Fences Baseball Analysis

How does baseball pitch in to the play Fences? Baseball is a very common past time in America. Many races and ages play this sport in the major league, but it has not always been this way. Troy got to play baseball, but he never got to go to the major league. At the time Jackie Robinson had become the first African American player in the major league, Troy was already in his 40’s. Throughout Fences, Troy makes baseball references mainly by symbolism. The author shows Troy using baseball terms and comparing them to his relationships and everyday life. The author, August Wilson, uses baseball to shows Troy’s conflicts, struggles, and triumphs. Wilson uses baseball to show these things, because baseball is something that is important to Troy. Troy relates a majority of his relationships and problems to baseball throughout the …show more content…
In the play, Troy says “When I found you and Cory and a halfway decent job..I was safe..I wasn 't going back to the penitentiary. I wasn 't gonna lay in the streets with a bottle of wine. I was safe. I had a family." (1870) This part of the play, Troy is saying that he finally has his family and is safe with them. He sees that he truly values his family, and that they life of jail and theft are over with. Troy is “safe” from all of the things that once made him feel “out”. A bat is obviously one of the most important parts of baseball. Troy’s bat or him swinging is mentioned in the play. His bat, symbolizes his struggles and hardships that he has experienced. Swinging his bat was the last thing that he did, Rose says “He was out here swinging a bat. I was just ready to go back in the house. He swung that bat and then just fell over.” (1882) Troy died doing something he loved to do, something that he knew he could always rely on. Although he never made it to the major league, baseball was still in his vocabulary daily. It was always something that he turned