August Vollmer

Troy Maxson: A Villain and Hero The playwright Fences was written by August Wilson who is known as one of America’s most celebrated dramatists (1427). Fences is based on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American who hoped to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, but is now a garbage collector. In the playwright, Troy could be classified as both a hero and a villain through his words and family. Troy Maxson could be portrayed as an average African American who wants his child, Cory, to…

your family have any traditions or heirlooms that have a great significance? Maybe a great-great grandmother’s ring or an instrument that has been in the family for years. These parts of your history help shape who you are and who your family is. In August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, Berniece Charles denies and avoids her family’s history by not playing the piano and rejecting the existence of the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog. This reveals how embracing the past can be beneficial to present and…

The Inescapable Void and Ex Oblivione No splendid paradise, no eternal torment, no divine deity; only oblivion and an inescapable void. This is H.P. Lovecraft’s Ex Oblivione prose poem’s main message, but horror enthusiasts are left wondering why he chose to convey this message in particular. Some might say that this was meant to be a work of pure fiction; a poem that does not parallel Lovecraft’s life in any way. Others might say that this poem is a commentary on Lovecraft’s beliefs on…

August Wilson in his play The Piano Lesson writes an enthralling drama surrounded in conflict, family history, and questioning the importance of the past versus future legacy. At the center of the conflict is Boy Willie and his sister Berniece as they clash over what to do with a family piano that used to belong to a slave owner of their ancestors. Berniece wishes to keep the piano and hang on to the history of their family’s ancestors. Boy Willie, on the other hand, wishes to sell the piano and…

Throughout the years, African Americans have always wanted to live the American Dream. Fences by August Wilson is a play about a man, Troy Maxson, who never gets his chance to play in the major league simply because he is African American. Throughout the story, Troy uses baseball as an analogy for his life. Troy is very reluctant to let his son, Cory, play football in college while his wife, Rose, just wants what is best for her only child. In this story, the character’s can be classified by the…

Troy Maxson and Levee are both characters from August Wilson plays. Troy was the Character from Fences and Levee was the character from Ma Rainey’s black bottom. “Fences is a story of Troy Maxson and his family who struggle to cope with the changes” (BEŞE). In America, in the late 50s, August Wilson created these characters to reflect on how difficult things were for African American males and their families. Wilson also creates a narrative structure which dramatizes each character role in…

The idea of an ultimate victim in August Wilson’s Fences varies from reader to reader. Troy Maxson often portrays himself as the victim of this play. However, that is not the case for the readers. Rose, his wife, is the true victim of this play; Troy cheats on Rose with another woman, he even has a child with her. Not to mention her one-way love towards her unloyal and arrogant husband. Apart from the other characters of the story, Rose gives a numerous amount of times to Troy. However, she…

In the play “Fences” by August Wilson, Wilson uses language and diction to show dissatisfaction on how it can lead to actions that destroys a person’s life, and the people around them. Troy Maxson's a character with peculiar traits that can be stated as frustration. Fences is during a time when fights against segregation aren’t approached as that important. This was causing a clear emphasized life for Troy and others. Fences theme shows racist oppression, but also shows how family values…

Dreams and ambitions are an important aspect of life. Having goals to strive towards provides purpose, drive, and determination. In August Wilson’s play Fences, Troy and Cory Maxson are a father son duo with sports-related dreams, both past and present. However, neither character accomplishes their respective goals due to the racial differences experienced during the 1950s and 1960s. The dreams of these characters in Fences are impacted by the racism of the time as well as the bitterness…

August Wilson makes it obvious within the play Fences that the father-son relationships are harsh and not love-driven relationships. The relationships Troy Maxson has with his father and his two sons are very different when compared to each other. In each relationship the son tries to get away from their dad’s control even though Troy feels like he knows what is best for his son, but it only ends up with problems that the father and son have to deal with throughout their lives. The…