The fence in "Fences" has a lot of symbolic meanings for each major character. We see throughout the play that many things happen while the fence is being built and as a result their lives change. Now why would a fence be used for symbolism? A fence is normally used as a barrier, enclosing an area, or to prevent an escape. In "Fences" the fence is symbolically and physically used as a means for the characters to be protected or to protect whatever it is that they want to protect or keep out. Throughout the play, Rose wants Troy to build the fence but Troy shows carelessness and neglect towards it. His carelessness to building the fence can speak symbolically to how he is emotionally irresponsible towards his family. Since he isn't fully committed …show more content…
The fence in this situation tells us symbolically that Troy doesn’t want to get hurt anymore so it’s protecting him but at the same time he is losing his family. Troy doesn’t approve of Cory playing football even though there’s a good chance that a scout will recruit him after watching him play. Even though this sounds harsh, Troy is jealous of his son and protective of him. The thought of Cory achieving something that he couldn't makes their relationship bitter and tense. He’s protective of him in a way because he doesn’t want Cory to deal with the experience of racism in sports that he went through and would rather have Cory look for a job just like him. "You go on and get your book-learning so you can work yourself up in that A&P or learn how to fix cars or build houses or something, get you a trade. That way you have something can't nobody take away from you” (Fences 35). The fence is the physical and emotional barrier between him and his sons. Both of Troy's sons draw themselves away from him. Troy neglects his oldest son Lyon's and pushes him away by refusing to hear him play his jazz music and calls it "Chinese …show more content…
Troy states that Cory's things will "be on the other side of that fence" when he kicks him out to the street, thus creating the same situation that he went through when he was Cory's age. Through this scene, the fence becomes an actual, physical divide between Troy and Cory. The fence becomes a barricade between Troy and Death. In the play, Troy tells a story to everyone about how he wrestled with death and won. There was one notable scene where he taunted death and it was when his mistress Alberta died giving birth to their daughter. He cries out, “All right Mr. Death. See now Im gonna tell you what im gonna do. Im gonna take and build me a fence around what belongs to me. And then I want you to stay on the other side” (Fences 77). Troy knows that eventually death will come for him and defeat him since its inevitable, but the fence displays that Troy is not going down without a
"Sometimes I wish I hadn't known my daddy. He ain't cared nothing about no kids.” (50). Troy and Cory have a misunderstanding on what to do for Cory’s next step in his life for college. Troy wants Cory to stop playing football so he can just have the job and be at school. Troy does not want Cory to have any other distraction from the two. Cory is being recruited by a college, everyone in the house is happy for him except his father. The relationship between Troy and Cory is bitter and stressed mostly because Troy is trying to treat Cory the same way he was treated by white people in sports and how he was treated by his father. Troy feels that Cory is disobeying his rules or what he tells him not to do which is to stop playing football. Which counted as strike one. Strikes were warning of disobeying rules told by Troy. If someone gets three strikes from Troy, they will be removed from the house. Life for Troy as a kid was a struggle, living on a farm with ten siblings and a father who barely cares for his kids. His father just wanted his kids to learn how to walk so they can get the working and help around the farmhouse. Before Troy even thinks about leaving his home as a fourteen-year-old, his mother already left because she did not feel comfortable around Troy’s father “evilness”. So, once she left that influence Troy to think about leaving his home which he did because his father kicked him out the
For him, fences were used to keep people out. Such an example can be found near the end of Act I, Scene IV when Cory and Troy are fighting and Cory says “Tell Mama I’ll be back for my and things” and Troy responded “They’ll be on the other side of that fence.”(905). In short, Troy built a physical fence around his house to create a border or separation from the outside world. However, in Troy’s situation, fences can be interpreted as a double entendre. For many weeks he kept putting off the building of the fence around the yard. Instead, he would wander off to “Taylor’s” to watch the game. By not building the fence it also showing his lack of commitment to Rose who was urging him to, “Where you going off to? You been running out of here every Saturday for weeks. I thought you was gonna work on this fence?”(888). Which is ironic because him not building the fence involuntarily not only broke Rose’s fences in addition to his as it let Alberta and Raynell into their lives. The lack of commitment he showed to Rose proves that as a family man, Troy was missing some key values that are entrenched in a prosperous
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.
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 shaped 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.
