History World - Literature Companion: Fences

History World

Literature Companion: Fences

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Fences by August Wilson was firstperformed in 1983. It is the sixth play written by this highlyacclaimed American playwright.

The play is set in the 1950s. The playis the part of the ten-part Pittsburgh Cycle written by AugustWilson.

Similar to the other playswritten by the playwright, Fence also explores the themes ofrace-relations, evolving African-American experiences,etc.

Fences received the prestigiousPulitzer Prize for Drama in the year 1987. In the same year, it wasalso given Tony Award for Best Play. The pay was highly acclaimedby critics, reviewers, and audiences.

It is noticeable thatFences collected $11 million in the first year of its production.It is a record amount for a non-musical play. The play eventuallywent on to win four Tony Awards.

The play is said to have greatlyimpacted popular theatre. The success of this play proved that thepeople did not only want to watch popular musicals and comedies butalso serious plays which deal with social, racial, and culturalproblems of the contemporary period.

Since the play includesthree generations of African-American men, critics often call it agenerational play. The three generations in the play are TroyMaxson, Troys father, and his son.

Father and son theme ishighly significant in the play. It has been performed in severalforeign countries, even in China. It shows the thematic power ofthe play across cultures.

The play is often prescribed to thestudents of literature in school and colleges around the world. Itis a widely discussed play in the academic circles around theworld.

The play is basically focused on Troy,the central character. He is a 53 years old head of the family. Hehas to struggle hard to provide for his family.

The location has not beenmade clear in the play, but it can be assumed that the place isPittsburgh because several famous institutions are alludedto.

Troy used to be a famous baseballplayer in his youth. He had been imprisoned for an accidentalmurder which he was said to have committed ruing a robbery. Hecontinued to practice baseball in the prison.

In those days, the black players werenot paid as much money as the white players were paid, and thecolor barrier had not yet been shattered in Major League Baseball.As a result, Troy never got an opportunity to earn good amount ofmoney for his future. However, there is a line in the book thatpoints to his age which was a barrier stronger than the color ofhis skin. It was perhaps his age that stopped him from becoming aprofessional baseball player.

At present, Troy is a driver. He leadsa respectable life of trash collector. It is obvious that he hascrossed the race barrier. He not just a common black barrel lifter;he drives the trash truck.

Rose, his wife, and Cory,his son, live with him. When the play opens, Cory happens to beliving with his father and mother in the same house.

Gabriel, Troys youngerbrother, also lives with them. He happens to be an ex-soldier. Hehad suffered a head injury in the war that caused deeppsychological damage.

It transpires that Troy has another sonnamed Lyons from his previous marriage. Lyons lives outside thehome.

Troys best friend is Bono. Ittranspires that Troy had taken Gabriels money which he hadreceived as a compensation for his head injury. With that money,Troy bought the house they currently live in.

It transpires that a short time beforethe opening of the play, Gabriel rented a room somewhere else, butit is still in the neighborhood.

Fences begins on payday.Since they have money, both Troy and Bono are drinking and talking.Troys speech discloses his character. He tells Bono how he went upto their boss, Mr. Rand, and asked the boss why they did not allowa black man to drive garbage trucks. It transpires that Troy worksas a garbage man.

While they happen to be conversing,Troys wife Rose and his son Lyons join them. Lyons is a musician.It is revealed that he has come to Troy to borrow some money. He issure that he will get the money. He promises to pray Troy backbecause his girlfriend Bonnie has just got a job.

At first, Troy does not agree to givethe money and he gives his son a hard time, but after a while helends ten dollars to Lyons. He gives the money only after Rosepersuades him to do so.

As the play reaches themiddle part, it transpires that Troy is having an affair with awoman named Alberta. She never appears in the play. It is revealedthat she is pregnant.

Cory informs Rose and Troy that thereis an opportunity for a college football scholarship. Troy does notwant his son to play football. He is scared of racialdiscrimination that Troy had experienced during his youth, whileplaying professional baseball in his days.

Cory begins to argue withhis father, but Troy is adamant and he does not agree. He forceshis son to go to his room.

Later on, it is revealedthat Troy informed Corys coach that his son does not play footballanymore.

When Cory comes to know about it, hehas a fight with Troy. It is a severe physical fight. Troy kicksCory out of his house.

Troy receives a phone callinforming him about Albertas pregnancy. It transpires that she hasdied during childbirth.

When Rose comes to knowabout it, she agrees to adopt Albertas baby girl. She agrees totake care of the baby as her own, though she has already decidedthat she is no longer Troys woman.

Seven years pass. Ittranspires that Troy has died.

In the final act of the play, we findRaynell, Albertas daughter, as a seven-year old happy girl. Corycomes back home from his military training. He is not ready toattend his fathers funeral because he still carries theresentment. However, Rose, his mother, convinces him that he mustpay respects to his father. She tells him that his father was ahard headed man and rarely showed his affections, but he reallyloved his son.

The real meaning of the title of theplay is revealed in the final act. It transpires that Bono hasbought a refrigerator for his wife as he had promised Troy that hewould do if he finished building it. Now Bono has completed thefence.

It transpires that Rose also wanted tobuild the fence and she had forced Troy to start building thefence. She wanted to secure the things which belonged to her. Shewanted the things which belonged inside in and those which belongedoutside stay out. The play ends at this point.

Troy Maxson

Troy Maxson is the centralcharacter and the protagonist of the play. He happens to be aworking class African American man.

He lives in the HillDistrict of Pittsburgh with his wife, Rose, and his son, Cory. Troyworks for the Sanitation Department as a garbagecollector.

In this play, Troy is a tragic-hero. Hehas to work hard to provide for his family. He wants better livesfor his sons than he had. It transpires that he used to be a greatbaseball player in his youth. He used to play in the Negro Leagues,but he was never able to join the Major Leagues. He was the victimof discrimination, he presumed.

He has made several mistakes in thepast and they greatly influence his outlook on life. Hisrelationship with his sons is mostly tense because they want tolead their lives in their own ways, never learning from theexperiences of their father.

Rose Maxson

Rose happens to be TroyMaxsons second wife. Troy married her after he was released fromprison.