Reading literature allows the reader to experience feelings of others through literary characters of largely differing backgrounds. This leads to an increased sensitivity and consideration of those around us, which is also called having empathy. August Wilson uses strong examples of metaphors, diction, personification, and various other devices to make the reader empathize with Rose in his play Fences by allowing us to dive deeper into her thoughts and feelings. One scene that really exemplifies the reader’s empathy towards Rose is when her and Troy get into a fight while in the backyard. This argument occurs when Troy first tells Rose that he got another woman pregnant. Wilson uses a strong metaphor here to aid him in getting Rose’s point …show more content…
The diction used in this scene shows the strength in Rose’s voice. “I’ll take care of your baby for you… cause… like you say… she’s innocent… and you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time. From right now... this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.” This scene is very emotional and climatic. The bluntness of Rose’s words and the lack of sympathy she has for Troy shows the reader how little love Rose has left for him. The last sentence of the quote is really what leaves the reader’s jaw dropped. Wilson allows Rose to say so much with so little. In addition, her strength in this scene is very admirable. For me, I see my own mother in Rose. Most people admire their mother and see them as a mentally strong person. That being said, I am able to empathize with Rose because I am able to relate her to my own mother. I think that if my mother was in the same situation as Rose, she would have taken the baby in as her own as …show more content…
Right before this scene, the reader finds out that the main character, Troy, has died. The Maxson family is getting ready for the funeral, when Cory shows up unexpectedly at the front door. Soon after arriving, Cory tells Rose that he does not want to attend his father’s funeral because this is the one time that he can say no to him. Rose quickly objects and tells him he must honor his father by attending the funeral. In a couple sentences specifically in Rose’s argument, Wilson effectively incorporates personification to assist her in getting her point across to Cory. “You can’t be nobody but who you are, Cory. That shadow wasn’t nothing but you growing into yourself. You either got to grow into it or cut it down to fit you. But that’s all you got to make life with.” Obviously, you are not able to grow into or cut down an actual shadow, but the use of personification here really makes the reader stop and think about what Rose is really trying to say. She needs Cory to know that the shadow of his father will always be lingering over him. However, he either has to fill in the shadow by becoming what his father was or he has to become his own man by cutting the shadow to fit his own personality. The way Rose makes her argument, it seems that she may have had the same thought that Cory had. In other words, I feel that at one point Rose herself questioned whether she should attend the
...hand Rose wanted the fence built in order to keep the people she loved and cared about in it. These two different perspectives served to symbolize the difference between Troy and Rose in the story. At the end of the play you see Rose’s fence brings her family back together, showing that if you plants a seed, the idea of building the fence, and take care of it, building the fence, in time it will bear the fruit of your work and love, the family coming together.
As with most works of literature, the title Fences is more than just a title. It could be initially noted that there is only one physical fence being built by the characters onstage, but what are more important are the ideas that are being kept inside and outside of the fences that are being built by Troy and some of the other characters in Fences. The fence building becomes quite figurative, as Troy tries to fence in his own desires and infidelities. Through this act of trying to contain his desires and hypocrisies one might say, Troy finds himself fenced in, caught between his pragmatic and illusory ideals. On the one side of the fence, Troy creates illusions and embellishments on the truth, talking about how he wrestled with death, his encounters with the devil, later confronting the d...
In the face of hardships, Rose of Sharon comforts herself by remembering these dreamlike goals of her family and even reminds others of them, intending to lift the burden of reality. She does so when the sheriff threatens the roadside families to leave or be jailed. She tells Ma of Connie’s plans for California, which have nothing to do with the situation at the moment. This escape only proves to ultimately hurt Rose, Sharon and Connie. They learn that illusions don’t support a life when survival is the priority.
Fences, a low diction play by August Wilson, expresses the complex relationship between a father and his sons. Troy Maxson, once a baseball star on a Negro League, is now envious of his son Cory who dreams of having a successful football career. Troy also worries that Cory will be treated with the same disrespect that he (Troy) once was during his baseball career. Lyons, Troy's eldest son, is completely misunderstood by Troy, mostly because of his refusal to get a “real” job and his drive to become a musician. Wilson references stories from Troy's past to convey the reason behind Troy's frustration and actions toward his children.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history.The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and a situation is resolved is when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell.
