Fences Research Paper

Upon finishing the week, on Friday Troy and his friend Bono talk about what they witnessed during the week. While arriving home, Bono brings up the subject of how he knew that Troy was not going to get fired from work. Upon entering Troy comes face to face with his son, Lyon, who is there to give Troy back the money he borrowed from him. After, seeing this Bono and Lyons greet each other and Bono talks about the promotion Troy got at his job.  He states, “ your daddy got a promotion on the rubbish. He gonna be the first colored driver. Ain't got to do nothing but sit up there and read the paper like them white fellows "( Wilson, 1168). In this quote it is clear that a black man getting a promotion is not an everyday thing. This can be observed in the way Bono talks about the incident. The idea of race is seen impacting Troy’s opportunity and type of work. This is seen through the fact that there are societal roles which have been placed upon each race and the type of job he or she is supposed to pursuit. In this case, the author characterizes that the job for whites is to be the drivers, who drive a truck and “read papers”. In comparison, the job for blacks like Troy are labor intensive work, which do not pay a significant amount needed for survival. The author through this quote shows how the topic of race effects Troy day to day life which includes his job. Troy’s race has a major impact on his job, due to the fact that based on his color Troy was not allowed the job of being a driver for a long time. This leads to a lack of funding from Troy to support his family, which in turn leads to conflicts between Troy and other members of the family. This impact race has on Troy’s job also, affected the way Troy feels about himself.  This is due to the fact that when not being able to provide his family's needs, he begins to question his masculinity. In

The late 50’s were dark times for the African American community. The civil rights movement had not been lit yet, and African Americans were losing all hope in society. They couldn’t wriggle themselves free of the piths of entrapment because of two factors. Racism and Poverty. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, poverty was prevalent among African Americans nationwide. And Racism was a huge problem, not just in the south, but also throughout the whole country. Racism and poverty are the biggest elements that weigh down the Maxsons. Everything from Troy’s decision to have an affair with Alberta to Troy’s frustration at his dead-end job is a direct result of racism and poverty. Until the Maxson’s can extract themselves from these vicious, out of control, circumstances, they can never be happy.

The game of baseball plays a major role in Troy’s life. He played baseball in the Negro Leagues but the game for him ended because of his color. African Americans were not permitted on baseball teams because of how white people discriminated against them. It was not until 1947 when baseball became integrated and the colored were allowed to play. That did not mean racial discrimination disappeared from baseball. It would still take a while for everyone to accept the African American community and to realize that they are the same people, all here to achieve the American dream. Wilson sets the story in 1957 to show Troy’s experience of how “the American dream remained out of reach for people of African descent” (Koprince par.8). Everyone had a different American dream, but baseball was Troy’s. He never got to achieve the ultimate “America Dream” because he was too old to play when African

Went to his boss, asking why there were African Americans working there. He asks a lot of questions.

Fences written by August Wilson, the setting reveals the man that Troy Maxson really is. The set of the play represents Troy Maxson’s character within the play where him and his family reside in a fenced in yard of Troy’s front porch, brick house. He is proud to provide a home for his family. However, Troy has not accomplished this achievement on his own. Which takes a toll on Troy when he realizes he has nothing to show for his life which leads Troy to feel ashamed of himself. The protagonist, Troy Maxson’s job as an African American is a trash collector where is a disappointment for Troy since his dream was to be a professional baseball player. Even though Troys stubbornness gets in the way of his relationships with his family his heart is distracted by the social issues that are occurring during the 1950’s. Troy also represents the number of individuals who ignore the downfalls of social discrimination. Set in the 1950s, Fences explores the changes that African American’s were exposed to at this time period through the character Troy and the younger generation like his son Cory. In Fences, August Wilson, relates the role of race complications through Troy by depicting race throughout Troy’s past experiences and how it effects his current life.

Fences by August Wilson is a play about an African-American family in the 1950s. Troy Maxson is the breadwinner of his entire family because of his job in a garbage truck company. Cory, one of the children of Troy, is a great football player in high school and he wants to continue to play for college football, which has been absolutely denied by Troy because of the discrimination as a colored people they have. Rose, Troy’s wife, who is taking care of everything at home, but lost her love for Troy when she knew that Troy has been seeing some other woman. Fences happened in the 1950s, a period that is full of the social position in the African-Americans’ struggling and changing for survival. In the article “Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences” by Koprince Susan, a professor of English at the University of North Dakota. She expounds that “The game of baseball has long been regarded as a metaphor for the American dream — an expression of hope, democratic values, and the drive for individual success.” In the play, Troy complained to his boss about why black employees aren’t allowed to be the garbage truck driver. Later on, after the conversation with Mr. Rand, his boss, and the Commissioner of the union, Troy got a promotion to be the garbage truck driver. This is a perfect example of what Ms. Koprince stands for. The social attitude of colored people is changing and developing. The baseball is a symbolic representative of how the African American is suffering

Wilson uses Troy’s role in the black poverty cycle to show how even though he is born into a bad situation, it is Troy, himself who propagates his entrapment in and gradual release from the cycle. Troy Maxson begins his turbulent journey born into a family of eleven children. When Troy “was about eight” (51) his mother “sneaked off one night” (51) and never returned for him. As time progressed Troy’s dad instilled a fear within his heart because of the way he treated Troy.

