August Wilson's Fences

Consequently, Troy appears to be endlessly building a fence and this fence became a view of protection, a barrier. This fence became a barrier between Troy and death, where his life and his family needs to be protected. In another interview with Wilson, Bonnie Lyons states "By looking at Troy's life, white people find out that the content of this black garbage man's life is very similar to their own, that he is affected by the same things-love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty." Wilson created "Fences" to demonstrate Troy's life and make the connection to present. Although, protection is one out of many characteristics that enable people to avoid facing individual faults. Research shows that people are given reminders of their own mortality and

While social injustice and oppression are rooted in Troy’s life, he tries to regain a sense of power and control. In the essay “Developing Character: Fences,” Sandra Shannon says, “These feelings of being passed over change Troy into a man obsessed with extorting from life an equal measure of what was robbed from him” (95). Since Troy had a cruel and cold relationship with his father and was never able to fulfill his dream as a baseball player, he attempts to control those around him. Yet, Troy’s efforts to control his family ends up bringing them down with him. By attempting to make up for and fill the void that was left in his life, Troy only ends up oppressing others.

Troy comes from a troubled past, he was abandoned by his mother at the age of 8. He left home at 14 because Troy's father went for the girl he was with. In response to this Troy beat up his father for belligerent actions. His father was an evil and selfish man who did not care for his children. The absence of Troy's father caused Troy to be the way he is: strict, responsible, and wanting for his children to pursue work instead of there dreams. Troy and Rose's views differ on Cory. They have an argument about whether or not Cory should pursue baseball. Troy believes he should work instead of doing something he enjoys. This causes Troy and Rose to have a difference of opinion which leads to arguments. Eventually, Troy tells Rose that he cheated on her with Alberta, he describes his affair metaphorically and says, “ But you born with two strikes on you before you come to the plate… You can’t afford a call strike… if you going down… you going down swinging” (Wilson 61). Troy says this in reference to the motif of baseball which was once a dream deferred in his past. He says Alberta gave him a different feeling then Rose gave. He wanted to be something other than the family man. Additionally, Troy wanted to move on with his life and forget the past which influences the man he is today. Troy Maxson who is living in the

In the play Fences, by August Wilson, Troy Maxson is the protagonist as he is the center of the play. Troy has a unique relationship with everybody in the play which makes him the glue that holds his family and friends together. However, Troy has great flaws that have generated from his past that ultimately take him to his downfall. Troy’s self-centeredness, arrogance, and stubbornness is what leads him to his downfall, and ultimately, his death.

“Now we’re in some deep ****,” -A man in a very tense situation. Just like the life of someone who would say this August Wilson's, Fences is cold and brittle with tension. In this book we follow the life of african american father, Troy Maxon, as he and his family do their best to maintain a relationship with Troy. Slowly we learn more about Troy and his rock hard opinions about the world making it hard for those into his life to compromise with him which will slowly divide them further apart from each other.The author throughout the story uses the narrative element of conflict to create tension between the characters. Some of the most palpable of these events would be, troy taking advantage of his brother, his fight with his son, and last the argument between Troy and his wife rose.

Starting at childhood, Troy's life was difficult. He was a product of a dysfunctional family and abandonment. These events are internal scars that Troy carries with him throughout his entire life. When Troy was about eight years old his mother fled while he slept to escape the abuse of his father. His mother had promised to come

Troy from August Wilson’s Fences, leaves home in order to escape his abusive father and is forced into a life of crime as a result of his poverty and lack of skills. He spent his youth in prison and developed a dream of playing baseball. However, due to his age, he was disqualified and instead of a baseball career, he worked as garbage collector where he realizes the inequity among the workers. These events, as well as racial discrimination, affect Troy’s actions as a father and husband. Troy establishes a fence that symbolizes keeping people out of his life like Cory. Troy was having an affair outside his wedding and this hurt his wife Rose. The experiences of the life of Troy as a young man have affected his adult life of living the past

