, ?I love Rose? (555; II, 1), but when the time comes for him to show his love, he only disrespects her. When Rose asks Troy what he and Bono are talking about one

Troy's then made his life revolve around work and his family; he put his dreams of becoming a major league baseball player aside. He went into working and became a garbage man; he realized that he needed a steady income to provide for his family and to purchase the house that they live in. Even in the work place Troy wants to excel and make a stand for himself, talking to the commissioner about being a driver of one of the garbage trucks. Troy argued for blacks to drive the garbage trucks, but he doesn't know how to drive or even have a license. Troy acts out to try and better his black community and to try and break the barrier between whites and blacks. When Troy confronts Rose about his affair with Alberta, Rose becomes very angry with Troy. Rose is a stronger person than Troy, despite what she lets him think. She makes this extremely apparent when Troy tells her about the affair. "All of a sudden it's "we," where was "we" at when you was down there rolling around with some god forsaken woman? "We" should have come to an understanding before you started making a damn fool of yourself. You're a day late and a dollar short when it comes to an understanding with me." Troy realizes that the affair causes much disrespect to his wife and family. One day while visiting his wife Rose, they receive a call at the

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

In the play when Cory and Troy fight, Troy kicks Cory out of the house saying, “Cory: Tell Mama I'll be back for my things. Troy: They'll be on the other side of that fence." (Henderson) It is in this particular passage that Troy uses the fence physically to represent the dividing line between Cory and him, but more specifically the emotional barrier he’s put between him and his family. Troy grew up with an abusive father which makes his complete emotional disregard towards his family logical. If the man that raised you taught you keep your emotional guard up even with your family, you would probably treat your family the same way that Troy treated his; with complete emotional neglect and disregard. The fence working as barrier could also symbolize Troy trying to protect himself from feeling too deeply towards things which could end up disappointing him or already have. For instance, when Troy became passionate about becoming a Major League Baseball player he suffered extreme disappointment when he was rejected because of his race. It was this life lesson that reinforced Troy’s upbringing of emotional disregard towards things he could grow to either want, love, or feel passionate about like his family and friends. Troy’s philosophy in building the fence was that if you don’t grow an emotional attachment to something then it cannot hurt you, and he stayed by philosophy till his death. The fence also became symbolic of the barrier Troy wanted to

home because of his cruel father. W. P. Kenny details how Troy had to ―harden himself‖ from

I think it’s a perfect example of women in the 1950s because after the war, women still found themselves in traditional roles but were slowly breaking out of them. When the men returned from the war, many women wished to keep their jobs but instead became stay at home mothers who were expected to care for the children as well as cook and clean. Many ads and TV shows portrayed the perfect “wife and mother” that women in the 1950s were expected to be. Rose deals with Troy 's nonsense mostly because she feels she has too, and even after Troy cheated on her and had a baby by another woman she took care of the baby. An example of this is when Rose said “I told him if he was not the marrying kind, then move out the way so the marrying kind could find me.” This shows that Troy is unloyal, and Rose was always subject to his wild ways. Especially when Rose insisted on marrying him instead of

Part of the reason it takes the entirety of the play to be built is because Troy has been ignoring its construction. He builds the wall between himself and Cory by not having a perfect relationship with him from the start and for not being around to work on the fence. Cory alludes to the fact that Troy, "don't never do nothing, but go down to Taylors’" (29). Knowing what Troy has been doing with Alberta this whole time, every time he goes “down to Taylors’”(29) he is seeing his mistress Alberta. Troy neglecting to build the fence represents his neglect for his family. He forced himself to fence himself in and his family out, causing despair for Cory, Lyon, and Rose. Although it may have been a bad thing to do to your own family, it was effective for Troy to gradually become independant from the rest of his family

Troy refuses to let him have his chance, stating, “The white man ain’t gonna let you

She is the mother of Troy’s second child Cory. Rose so happens to be his second wife that he married after being released from prison. She requested Troy and Cory to build a fence because she senses her family is falling apart. One of her senses about Troy having an affair might just be true. “And you know i ain’t never wanted no half nothing in my family.” (2.1) Rose was devastated about the news of Troy’s illegitimate child. She wanted a traditional home, but her husbands mistake has destroyed that. After, the death of his baby’s mother Rose is left with the mother duty of raising the newborn. “Okay,Troy… you’re right. I’ll take care of your baby for you cause like you say she is innocent and you can not visit the sins of the father upon the child. From right now… this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.” (2.3) Rose wants nothing to do with Troy but since she is a loving and understanding person. She will take care of the baby and leave Troy

In this unit we read a play written as a book, called “Fences”. Fences is about racism written in the 1986. The play is based around the main characters Troy and Rose, and their son Cory. Troy has stated that he has felt the need to provide a life for Cory but doesn't need love him. Troy is wanting Cory to stop playing football and get a real job at the A&P so he can provide for himself. Rose has been trapped in between all of this. All in all, the play Fences written by August Wilson uses the narrative element of characterization of Troy and Rose, the metaphor of sports, and conflict that Troy creates to show tension.

Rose asks Troy to build a fence around their house, which takes Troy majority of the play to finally finish. When Troy questions why Rose is insisting on him building a fence Mr. Bono tells him, “some people build fences to keep people in...others to keep people out” (Wilson II.i). Rose sees the fence she asked Troy to build as a way to keep love and family in, but Troy sees it as a way to keep threats and people out, as well as for protection. To Rose, the fence is more than just a project. As Bono says to Troy, “Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you” (Wilson II.i). The fence is a symbol of her love, and her longing for the fence to be built signifies the responsibility she takes on to nurture her family and create a loving environment.