“: You hungry, Gabe? I was just fixing to cook Troy his breakfast,” (Wilson, 14). Rose understands her role in society as a woman. Rose also have another special talent as a woman, that many don’t have which is being powerful. Rose understands that some things she can’t change so she just maneuver herself to where she is comfortable so she won’t have to change her lifestyle. Many women today do not know how to be strong sp they just move on or stay in a place where they are stuck and unable to live their own life. “: I done tried to be everything a wife should be. Everything a wife could be. Been married eighteen years and I got to live to see the day you tell me you been seeing another woman and done fathered a child by her,”(Wilson, 33). The author wants us to understand the many things women at the time had to deal with whether it was racial or it was personal issues. Rose portrays the powerful women who won’t just stand for the
This is the reason why Troy fights against his family and himself, because he feels like he is the only one who can protect them. To Cory and Rose, Troy is destroying the family because of his stubborn thoughts but to Troy he is saving the family from falling apart and this distrust causes the family to eventually fall apart. Troy really does try his hardest to be a good father and is bothered by the fact that Rose and Cory do not see it as him trying to protect them but more of him destroying the family. This hurts Troy because his family is his everything they are what he “fights” for he works day end and day out to put food on the table and try to give them a life he thinks the deserve. August Wilson in “fences” Troy says, “ I love this woman, so much it hurts. I love her so much… I done run out of ways to love her.”(1.1) Wilson uses to show how much Troy actually cares for his wife, to Troy Rose is his everything, she is the light in his darkness, she try’s to guide him back to a sane man. Another Way Wilson shows how much Troy loves his family is when Troy is talking to his family and says that “ You all line up at the door, with your hands out. I give you the lint from my pockets. I give you my sweat and my blood…”(1.3) Troy is saying that he will give them everything until he has absolutely nothing but the lint from his pockets. He will go out of his way to make
Rose’s loyalty to her family showed a load amount of strength in character. Even though she was not the mother of the child, who would eventually be named Raynell, she still stepped up to the task, even if it was against what she wanted in life. In the play Fences it states, “Okay Troy.. you’re right. I’ll take care of your baby for
Everything in August Wilson’s play Fences, can be related to or is a fence of some sort. The main character, Troy Maxson, is a retired negro league baseball star whose whole life revolves around fences. Fences is completely driven by this idea of metaphorical and physical fences. Pride and alcohol are the fences that really cloud Troy’s views. His son, Cory, has fences in this play as well. All these fences intertwine to create a story that addresses many of society's problems.
First off, she was submissive to Troy because she felt he gave her opportunities to live a better life. He gave her the chance to have a husband and a son: the family she always wanted. Rose feels a sense of responsibility towards Troy because of this. What Troy does not do, however, is give her the chance to her raise her child. Cory was mostly raised and influenced by his father. It is clear that Troy controlled Cory’s life, responsibilities, and punishments, while Rose’s thoughts and ideas were overshadowed by Troy’s wishes. For example, while Rose pushed for Troy to let his son play football, Troy had the final say. As hard as Rose pushed for Troy to allow their son to do what made him happiest, Tory is relentless and refuses to listen to Rose at all. She is silenced by his dominance. As the marriage progressed, Rose tries harder and harder to make their relationship work; she even had Troy build a fence around their yard as a metaphorical attempt to keep their family together. This is Rose’s final attempt of having a perfect family and love. She is afraid of losing what matters most to her, her family, and this is her way of keeping them close. This dynamic lasted for eighteen years, until Troy cheated on Rose and got another woman pregnant. His true character shows through in this scene, because instead of trying to apologize for what he did, he tries to justify his actions. He is even close to getting physically violent with her. Rose will not accept his excuse. For the first time in eighteen years Rose stands up for herself and does not back down until her voice is heard. Rose finally realizes that Troy only has power over her because she lets him. From this moment, she refuses to be a part of his life anymore. She does, however, agree to raise his child, Raynell, after her mother dies in childbirth. Troy, on the other hand, will no longer be a part of her
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
August Wilson uses the symbol of a 'fence' in his play, Fences, in numerous occasions. Three of the most important occasions fences are symbolized are by protection, Rose Maxson and Troy Maxson's relationship, and Troy against Mr. Death. Throughout the play, characters create 'fences' symbolically and physically to be protected or to protect. Examples such as Rose protecting herself from Troy and Troy protecting himself form Death. This play focuses on the symbol of a fence which helps readers receive a better understanding of these events. The characters' lives mentioned change around the fence building project which serves as both a literal and a figurative symbol, representing the relationships that bond and break in the backyard.
Homer begins to see why people might have abortions and why, in some cases they might be justifiable and worth while. Homer’s viewpoint changes when he encounters Rose’s situation, where he sees the unfortunate events take place right before him and he starts to really understand why a person might want to have an abortion in situations like Rose’s. Homer preforms the abortion for Rose because he knows her well, he knows her reasoning behind wanting to have the abortion and he knows that she will most likely have a hard time continuing to a have a happy life if he does not preform her
Fences is a play that was written by August Wilson, it follows the life of Tony Maxson, a garbage man, who throughout the play is building a fence around his home. The title, Fences, has more significance than one may have thought at first glance. The title is very symbolic in the perspective of almost every character in the play. Within Act 2, Scene 1 of the play, when discussing the reason as to why Rose wanted the fence up, with Cory and Troy, Bono says “Some people build fences to keep people out… and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you.”. In the perspective of Rose, she wants to keep people in and with Troy it is the complete opposite.