As a result of Troy being unable to find a place to live or a job he started stealing to get by. Eventually the situation escalated and he murdered someone in a robbery gone wrong; this led to him being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prison is where he found his love for baseball. He became quite good with a bat and hoped that when he got out he could play professionally. Unfortunately due to the segregation of the MLB Troy was never able to pursue that career and he is resentful of the situation his whole life.This caused him to be a very bitter person for the remainder of his life and this also caused him to shoot down the hopes and dreams of his son Corey by telling him things like “...The white man ain’t gonna let you go nowhere with that football
Fences was published in 1983 but the setting was the 1950s in August Wilsons home town. Wilson’s main purpose of this play is to show how the separation of humans into racial groups can create social and finance instability and can have a huge effect on African Americans and whites. The 1950s was the middle of the civil rights era. The Maxsons Family is African American, In the 1950s there was not many jobs for African Americans; most people believed that this is what pushed Troy to steal things in order to provide for his family. Troy went to prison for murder and when he got out he was determined to do good deeds and to turn his life around; shortly after he got out of prison he got a job as a Garbage man. Troy is a tragic figure and a villain; he is a tragic figure because he made great effort to do good deeds for his family, but he allowed his imperfections to get in his way which led to a horrible death. Troy is a villain because of what he did to his wife Rose. (Shmoop; Editorial Team)
Troy Maxson is portrayed as a big man with a very big personality and a lot of dignity. He is a bitter guy who believes that he owes his family absolutely everything, from his money down to even his own soul. He is the type of man who wants more than what he can get and that is what drives him but it is also that very “want” that leads him into a very tragic life. Writing on the idea of Troy being a tragic hero, Martin says “Troy’s strengths are found in his willingness to fulfill his duty at all times. He also speaks directly to his dignity regarding his position of work and his career in baseball) Martin, 2) “Fences” Troy has many
A fence is actually there to keep people in and to keep people out. There are people who build a metaphoric fence for themselves to protect themselves and to protected their loved ones. August Wilson’s play “Fences” illustrates how the symbol of a fence describes the relationships of an African American family living in Chicago during the mid 1950s.
The fence to Troy symbolizes keeping things out by establishing his territory. Troy has always been known as the alpha dog in the Maxson’s household, no matter what it takes, even if he has to push people away creating a blockade between him and his loved ones. This is clearly apparent with Troy’s son, Cory, throughout the entire play, but more specifically, the scene after Troy and Cory had an aggressive argument. “Tell mama I’ll be back for my things.” (Wilson, 89) Troy responds to Cory’s remake by answering in a unique way, saying “they’ll be on the other side of the fence.”(WIlson, 89) This quote shows that the fence is not only a physical barrier, but also an emotional one too. Troy is situating a line between himself and Cory that’s marking his territory; showing Cory his father is still under full control of his side of the fence.
The fence for Rose symbolizes the protection and nurturing feelings she offers. It’s a positive figurative symbol, showing what type of person she is―someone who cares for others. One morning, Rose was hanging clothes and singing, “Jesus, be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way” (2074). Seemingly, the choice of song that she selects demonstrates the protection that she’s willing to offer for her family. Rose asks Troy to build her a fence, and Troy does not understand why. One afternoon when Cory and Troy are building the fence, Cory asks why her mother wishes for a fence and Troy responds, “Damn if I know either. What the hell she keeping out with it? She ain’t got nothing nobody want,” meaning
struggle for survival. Troy has come to believe, from his experiences, that blacks cannot get something for nothing and that life does not owe blacks anything. Due to this, Toy ?fences in? everything that he loves to protect his possessions from the monster of society. Thus there is a symbolization of Troy building a physical fence in the yard but building an emotional fence of protection around his family and friends. He believes that blacks owe it to themselves to make an honest, hard-earned living and that is the only way to survive. Troy states sarcastically that Lyans is blowing his...
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.
The trials of Troy’s life are filled with racial discrimination which mentally scars him. His attitude and behavior towards others are governed by experiences and in most cases he uses the symbol of death in his fictional stories to represent the oppression of the white man. The play Fences, which is largely about Troy, begins with Troy entertaining Bono and Rose with an epic tale of his struggle with death or in other word...
Troy denies Cory the opportunity to go to college to play football leaving Cory feeling like a prisoner of Troy. Metzger states that, “The fence Troy completes, however, will fail to keep Cory [home]” (2). Cory strengthens the fence between him and his father even more after they have a physical altercation. After the dispute, Troy says to Cory, “All right. That’s strike two. You stay away from around me, boy. Don’t you strike out. You living with a full count. Don’t you strike out” (Wilson 2.2). This clearly exhibits the barrier and tension building between the father and son. Ultimately, the fences Troy and Cory build between one another leads to Cory leaving the house and joining the Marines (Metzger 2-3). The fence built between Cory and his father hinders them from having a loving father-son
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.