Summary And Symbolism In August Wilson's Fences

Troy goes from thinking he has death right where he wants him to being fearful that he might not be able to protect his family from death anymore. As the play continues, he grows more weary of just how unpredictable death is. In the play Fences, August Wilson uses different symbols to show why Troy Maxson is afraid of death. His connection to death and baseball, his home life as he builds the fence, and the stories he tells about how he met death multiple times show Troy’s fear. Throughout the play, Troy uses baseball metaphors to show he isn’t afraid of death because it is like a game of baseball, and he used to be a big league player. Troy responded, “Death ain’t nothing. I done seen him. Done wrassled with him. You can’t tell me nothing about death. Death ain’t nothing but a fastball on the outside corner. And you know what I’ll do to that!” (10). Troy shows he isn’t afraid of death by comparing it to a game of baseball. A fastball on the outside corner was a home run pitch to him. But since he no longer plays baseball, he continues to approach his life as if his identity never changed. Baseball is what Troy

“I’m gonna build me a fence around what belongs to me. And then I want you to stay on the other side” (77). This indicates he does not want to lose anyone else close to him. Troy is afraid of his two worlds colliding, the meaning behind building the fence. He builds the fence to try and keep his affair with Alberta and death on one side, and his home, his family and his friends on the other. While building the fence, he doesn’t know why they need to have a physical fence around the house. Towards the end of the book, he saw the fence as a way of trying to keep his family and friends close to him. Troy built a physical fence for Rose, but he built a mental fence to keep death away from his entire