Fences By August Wilson Character Analysis

On Troy's payday, Bono shows up unexpectedly. Troy and Bono acknowledge how each man made good on his bet about the fence and the refrigerator. Troy insists that Cory leave the house and provide for himself. Cory brings up Troy's recent failings with Rose. Cory points out that the house and property, from which Troy is throwing Cory out, should actually be owned by Gabriel whose government checks paid for most of the mortgage payments. Troy physically attacks Cory. Troy kicks Cory out of the house for good. Cory leaves. Troy swings the baseball bat in the air, taunting Death.

In the play Fences, written by August Wilson, Cory is an obedient son to Troy. Troy has had a tough past ever since his dream of becoming a major league baseball player failed because of the color of his skin. His son, Cory, now has the opportunity to play football in college and become successful. However, Troy thinks football is a waste of time and does not support him. Cory grows over the course of the play because of the lack of his father’s support.

In Fences, August Wilson tells a story that includes baseball as a major part of the play. Even though baseball is a huge part of the play, the game itself is not actually played. Troy, who is the main character of the play, is the main source of all the conflicts that occur in the story. Whenever a conflict occurs in the story, Troy uses baseball analogies to explain his reasoning. Baseball also plays a historical part of the play to create the setting and the characters. In the play, baseball echoes the history of America and the racial discrimination that occurred to African Americans.

Growing up, most parents want what is best for their children with the hope that they will lead a better life than the one they had. On the surface, this does not seem to be the case in the relationship between Troy and Cory in August Wilson’s Fences. Troy was a hardworking man who did all he can to provide for his family. Cory worked equally as hard in his athletic career. Troy made a decision to end Cory’s football career out of protection but Cory viewed it as his father’s jealousy. Troy’s rough attitude and relationship towards Cory stems from multiple sources: Troy’s relationship with his own father, his jail time, the fact that he did not make the Major Leagues in baseball due to discrimination, and his reluctance to accept the idea that the times have changed. Each of these plays a distinct role in their relationship, ultimately cultivating in Troy losing Cory for good.

Individuals and society often rely on the trait of responsibility in order to have their daily activities run smoothly. Troy Maxson has incorporated the key ideas of responsibility; to secure his family, friendships and job. Troy had stated multiple times within Fences that his actions are based off of his responsibilities; instead of love. “[...]Liked you? Who the hell say I got to like you?[...]” (Wilson,37). This quote displays that although Troy loves his family, his sense of responsibility is stronger. The sense of responsibility shows he is concerned for what is to come to the family; although this shadowed his emotions to forget to show affection. “[...]Some people build fences to keep people out…and

Fences by August Wilson is a play that covers the life of Troy Maxson from the 1950s through the mid 1960s. The main character Troy is an aging man who formerly played in the negro leagues and is now working as a garbage man. Troy struggles with racism, taking care of his family and dealing with the reality that times have changed. Maxson is a strong character with very prominent traits displayed throughout the play. He can be described as hardworking, responsible, and troubled. Those traits attest to who he his, how he lives and play a role into his relationships with family and friends.

The title of a book is the first thing the reader sees when they pick it up. It serves as a first taste of what to expect in the book they are spending their time reading. In the play Fences by August Wilson, the title reflects the issues faced by the various characters and the figurative or sometimes literal fence that divides them all. Troy Maxson, the main character, is working on building a fence in front of his house to serve as a divider for their property. He struggles to form strong relationships with his sons and in some cases his wife Rose, causing a fence to form in between them. A fence develops throughout the play for Troy and Rose, Troy and his family, and among him and death itself.

In the play, Troy’s relationship with his son, Cory fades. The relationship first starts to wane when Cory and Troy are in the yard working on the ever so symbolistic Fence in the yard. Cory tells his father that a recruiter will be visiting him due to his success in both school and in football. Troy asks if he still has his job but Cory tells him that he will work on weekends. Troy becomes exceedingly angry with his son and forces him to quit the football team saying that: “The white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway” (35). Even with the tensions high between blacks and whites in the time period, Troy is still very harsh in his words. Perhaps, this can be attributed Troy’s past experience with baseball which didn’t end well for him. This action by Troy is both a crooked and straight. It is crooked because it holds a bar of limitation over his son’s head but it is straight because Troy is only doing it to protect his son. This event shows the reader that there can

When most people think Troy Maxson in the play Fences by August Wilson, they would probably think of him as someone who is the main provider for his family or someone who is self-centered, but Troy Maxson is actually a tragic hero in the play Fences. Troy Maxson is the protagonist of Fences and has his dream taken away from him because racial discrimination and that plays a big part of why Troy Maxson is the way he is. He has a caring wife name Rose Maxson, two sons, and allegedly a daughter, but Troy seems to be lonely. He believes he owes his family everything and he has to be the main provider for his family because he believes that it is his duty. Troy worked for the Sanitation Department as a garbage collector for many years.

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.

Troy also deals (and is responsible for) with his brother Gabriel, who received a serious head injury during the war and hasn’t been the same since. Troy’s son Cory tells his father that he has a chance to be scouted for a recruiter from the University of North Carolina for its football team. But since Troy feels that Cory should be concentrating on working at the local A&P supermarket and his studies and leave football alone. One can understand as to maybe why Troy feels that his son should work and focus on school instead of football. Since Troy was disappointed because of his lack of a professional baseball career (because of his color), he did not want to see his son receive the same kind of heartbreak he had suffered.

Throughout the play “Fences” by August Wilson, the character of Troy is constantly trying to shape Cory into the person he wants Cory to be, rather than permit Cory to explore possibilities and make his own decisions. These dynamics compel Cory to take drastic measures in an attempt to create the change that he wants to experience and to become the person that he envisions. The drastic measures Cory employs involve verbal and physical violence against his father. Each episode of violence changes the dynamic between father and son, but also changes Cory himself. He begins to think that aggression is the only means of creating meaningful change. While he may be correct in thinking that violence changes situations and people, he does not fully understand the implications of change for everyone touched by the conflict and this shapes his character

Coming of age is a period in time when a someone starts to think more like an adult and less like a child. In Fences by August Wilson, numerous characters' experience coming of age moments within the play. Troy's coming of age moment occurs when he goes to jail and learns from his mistake while in jail. Cory's coming of age moment happens when he stands up to his father which shows him displaying a sense of morals. Rose's coming of age moment transpires when she shows her responsibility to others by making the decision to raise the child of her husband's disloyalty.

The play Fences by August Wilson, explains and explores the lives of the Maxson family, an African American family in 1957. Like in most plays each of the main characters has a strong desire that they want to achieve throughout the course of the story. Rose Maxson, the matriarch of the family, wants to be with people and connected to them. She does not want to be alone. This is seen through her family’s history, her feelings on marriage, and the family she has made for herself.

"I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World' and it went like this: 'The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.' End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. I've been rewriting that same story over and over again. All my plays are rewriting that same story. I'm not sure what it means, other than life is hard" (Calvert, n.d.)