August Wilson's Fences Essay

August Wilson’s Fences revolves around the story of an African American man neglected, discriminated and miserable lives his life with family and friends with unwelcoming hands towards the changing future. Troy Maxson works as a garbage collector who works weekdays and gets paid every Friday. In a racially oppressed America, a job, family, and dreams were all something better than what he had even though they are getting by just barely. Throughout the play, Troy is seen to be working on a fence that takes months to be built. Like an onion, the fence in the play can be peeled open to interpret different layers of what the fence actually stand for. Even though his responsibility is to protect his family from the dangers of the world, he seems …show more content…
Troy was never there for Lyons when he was growing up because he was convicted for killing a man during a robbery (1304) but he was always present in Cory’s life and made sure that he fulfilled his responsibilities. Even though Troy was physically present in Cory’s life, he did not give him the love and compassion he had to as a father. Lyon is an aspiring jazz musician and Troy does not approve of his musical abilities as he does not see it as something that can earn for a family. Cory just like his half-brother has his own dreams of being a football player. Troy wasn’t allowed to play professional baseball because of many reasons like racial discrimination that took place in those times. For this reason, Troy is reluctant to let his son Cory play football even when he got recruited to play for college. Troy does not believe that the times have changed and that “the white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway” (1293). Here Troy is fencing his sons from pursuing their dreams. He wants his sons to keep in their emotions and dreams to themselves and fence them from ever fulfilling it. After Cory fights Troy and tells troy that he will be back for his things, Troy tells him that “They’ll be on the other side of that fence” (1323). Here Troy is establishing the fence as a dividing line between him and his son. A physical barrier that separates them. He succeeds in making sure that everyone know that …show more content…
You cannot do ten right things in your life to do one wrong. Troy’s story would have ended well if only he apologized for his mistakes. From the beginning of the play, Troy is seen to be working on building a fence around his house. Cory and Bono often helps him build. Troy builds many other fences of anger, guilt, racism and agony to keep him away from getting close to his son. He keeps on procrastinating his work for four or five Saturdays and goes down to the Taylors (1289). It seems like troy is only building a fence as a favor to rose just because it is his responsibility. The fact that Troy neglects building a fence foreshadows him neglecting his family and his affair with Alberta. As the play progress, the fence is completed after the death of Alberta and birth of his daughter Raynell. Even though troy doesn’t seem to accept his mistakes, he finishes his project on the fence to show that he is trying to keep what he has