Analysis Of The Movie ' Fences '

To begin, in the play Fences the author reveals the impact that race has towards Troy by reminiscing on Troy’s past as a baseball player and his experience with racial discrimination.  Towards the beginning of the play, Troy starts to talk about how his son Cory wants to play football in high school and pursuit it

Fences is divided into two acts. Act One is comprised of four scenes and Act Two has five. The play begins on a Friday, Troy and Bono's payday. Troy and Bono go to Troy's house for their weekly ritual of drinking and talking. Troy has asked Mr. Rand, their boss, why the black employees aren't allowed to drive the garbage trucks, only to lift the garbage. Bono thinks Troy is cheating on his wife, Rose. Troy and Rose's son, Cory, has been recruited by a college football team. Troy was in the Negro Leagues but never got a chance to play in the Major Leagues because he got too old to play just as the Major Leagues began accepting black players. Troy goes into a long epic story about his struggle in July of 1943 with death. Lyons shows up at

Lives are lead with anxiety over certain issues and with apprehension towards certain events. This play, Fences written by the playwright August Wilson deals with the progression of a family through the struggles of oppression and the inability to obtain the American Dream. The characters in the play develop throughout the story and can be viewed or interpreted in many different ways, but one man remains constant during the play and that is Troy. Due to certain events that transpired as he was growing up, Troy is shaped into a very stubborn yet proud man. To be a man who was black and proud ran the risk of getting destroyed, both physically and mentally. The world of the 1950s and 60s was rapidly changing and

Fences can be viewed as a family play, it can also be viewed as a work specifically of the black man's place, or plight, in a predominantly white world. Either way, it has a very valuable message. It is a true art to be able to touch on so many aspects of life in a work, aspects that may be viewed differently by different people.. Wilson's work, and the character of Troy Maxson, makes me question many things, among them myself, as well as his intended message. This is why I am so in awe of Fences, and of Wilson's talent. This is why I am writing my paper on Fences.

We will first discuss the play “Fences” this is a story in which the main character is a hard working African American Man. He is a good provider for his family. His wife is able to be a great homemaker and mother to his children, one of which is from another woman. Troy, who is the main character, has to make decisions not only for his family but also for his brother who is handicapped from the war. This places a lot of responsibility and pressure on Troy. Troy feels discrimination from many areas

Troy is forced at fourteen to become a man, is shot then sent to prison for attempting to get “what [his family] needed when all of their avenues were closed” (“Blackness”). In other words, Troy is depicted as a character who is mixture of the traditional literary hero, admirable, brave, and honest, and the modern anti-hero who exhibits the qualities of a petty criminal. Because Wilson believed that Black people are capable of enduring debilitating racism and still convey “their most painful experiences in a transcendent or even joyful manner”, Fences could not address the dilemma of tragedy, “balancing a tragic hero’s sympathetic nature with his fundamental flaw” and simultaneously portray a truthful view into the life of a flawed Black hero (Webber 666). In order to demonstrate how a Black hero endures tragedy, Wilson spreads the themes of reversal and recognition throughout the play rather than a single conclusive scene. As a result, the play appears to reach moments of potential resolution with, as Joseph Wessling states, a forgiveness and grace that is more commonly found in a comedy, only to return to the continuing story of

As the roles of an African American men begin to evolve during the post-slavery time period, women’s roles remained unchanged. In this case, in August Wilson’s play Fences, Wilson’s perspective on gender roles explains the traditions of both men and women, the oppression and objectification of women, and the social roles. For instance, “Indeed, Wilson’s perspective on responsibility might appear dubious to those unfamiliar with his decidedly male ethos, which he links to the history of black male-female relations in America” (Shannon 199). Conflict arises between Troy and his family because of his representation in gender roles that were traditionally meant to play. This is the view on how Troy communicates with his wife, Rose throughout the play. Furthermore, because of the strict gender roles, Troy has a narrow view as how African Americans are being treated in the society and a tunnel view on what he believes on how the world operates.

However, trying to rise above their situations is nearly impossible for Troy and Levee because they are constantly being pushed down by others. The white man constantly reminds them that mainstream America is only for a certain type of person and that as black men they should be lucky to even be included. Even though by law, Troy and Levee are free men, they are very much oppressed. They attempt to gain a power and control, that was never given to them and in the process bring down those that are around them. Shannon asserts that “black men frequently lash out at their sons or other Blacks as alternate targets instead of confronting head-on the emasculating racism or the social and economic pressures they encounter…” (“Developing Character: Fences” 100). Even thought the plays are set decades apart, as black men Troy and Levee try to gain power, but seem to bring down anyone who is also trying to gain some sense of power for themselves. This leads to an ongoing cycle of dreams being deferred not only for Troy and Levee but for those that they interact with as

August Wilson’s play Fences brings an introspective view of the world and of Troy Maxson’s family and friends. The title Fences displays many revelations on what the meaning and significance of the impending building of the fence in the Maxson yard represents. Wilson shows how the family and friends of Troy survive in a day to day scenario through good times and bad. Wilson utilizes his main characters as the interpreters of Fences, both literally and figuratively. Racism, confinement, and protection show what Wilson was conveying when he chose the title Fences.

