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What does the concept of " fences " mean in the play fence
Analyzing the play fences
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“There is always a fences that tries to hold you back,” in the play “Fences” each character had their own fence. The main character, Troy had a negative outcome on his entire family. Troy son, Cory, was a teenager that loved football and wanted to have a successful career playing. “I ain’t quitting the team. I don’t care what poppa says (Act 2)” Troy wanted Cory to quit football, not taking consideration of Cory feelings. Troy was Cory fence by stopping him from completing his dream. Rose, Troy wife, was married 18 years she took care of the household using Troy paycheck. “And other people build fences to keep people in (Act 2), she wanted Troy to build a fence to try and keep the family together. However, that did not work Troy still
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...
Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasure. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism is misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty.
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.
“Fences” is a play written by August Wilson about a family living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. Troy and Rose have been married for 18 years and have two grown children; Lyons and Corey. Troy is an uptight, prideful man who always claims that he does not fear death, the rest of his family is more laxed and more content with their lives than Troy is. As the play progresses the audience learns more about Troy’s checkered past with sharecropping, his lack of education and the time he spent in prison. The audience also learns more about Troy’s love for baseball and the dreams he lost due to racism and segregation. In the middle of the play the author outwardly confirms what the audience has been suspecting; Troy isn’t exactly satisfied with his life. He feels that he does not get to enjoy his life and that his family is nothing more than a responsibility. Getting caught up in this feelings, Troy cheats on Rose with a woman named Alberta and fathers a child with the mistress. By the end of the play Troy loses both of the women and in 1965, finally gets the meeting with death that he had been calling for throughout the play. Over 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
Similarly, both Cory and Lyons seek careers that lack stability and security - something Troy finds unfaithful to his beliefs. Cory yearns to join a collegiate football team. To supplement the principals he obtains from his steady occupation, Troy forces Cory to desist his collegiate football career and return to his steady occupation working at the A&P.
Another occasion where fences are symbolized in the play is by Rose and Troy?s relationship. One of the most major ways Troy and Rose?s relationship is symbolized is by the cakes Rose makes for the church.
Throughout the play Fences, by August Wilson, we are introduced to several of the Troy Maxson's family members. We soon learn that because of Troy's personality traits, he is unable to sustain a healthy relationship. Troy is a father, a husband, and a brother, and unfortunately, he makes it impossible for any of those numerous relationships to thrive.
Fences in the play are significantly important in contextualizing its objectives and setting. Importantly, fences are built for essential reasons. Firstly, fences are created to provide protection and to ensure that intruders are kept away, hence not allowing them in. On the other hand, fences are meant to ensure that the people living inside are not allowed to go out. In other words, fences prevent the people from moving on and out of the compound, and this is ardently depicted in the play. A good example of a fence in the play is evident between Rose Maxson and Troy, who indeed create an emotional fence between them. Rose creates the fence of keeping her family within her by being a faithful and loving wife. On the other hand, Troy creates an emotional fence by preventing his sons from learning his love for them.
The entirety of the Nadel’s article sheds light on a topic that is not easy for many authors to use without creating caricatures or exaggerated images of a stereotype. At first reading, the content is a little confusing, and somewhat daunting. However, after another reading, the text is easier to grasp. Nadel’s article would have been much stronger if he took time to mention other characters than Troy. Adding more about the character of Rose in this article created a fuller and better grasp on the topic of the fence, which Nadel...
The relationship between Troy and Cory has become the strong evolution, which is growing among the people who want to escape, and explore the world and others who want to keep for themselves. Troy wants to keep his dream of being a player in the Major Leagues in his secret, and keep his son in control of the fence, which he builds around the house. Troy is the man, who has been persecuted, lost the right to equal so much in African-American men. That led to the thought of keeping him and his family in the safest place in the safe thought. He thought he had set up the protection for his family.
"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen", these were wise words coming from the inspiration Michael Jordan. This would be a quote that would have helped Troy or anyone in the play.This would have prevented various problems due to mistakes made and in stopping their dreams. In the play fences written by August Wilson, we have seen that the main theme is to believe in your dream. However, it showed that there is always in the way to succeed it such as: Troy wanting to play professional baseball and going to jail, Cory wanted to keep on playing football and his dad did not let him, and Rose wants to live for herself and how her devotion to Troy stopped her.
Fences displays a character that epitomizes this state of desperation —Troy Maxson. He is distraught by the fact that, although he was a great baseball player, Troy was not accepted into the Major Leagues because of the time period. His hope for a successful life (through sports) dissipates, and depression sets in as he realizes that he will not be able to provide for his family. Readers can only notice overt signs of hopelessness in Troy when he orders Cory to stop playing football. He tells Rose that sports did not get him anywhere, but he owes everything to Gabriel’s war injury. “That’s the only way I got a roof over my head…cause of that metal plate” (Fences 1.2; 14...
Although it seems as though Cory is determined to escape from what his father wants, he still takes the same path his father went on. This ironic situation is shown when Troy says "I don’t want him to be like me! I want him to move as far away from my life as he can get” (Wilson 481). Throughout the play, Cory is also trying to pursue this individuality, but ends up trying to chase after his dreams in a sport just like Troy. Cory faces a battle inside him as he tries to form a unique identity separate from his father; however, Troy is resistant to Cory's attempts at individuality. Troy's efforts to restrain Cory from being an individual character makes Cory take on drastic measures, such as verbal and physical violence, in an effort to become the person he wants to be. Troy restrains Cory from pursuing his dreams so much that it builds up to a point where Cory points out the truth that Troy is so afraid to hear; “Just cause you didn't have a chance! You just scared I'm gonna be better than you, that's all" (Wilson 493). Sports acts as a barrier between them from ever becoming close, even though they are both interested in them. This confrontation results in Troy counting numbers until Cory
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.