Wilson has drawn from his experiences as a young black American to write the play entitled Fences. Fences describes the plight of black America; to escalate their standing in society from historic slavery to successful self sustaining through their own efforts and skills. “Significant for the playwright is the connection between the unique values and traditions of African American culture and the ability of its characters to overcome their social and psychological confinement” (Over 1). This plays explores the opportunities won and lost by black Americans as demonstrated by its main character, Troy Maxson.

Determined to write a play about African American experience in the United States for every decade during the 20th century, Wilson has written many plays representing each of these decades. Fences is one of such plays about African American in the 1950 's. It began in 1957 and ended in 1965; however, the 1950s marks the time period when the struggle against segregation and racial discrimination became strong in the mainstream of American life, showing that the wind of change was blowing. Bringing to consciousness events taking place prior to civil right movement in fences, Wilson 's characters attest to the fact that the United States

Most the United States citizens believe that as they try and work hard, someday it is possible to achieve their goals and succeed. The phrase “American Dream” first appealed during the Great Depression era and has played a role in daily American’s lives since 1931, when James Truslow Adams first time quoted in his novel, The Epic of America. James illustrates that “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” This dream become the aspiration for all American and as time passes it translates into the belief of become rich and earn happiness. However, the reality is very different from the American Dream due to the racisms, social class and gender

Like many tragic stories “the underlying struggle is that of the individual attempting to gain his "rightful" position in his society” (Miller). Fences is full of struggles starting for Troy as soon as he comes into this world. Troy is born in 1904 into a less than perfect world and by the time he is fourteen years old he leaves Alabama to escape his abusive father. He runs away to Pittsburgh, following the promise that there are good jobs there. Wilson sets the scene in ‘Steel City’, a place of great importance to him. He was born there and sets “nine out of the ten plays in the neighborhood of the Hill District” (Wardi 1). His relationship with his father is lacking, something that he is determined to improve upon with his own children, but as time progresses, it becomes apparent that the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. As a father Troy doesn’t have much to go off of, the only love he has ever know has come from his father. His mother left when he was young, as did all of the women his father courted: “He wasn’t good for nobody” (Wilson 556). So in addition to his absent father figure

When Troy dies, he is in the back yard swinging the baseball bat at the tree, like he always has. Swinging the bat, symbolizing his fight against a racist society. Weber argues that “it is Troy’s willful blindness to the culture’s progress toward racial equality that the playwright emphasizes most insistently” (669). Wilson does give proof that racial equality was on the rise during the play, specifically when Troy is offered the position to be a driver instead of a garbage collector. However, once Troy is offered this promotion, he begins to talk about retirement. Weber argues that Wilson’s literary decision to have Troy express a desire for retirement after being offered the promotion is having Troy “withdraw completely from the transitioning culture around him and retreat farther into a state of denial” (Weber 670). It is arguable that Troy never desired a driving position at work, but merely desired for the lack of equality in his work place to be acknowledged, and once it was there was no need for him to be there anymore. Troy’s denial of change on an individual level was seen as a fault to him, but on a larger scale it symbolizes the black community’s refusal to settle for anything less than true equality. According to Weber, if “Troy Maxson were to go down in Fences, all of black America would go down with him” (655). Weber goes on to explain how Wilson was able to pull off

The play Fences by August Wilson, we are introduced to the main character Troy Maxson. Troy makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Consequently, Troy begins by confronting his employees about their discriminatory practices, he always asked why only white people drive the dump-trucks and the blacks have to pick the garbage. Troy kept fighting all racial discrimination at it job, it is also shown in the book "1919, the Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back". This book also showed how brave black men stood against mob attacks after the World War I. The emerging New Negro identity, which prized unflinching resistance to second-class citizenship, further inspired veterans and their fellow black citizens.

People build fences for a variety of reasons. Some want fences to be able to keep their pets and children safe in the yard. Others want more privacy and security. And some want to improve the overall appearance of their company. Fences do not come cheap which is why it is important that you select a contractor that can give you the best deal while making the whole building process as hassle-free as possible for you.

Sometimes you need a fence, but you don’t need it to be permanent. This is common if you want to block off the perimeter of your home during construction, or a garden during the summer. Temporary fencing is the best solution for this kind of situation, since it gives you security without the costs of a permanent structure. Before you contact a fencing contractor about a temporary fence, know the 3 options that are available to you.