August Wilson’s, Fences, is often considered the African-American counterpart to the play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Therefore, this leads to many analyses comparing and contrasting the two main characters, Troy Maxson and Willy Loman. This is examined through the scene our group chose, where Troy is losing his grip on reality and his family, more specifically his son Cory, because it illustrates one of the main differences between Troy and Willy. In the scene chosen, Troy is conscious of what is happening, he understands he has lost the respect of his son, and begins to realize that he has lost the fleeting grip on reality he originally had. While contrastingly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman lies to himself and others to avoid recognizing his failures. This led to our group focusing on researching more about the American Dream. The American Dream, or in this case the lack of, is essentially what killed both of the protagonists in each script. It emphasizes the message both playwrights were

The double consciousness in Fences is representative of both double consciousnesses’ effect and the impact that it has had on the African-American community as a whole. In the play, Wilson presents to the reader a world not yet torn by the strife of racial change. However, its presence is still felt through the actions of Troy Maxson in the play as double consciousness acts both as a metaphorical fence that constrains Troy, as well as an idea that will ultimately destroy much of Troy’s personal life. In Fences, double consciousness is destructive not only because of it affects the black race as a whole, but also because it showcases how the actions of a single person can affect the people the love and cherish most.

The statement in the play “Fences” represents Miller’s concept of tragic heroism since the changing social environment of the 1950’s no longer supported Troy’s views on his son and other African American’s limited opportunities for success. For instance in the statement Rose was referring to Troy being oblivious to the shifts made in College athletics that integrated black athletes into their teams. Rose also stated earlier in the play, “They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football” (537). In spite of the opportunity Cory had to play College football, Troy’s previous experiences with racism in baseball leave him unwilling to believe his son won’t face the same predicament. In terms of themes relatable to current events,

According to August Wilson’s story, Fences, from the first scene of the play to the end, the center of attention is mainly on Troy, a character who continues to experience racial intolerance. The racist culture in which he dwells in has positioned him as nothing other than a servant to the Whites as a garbage collector in the center of the city Pittsburg. At the same chronological point in time, African American writers of the present time, such as Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, symbolically expressed the infuriating effects of American societal setting on the African- American consciousness. The Du Bois’ idea of double awareness posited a class of educational duality which all black Americans had to battle with. (Majeed 235). He distinct it as a duplicated consciousness burdened with the dread of existing in the American world which yield him no true self-consciousness, but only let him see himself in the course of the revelation of the universe. The notion of double awareness was developed into the distinction between outer life and inner life as a way of characterizing Du Bois’ views. The interior life of the black American was for domestic use and may become better through nurturing. On a side note, art was a vital aspect of nurturing. Art should be used as a mechanism to fight back against racism, which is part of the outer life of the black people. It could also be a well thought-out shield in political battle.

According to the definition in (dictionary.com), fences are used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Many Nashawn people us fences to keep people out and push people away. In this award winning film called “Fences,” by the writer August Wilson, ones of it scenes is called the best by you tuber called Arif Malik. The award winning film is about how our environment creates us and how, no matter good or bad intensions, our parents have to let us decide on our on, and figure the world out on ourselves. In this emotional 7 minute emotional scene you witness an argument between two black parents who were going through something that people go through but it wasn’t nothing good it was something that brakes families apart. This movie symbolized so much but mainly about how a barrier specifically a fences keep people away and out of your space. The scene itself speaks so much about black journey throughout the 1950s.

August Wilson's production of Fences uses a variety of theatrical elements to suggest how the atrocities that permeated the black community prior to the great migration have remained prevalent thereafter the migration to the North and have singlehandedly corrupted the black male perception of fatherhood to such a degree that it has left generational Trauma. However, Wilson does allow his production to become a story that one might characterize as a coming of the age due to Character progression and transformation. In this essay, I will allude to the setting, plot, characters and several character interactions to assist me in bringing forth my argument. The play takes place during the year 1957 in the city of Pittsburgh. African Americans had begun stretching out North in hopes of escaping the horrendous conditions of the South. For blacks, this movement was intended to bring about greater access to opportunity and overall social equality. However, the lack of understanding about the North lead to a romanticized viewing of the North. Furthermore, In the North, blacks were presented with the same issues faced within the South. This mental depiction was quickly replaced by the reality that social and economic inequalities persisted from state to state for blacks in America. Access to both decent work and homes remained scarce for members of the black community thus leaving blacks once again subject to a life of marginalization.