Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The three themes of fences
Characters of fences essay
Characters of fences essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The three themes of fences
Have you ever read a book then thought about why the book was made and what things effected on the making of the book? Or even thought about how the setting has affected the story and what symbols were shown that would lead to the conflict? In the play fences there are many literary elements that have affected the play. For instance the theme of the play Fences is the one you least expect to hurt you will hurt you the most. All of the characters have affected on how the story began to how it ended also. Without the right setting of the play it wouldn't have became popular like it is now.The play also had many symbols especially the fence. The theme of the play Fences is the one you least expect to hurt you will hurt you the most. That is the …show more content…
The decisions that Troy made affected the play the most because, after everyone found out Troy was seeing another woman the relationships began to fall apart. The relationships changed because Troy through the whole story talked about how he loved Rose so much and he would never do anything to hurt her. In the story Troy says “See this woman Bono? I love this woman so much. I love this woman so much it hurts. I love her so much… I done run out of ways of loving her” (Wilson 20). Hearing the words to see Troy go back and do that showed that he wasn't a man of his word and how can he be respected as a husband now or even a father?The protagonist also changed the most in the play but it wasn't for the good. At the beginning of the story Troy seemed happy and a playful person but when he started to see another woman then he became isolated he rarely came home and he didn't hang out with Bono anymore. Bono was the first to start giving hints that he was seeing another woman, but Troy did not want to accept it . Troy took Cory out of football to hide from the decisions he made and have everyone focus on that. But news like that nothing could distract Rose from what he said from then changed
...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.
Troy’s relationship with Cory also plummets to an all-time low after the reveal, and eventually leads to Cory being kicked out/leaving for good after his big confrontation with his father. Before the affair, Troy’s life was decent. He fought for a promotion at work, and he won. Rose loved him and was the “perfect little housewife.” He was even able to share a laugh or two.
The theme is gender roles in the 1950s in Fences by August Wilson. Gender roles are social and cultural standards that determine how males and female should think, speak, dress, and interact in the society. To know if a play is accurate or not we need to look up its historical context or background, research the author in order to know if he or she is speaking from experience, and analyze a character to show how well we understand what went on in the play. Understanding the historical context gives us better insight into the background. In this play fences are a metaphor that represents keeping people in figuratively for Rose by being motherly and sympathetic, and keeping people out for Troy
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
Throughout the play, readers see an incomplete fence which symbolizes Rose (Troy’s wife) and Troy’s drifting relationship. Rose wants Troy and Cory to build a fence to keep her loved ones protected. This is evident when Rose is seen singing the church hymn, “Jesus, be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way” (I. ii). This insinuates the fact that Rose wants to keep her family close. Rose and Troy’s relationship seemed to be breaking down after eighteen years and the fence may have also been a way to keep Troy in Rose’s life. Yet, Troy has been in no rush to finish the fence. He sees it as some sort of confinement. Fences contain a lot of barriers that Troy tries to keep down; one barrier being his marriage. Troy claims that he has so much love for Rose, but readers see that exclusive relationships makes him feel caged in. He keeps the fence unfinished because he knows that if he finishes it than it will symbolize the end of his escape to his mistress, Alberta. Troy’s affair builds a fence that separates his marriage causing his actions to affect Rose by caging her in with a daughter that is not hers: “From right now . . . this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.” Rose tried to use a fence of divine power to keep her family protected. Troy neglected this by committing adultery, leavi...
The play, 'Fences', presents a slice of life in a black tenement and is set in the late 1950's, through 1965. The main character, Troy Maxson, is a garbage collector. Throughout the play he rebels and frustrates as he struggles for fairness in a society which seems to offer none. His actions and behavior towards his family can be interpreted by a reader as those of a violent and bad father. However, soon one notices that beneath a mask of cruelty and toughness there is an individual who takes responsibility for his family no matter how difficult circumstances may seem. Hence, he is a good father who tries to keep his family together and provide necessities for them.
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...
He talks to her with no respect and ignores and avoids her in different occasions in the play and even though he treats her like this she still stands by his side and acts as his support. But in “Fences” Troy treats his wife Rose with at least some respect. An example of this would be how both men found a way to have another affair with different ladies. Linda chose to ignore and forget about the fact that Willy was having an affair with somebody else. But because of her ignoring what was happening, she saved herself some difficult choices.
“Fences”, written by American playwright August Wilson, is a play set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950’s that explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, amidst other themes. The focal point of Wilson’s attention in “Fences” is Troy Maxson, a 53-year-old trash collector who often struggles with providing for his family, not only financially, but he tends to neglect them from the love and support that a family needs. Troy is married to Rose, his wife of almost 18 years and together they care for their teenage son, Cory. His eldest son Lyons, is in his thirties, and was fathered with a woman Troy met before meeting his current wife. He also has a younger brother, named Gabriel, a former soldier whose war injury to the head has caused him noticeable psychological damage.
August Wilson wrote the play Fences in 1983, the setting of the play was in 1950s. During the 1950’s women were supposed to find and husband, get married then stay home and take care of the house. The male role in the 1950’s was to provide for his family make sure he had a paying job. In Fences Troy and Rose Maxson are the perfect characters for these stereo types. After analyzing this play many themes became observable. Troy, Rose, Bono and Cory all go through situation where they have to deal with Duty, responsibility, limitations, and opportunity. Troy is the protagonist in the play; he lifts garbage into trucks for a career. Troy use to play baseball for the Negro Leagues. Rose is his wife and he has three children Lyons, Cory and Raynell.
The author of Fences, August Wilson, brought characters and the audience together using very detailed characterization. Throughout the play and story, August Wilson gives each and every major character their time to shine, whilst describing the type of person they were. By doing so the audience gets to connect with each character. Each character deals with personal conflict, I believe that because people who read or watch this story can personally connect with at least one of the characters. Some may connect with Troy Maxson, he is the father in the story.
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.
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.
The fences also represent the barrier between African Americans and the rest of the society. Alchura says that the way Wilson uses the setting dominates the fact of racism in this play (Alchura 1). Wilson uses the following quote as a way to show how racism affected African Americans.
August Wilson created many themes throughout his famous play, Fences, but the most prominent one is the relationship between fathers and sons. The three father-son relationships introduced in this play seem to be complicated or difficult to understand. However, it is clear that the relationships built between Troy Maxson and his son Cory, Troy and his other son Lyons, and Troy and his own father are not love-driven. The parallelism of actions, events, and tension amongst each of the father-son relationships in the play illustrate how the sons try to break free from the constraints the father has set, yet in the end, these attempts seem to be pointless as the father leaves an everlasting effect on the sons, ultimately creating a cycle of actions