Even after the Civil War, in which all African-Americans no longer were deemed as slaves, the life of the black person did not get easier. For generations, the struggle to come out of impoverished lifestyles had been deemed as almost impossible. Faced by segregation, no equal rights, and the KKK, the newly freed African-Americans were not able to completely submerge themselves to “freedom”. Little by little, new opportunities emerged; however, the depths of acrimony and pain prevented blacks to completely embrace them. Those who fought for the chance to make history, emerged successful, but those who let the past hold them back, continued to live in the restrictions of the past. In the play Fences, August Wilson utilizes symbols and subplot
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Starting from his father’s cruel and abusive actions to the racism that thwarted his professional baseball career that he had rightly deserved, Troy’s journey through life reflected the dreams unattained of black America in a predominantly white world. Such damaged incidences followed Troy throughout his life and constantly made an appearance in his relationship with his wife and son in the form of a fence. In Act 1, Rose persistently mentions, “you supposed to be putting up this fence” to Troy, but just as Troy never was given the opportunity to completely fulfill his dream, he puts off finishing the fence (Wilson 1041). Troy’s lack of commitment to finishing the fence symbolizes his lack of commitment in his marriage and his marred emotional connection to his son. Instead of working on the fence with his son, Cory, Troy ventures to the bar every time to which Cory describes his father as “don’t never do nothing, but go down to Taylors” (Wilson 1040). Later in the play it is obvious that anytime Troy “goes to Taylors’,” he is going to see his mistress, Alberta. Therefore, the neglected fence symbolizes Troy’s neglect to his family. The fence further serves as a symbol of Troy’s dying relationship with his son. After arguing and fighting, Troy banishes Cory out of the house to which Cory responds, “tell Mama I’ll be back for my things.” and Troy, “they’ll be on the other …show more content…
Troy’s generation as a youth becoming of age left him with the ideology that blacks always had the underhand and the whites basically controlled how life was going to proceed. This ideology became the main cause that instigated conflicts throughout the story of Troy’s life. Because of his own experience of disappointment, Troy inflicts his own learnings onto the lives of his family, especially his son. In the end, Troy allowed his past of being confronted by barriers separate him from his
Starting from his father’s cruel and abusive actions to the racism that thwarted his professional baseball career that he had rightly deserved, Troy’s journey through life reflected the dreams unattained of black America in a predominantly white world. Such damaged incidences followed Troy throughout his life and constantly made an appearance in his relationship with his wife and son in the form of a fence. In Act 1, Rose persistently mentions, “you supposed to be putting up this fence” to Troy, but just as Troy never was given the opportunity to completely fulfill his dream, he puts off finishing the fence (Wilson 1041). Troy’s lack of commitment to finishing the fence symbolizes his lack of commitment in his marriage and his marred emotional connection to his son. Instead of working on the fence with his son, Cory, Troy ventures to the bar every time to which Cory describes his father as “don’t never do nothing, but go down to Taylors” (Wilson 1040). Later in the play it is obvious that anytime Troy “goes to Taylors’,” he is going to see his mistress, Alberta. Therefore, the neglected fence symbolizes Troy’s neglect to his family. The fence further serves as a symbol of Troy’s dying relationship with his son. After arguing and fighting, Troy banishes Cory out of the house to which Cory responds, “tell Mama I’ll be back for my things.” and Troy, “they’ll be on the other …show more content…
Troy’s generation as a youth becoming of age left him with the ideology that blacks always had the underhand and the whites basically controlled how life was going to proceed. This ideology became the main cause that instigated conflicts throughout the story of Troy’s life. Because of his own experience of disappointment, Troy inflicts his own learnings onto the lives of his family, especially his son. In the end, Troy allowed his past of being confronted by barriers separate him from his