Fences in Fences August Wilson’s Fences has a significant title in that there are many fences that have an impact on the characters throughout the play. Troy Maxson is fenced out his baseball career in the major leagues because of his skin color. To add on this, there are some fences that arise within the family of Troy Maxson due to family issues. “August Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to illustrate the challenges of the black experience in America during the mid-1900’s. He uses the fence symbolically and literally to show the barriers that the Maxson family encounters at every turn.
Troy learns to play baseball when he is prison, but when he is freed he does get a chance to show his athletic prowess. By the time the Major Leagues are …show more content…
Rose is upset about the Troy cheating on her with another woman after eighteen years of marriage. Rose loves Troy but he does not consider this when he has an affair with Alberta. Troy Maxson says, “When I saw that gal… she firmed up my backbone. And I got thinking that if I tried … I just might be able to steal a second (Wilson 2.2). Alberta dies after giving birth to Raynell; Rose therefore, stands to be Raynell’s mother but pronounces Troy as a womanless man. Michael criticizes: “Troy seeks to win his wife’s sympathy by turning his attention to the difficulty he has encountered in being confronted with the evidence of his inadequacy” (221). Raynell finds a mother but Troy loses a wife through his unfaithfulness in their marriage. Troy’s child serves as a constant reminder of Troy’s infidelity and, therefore, is a permanent fence between Rose and Troy. They live together until Troy’s death, but they are more like roommates than husband and wife. This is just another example of the fences in fences, and it also shows how the main character is often his worst enemy. He sabotages every relationship he has and, by the time of his death, he is isolated in a fence
Troy learns to play baseball when he is prison, but when he is freed he does get a chance to show his athletic prowess. By the time the Major Leagues are …show more content…
Rose is upset about the Troy cheating on her with another woman after eighteen years of marriage. Rose loves Troy but he does not consider this when he has an affair with Alberta. Troy Maxson says, “When I saw that gal… she firmed up my backbone. And I got thinking that if I tried … I just might be able to steal a second (Wilson 2.2). Alberta dies after giving birth to Raynell; Rose therefore, stands to be Raynell’s mother but pronounces Troy as a womanless man. Michael criticizes: “Troy seeks to win his wife’s sympathy by turning his attention to the difficulty he has encountered in being confronted with the evidence of his inadequacy” (221). Raynell finds a mother but Troy loses a wife through his unfaithfulness in their marriage. Troy’s child serves as a constant reminder of Troy’s infidelity and, therefore, is a permanent fence between Rose and Troy. They live together until Troy’s death, but they are more like roommates than husband and wife. This is just another example of the fences in fences, and it also shows how the main character is often his worst enemy. He sabotages every relationship he has and, by the time of his death, he is isolated in a fence