Analysis Of August Wilson's Fences

The valedictorian dreamed of going to Harvard University and playing football. School is Brian’s main priority albeit has exceptional skills in football. He wanted to become a lawyer like his father. Brian goes on to attend Harvard and plays football for one season, but decides to give it up wanting to focus solely on

This event triggers Rudy to leave home and head to the University of Notre Dame in order to achieve his dream, regardless of his situation working against him. During the stage of separation, Rudy sets aside all the disadvantages and insists on being a football player at the University of Notre Dame, a dream finally initiated by his friend’s

The obsession with dominance over others is a negative trait with terrible consequences. Troy Maxson, a father of two children and a friend of few, goes through his life, compulsed to assert his superiority over the people he knows. This leads to a downward trend with negative repercussions and eventually strips him of everything he ever loved. In Fences by August Wilson, Troy Maxson’s desire to be dominant with his two sons and his friend, Bono causes his life to be arduous, pushes his family away and creates a lack of sympathy. One method Troy employs to be dominant is by making people indebted to him.

Troy did this to teach Cory to be responsible with his duties. “Troy: He’s alive. He’s healthy. He’s got to make his own way… Ain’t nobody gonna hold his hand when he get out there in that world.”

He often expresses to his psychiatrist that he feels a tremendous amount of pressure to excel in school in order to get a good job, education, and life. This pressure mainly comes from his father, who cares more about an application for a summer internship than the fact that Craig voluntarily admitted himself into a psychiatric clinic. In addition, Craig constantly feels that he is not good enough to be attending the Executive Pre-Professional High School. In internal monologues, he views himself as an underachiever compared to his peers and questions his place in school. Craig also feels that he is living in Aaron’s shadow, who appears to have everything Craig wants both academically and socially, including the girl he’s loved for two years.

The dynamic between a father and son is never a simple journey, but instead, comes with curveballs thrown left and right. In Fences, by August Wilson, he writes of the hardships between a father and son relationship and the difficulties a father has over trying to shield his son from life’s cruelties, to the salvation found between being fenced in and finally being placed outside of the fence—both literally and metaphorically. Through out the play, there are numerous confrontations between Troy and Cory—whether it be when Cory asks Troy whether or not he loves him or when Cory throws his football helmet towards the direction of Troy—which show the difficult and complicated relationship between father and son. Also prevalent in the play, was the lack of a father and male figure in Troy’s own life, during his most influential and important years. Troy recognizes that and the way he was/is treated by society in general and wanted to “help” his son by showing Cory the difficult lessons Troy learned during his youth, as a way to lessen the pain that would be inflicted on his son later on.

The play, Fences by August Wilson, is about Troy Maxson and his struggling family relationships. A recurring idea throughout the story is the construction of a fence around Troy's home. Troy's fence could symbolize two things, Troy is trying to protect his family from the outside world, or Troy is isolating himself from his own family. As the construction of the fence progresses, the more severely damaged Troy's relationships become. In this play, the underlying message is that, despite the fact that fences can both protect and isolate, Troy’s fence isolates him from his family rather than to protect his family.

Troy believes that is better for Cory if he had a real job, something that no one can take form him and to provide a stable economic security for him. In Troy’s mind if Cory goes for the football thing, which is controlled by the whites, his dreams might be destroyed and he doesn’t want that for his son. Of course that resulted in disturbed relationship between Troy and Cory. Troy’s way in protecting or caring for his son might be harsh, that can be refers for Troy’s relationship with his father as the plays shows. Troy refuses to acknowledge that times have changed and Cory can be something if he plays, instead he ruined his son’s

Troy has always been tough with Cory which makes him think that he doesn’t like him. Troy had a dream of becoming a baseball player which he has never achieved so he is envious and keeps Cory from having the opportunity of being recruited for football. Cory comes home one night to Troy sitting down on the steps drinking and singing in the backyard and tells him to get out of his way. Troy advises Cory that if he needs to go inside then he must say excuse me because it is his house that he bought and paid for. As he tries to walk past him, Troy shoves him back and Cory yells “I live here too.”

Troy Maxson Troy Maxson was the lead character in the play “Fences” by August Wilson and is a very outspoken and humorous character of sorts. Troy has a very big personality, and believes that he owes his family everything, from his paycheck to his soul. Troy is the protagonist, but you can't quite say he's the hero unless you put tragic in front of it. Troy is no known hero, however, he was known to have several flaws and several good qualities. Troy was let down in a lot of ways in life and it is because of how he was treated that he acts the way that he does.

August Wilson's play Fences addresses a great content of interpreting and inheriting history. Throughout Fences, much of the conflict emerge because the characters are at disparity with the way they see their foregoing and what they want to do with their forthcoming. Fences explores how the damaged aspirations of one generation can taint the dreams of the next generation on how they deal with the creation of their own identity when their role model is a full of dishonesty. Wilson illustrates his qualities primarily through his use of symbolism in the play Fences.  

In the play Fences, August Wilson follows the struggle of a family that deals with injustice and racial segregation that creates a hardship that leads to a personal lack of self-esteem and uncontrollable circumstances. Troy, forced his family to deal with his struggles of past life experience. Troy was a hardworking man who did his best to provide for his family. Rose explained this to Cory, "Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't...and everything he was... he meant to do more good than he meant harm" (1985).

August Wilson faces a lot of difficulties in his life. He begins writing Fences in the twentieth century, and he portrays the African American experience between the 1900s to 2000 (Wilson 11). In Fence August Wilson tells the story of a father, Troy Maxson’s lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Troy was a very talented baseball perspective with hopes to play in the major leagues. Maxson’s had the bad luck of having to grow up when racism was the biggest part of America.

THE BACKGROUND Fences is a play by August Wilson that is made in 1957, part of the sixth in August Wilson's ten-part "Pittsburgh Cycle". Fences is an American play that divided of two acts. The first act consists of four scenes, while the second act consists of five scenes. Fences is included as one of the most important American plays. This classic tragedy drama was written in 1983 and earned Pulitzer Prize.

"When the sins of our fathers visit us, we do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness; As God, in His Largeness and Laws"(Wilson X).This epigraph by August Wilson provides an insight into the importance of the topic in the play Fences. In Fences, the play depicts the relationships of the Maxson family and their friends. Troy Maxson, a middle-aged African American man, is happily married to his wife Rose and takes care of his son Cory whilst occasionally interacting with his other son from a previous relationship. However, the complexities of Troy 's past create issues for him and his family and their relationships begin to deteriorate.