Troy's coming of age moment takes place when he goes to jail and learns from his mistake while in jail. This takes place when Troy says "But that fifteen years cured me off that

Some factors contributing to this are a lack of discipline and no intention to have children. In the play, Lyons, Troy’s son from a previous relationship, states that Troy should have been there when he was growing up (Wilson 1567). However, Troy went to jail for fifteen years, and Lyons' mother took him and moved on (Wilson 1585). After Troy met Rose and she had Cory, he knew that he had a responsibility and stated that “a man got to take care of his family” (Wilson 1577). Moreover, Troy loved his son and knew that he owed it to him as his father. Additionally, Troy declares that even though his father did not treat him and his siblings the best, he knew he had a responsibility and without it, he would have just abandoned his eleven children (Wilson

Troy is a strict person but through his conversions it shows he cares. He plays the paternal role, head of the household just as traditional African American families of the 1950s. He is also a character who unconsciously creates self-illusions which drives him to create conflicts with the people around him. A problem that surfaces from these self-illusions is Troy’s inability to accept the decisions of others. He is set in his own beliefs and doesn’t agree with the choices anyone makes if it doesn’t follow his own thought process.

August Wilson found that it was important to keep “Black plays” alive. According to Sandra Shannon “Wilson is widely known for his celebrated causes, first in 1990 for his high published demand for a black director for the play Fences.” (Shannon 604). This leads into the beginning of the play and how the reader is supposed to view Troy as a person. Wilson believed in the rights of blacks and he shows this by having his main character Troy fight for his right to be a driver instead of a hard labor worker at his job at the land fill. Because of the way blacks were treated and viewed on the job site Troy was afraid to speak up about his feelings. Eventually, Troy built up the courage to go and speak to his boss, after the conversation Troy finds

In Wilson’s ‘Fences’, you can see some of the virtues that Troy’s father passed on to him. Troy’s father was a worker and provider which shines in Troy’s characteristics. He has a job and is capable of providing for his family. Troy’s father was also abusive which was passed to Troy who was abusive towards his children. Wessling states, “moreover, August Wilson presents us with a multigenerational vision in which our sense of waste is more than balanced by an infusion of hope. Troy 's father was less of a "true" man than Troy, but he was a worker and a provider. Troy, even as a runaway, carried with him his father 's virtues along with a considerable lessening of the father 's

Wilson main reason of writing the play is to show the audience that uncontrolled emotion can be harmful in one 's life. In Wilson 's play, he uses the character Troy, a man who is a married man with a rough history and has anger issues. Troy personal life is heavily influenced by his emotion especially the anger from his past. Troy spends the majority of the play stating that he was unable to play baseball due to his race even though he claims to be better than the majority of players playing at the time. All through the play, Troy told Rose his wife, Cory, and Bano about how if he was white he would be a professional baseball player and how his life would be better (1.1.80-90). The main reason Wilson has Troy behave that way is to show how being angry in the past will hurt one 's

In August Wilson’s Fences, relationships were a big part of the story because every character had a different kind of relationship with each other. Troy had a relationship with every character in the play and it was not the same kind of relationship. Troy Have a complicated relationship with every character in the play because troy character is difficult and it cause conflicts with everyone character in Fences (Blumenthal). Troy has a personal relationship with his self and it was kind of a fictitious relationship but to Troy it was realer than anything in his life. Troy was a denial type a person so he really disagreed with others wisdom and advice and stuck to his on philosophy. He had a rough life growing up his family history in the

Troy left his home, in Southern America, looking for a secluded town at the age of fourteen. He narrated the reason why he left home to Bono and Lyons. His father found Troy with “Joe Canewell’s daughter”, sitting enjoying themselves and Troy had not done his father’s work. His father reacted aggressively toward Troy and he whipped him. Troy realized he was now a man. He tried to fight back, but his father became furious and beat Troy harshly. Troy could not image living in the same house with his father anymore, and decided to leave home and he never returned (Wilson 1214). Troy, from August Wilson’s Fences, is deeply affected in his adult life by his experiences as a young man.