ipl-logo

How Does August Wilson Use Symbols In The Play Fences

1024 Words5 Pages

Jayna Miceli-Spieker Leanne Hoppe English 161 Essay #4 - Fences 12/2/15 Word Count: 1071 Fences Boundaries are something that everyone has, and those boundaries determine the things people allow to come into or out of their life. The play Fences, written by August Wilson, is a story that shows many boundaries within each character. Fences also shows many forms of symbolism in the story, even within the title itself. Fences are used metaphorically throughout the whole play. The analogies of ‘fences’ in each character's life, are shown through many different ways. Fences is a play about a family who struggles with past experiences but gets through them in their own individual ways. Each character plays an important role in the plot …show more content…

Metaphorical fences are used in everyone's lives based on how someone wants to use them. Someone might put up a ‘fence’ to act like someone they’re not or someone might take down a ‘fence’ to open up to someone else. The play involves many different types of ‘fences’ and the symbol of fences is used throughout the whole story which gives the play its name, Fences. ‘Fences’ play a huge role in every character's life because the fences each character puts up or takes down are what they use to get through certain situations or problems in their life, whether they're good or …show more content…

Rose shows compassion and care with her relationships that she has with others, especially as a parent. ‘Fences’ play a big role in Rose's life because the fences she chooses to put up help her stay happy with her life even if she has to fence out someone she used to love. Rose loves her family so much she wants to put up a metaphorical fence around her family. She wants to actually build a fence around her family's house to keep her family safe and to stay close to her loved ones. Rose also puts up a fence to hide her true feelings about Troy but eventually after finding out about the affair, Rose takes down her fence of feelings for Troy and shows him how she truly feels about him. After Troy's baby, Raynell, was born Troy asks Rose to help raise the baby because he can’t do it on his own. However Rose puts up a temporary fence of being independent, choosing not to raise the baby because it is not her child. Eventually, Rose takes that fence down because of how kind hearted she is and takes the baby in as her own but does not allow Troy to really be apart of her life

Show More
Related

An Analysis Of August Wilson's Play Fences

353 Words | 2 Pages

August Wilson’s play Fences was written in 1983. Fences is the sixth play in Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle. Pittsburgh is important because it represents a better life for blacks; it provides them with jobs and helped them to escape the poverty and racism of the south after the civil war. It represents promises and promises that were broken. I feel like Fences represents the struggles Troy and his family faced because of their complexion and their constant disappointments as black people.

Read More

Contradictions In Rose's Fence

70 Words | 1 Pages

Taking place in 1957, the story of Fence provides evidents that women are likely to openly express their hardships of being a housewife and constantly being dominated by men. In a role as a housewife, Rose often stays at home, clean up and cook, as well as take care her children. In addition, she plays a role as the reconciler to solve the contradictions between her husband and her

Read More

Troy As A Tragic Hero In Fences, By August Wilson

875 Words | 4 Pages

In the play “Fences”, written in 1957 by August Wilson annotates how Troy’s childhood experiences affected his life and put a strain on his relationship with family and friends. Troy’s enormous amount of pride, flaw of judgment, and malicious actions lead to his shortcomings and resulted into him becoming a tragic hero. In the story, Troy had a lot of flaws in his character throughout the play. As Troy was growing up he never had the proper guidance, so he had to take care of himself the best way he could.

Read More

August Wilson's Fences

1174 Words | 5 Pages

The complex dynamics of family relationships are depicted in August Wilson's play "Fences," which reveals that while family ties can be a source of support and comfort, they can also be a source of conflict and pain. This quote from Bono: "Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep them in." Troy Maxson, the main character, had to fight for all he had as a black man in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, including his job as a garbage collector. His connection with his son Cory is rocky, and he wants to prevent him from playing football out of concern that he would experience the same disappointment as Troy did as a young man.

Read More

Fences: Troy's Impact On The People Around Him

1074 Words | 5 Pages

(1.2). Rose makes breakfast for Troy and takes care of him before he goes to work. Rose and Troy's relationship is built on acts of service to show that they love each other. Troy works and pays for the house, and Rose takes care of Troy by cooking and cleaning. When Rose makes breakfast for Troy, she is showing that she cares about him.

Read More

Gender Roles In Fences And Trifles

713 Words | 3 Pages

Stereotypes are widely accepted pieces of judgment about a person or group but can be very biased, even though they aren’t always accurate especially when it's about being given a gender a role in today’s society. While there are some differences between Fences and other stories read are quite obvious, the similarities between the plays Fences and Trifles are the harsh gender roles given to women and they deserve to be spoken deeper about. Although gender roles today are better than it was ten or more years ago, looking at Trifles’ text pieces one can reflect and say women not so long ago had it hard too, possibly more than in today’s time. In Trifles, Mrs.Peters (Sheriff’s wife) and Mrs.Hale were neglected by the County Attorney,

Read More

August Wilson Fences Literary Analysis

883 Words | 4 Pages

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.  

Read More

Responsibilities Of Work In The Play Fences

1916 Words | 8 Pages

Lucas bailey Work is something we all have to do it may not be fun and we may hate it but it’s something everyone has got to do so they can fulfill their duties as a human being . The responsibilities of work applies for the many characters in the play fences . They have to deal with the responsibilities of work and what it means to be a working man . Fences is a play based around a black family living in the 1950s here Troy and his family learn how necessary work is and the duties it carries .

Read More

Racism In The Play Fences

702 Words | 3 Pages

The play Fences is a drama written by August Wilson who was one of six children and also dealt with opeesrrions and racism when he dropped out of school due the struggles of racism. The play Fences presents the character Troy Maxson a person who has faced racism and discrimanation throughout his life. The Pulitzer Prize winning play is set in 1957-1965, a time when African-Amercians where hopeful for a better life. In Fences, racism haunts Troy Maxon’s life past and present. The play brings the view of racism in the world through Tory Maxson, family and friends.

Read More

The Progressive Era

491 Words | 2 Pages

At the beginning of the Progressive Era, 1890, the reform efforts were primarily to “clean up the nation’s cities,” but as the momentum cycled into full swing it turned into a much larger project than originally anticipated (Schultz 2014). The two main groups who were involved were the followers of Social Gospel and women, but later, as interest increased Progressivism found its way into political circles and other forums. The middle class was especially attracted to the idea, but only if it did not intrude on their everyday lives which turned out to be impossible. Moreover, as it grew it changed shape to influence how administrators were selected, how our education systems developed, and it aided in improving the workforce community. The primary reason for the spread of Progressivism throughout the nation was by the media, otherwise through journalism (Schultz 2014).

Read More

The Theme Of Love In 'Fences' By August Wilson

985 Words | 4 Pages

The play “Fences” by August Wilson shows the dynamics in relationships and the multiple dramatic means by which they are established by using one pinnacle point. Wilson uses his main character Troy to stem of four other types of relationships. He shows the complexities of marriage and love in the relationship between Troy and Troy’s wife, Rose. He shows the commitment and betrayal of in the relationship between Troy and Troy’s

Read More

How Does August Wilson Use Language In Fences

1010 Words | 5 Pages

Fences by August Wilson is a play set in 1950s Pittsburgh which chronicles the life of an African American family. Language is a crucial component of the play, revealing the characters, conflicts, and meaning of the story. In Fences, Troy is a strong character who uses his language to assert his dominance, especially over his son, Cory. Troy treats Cory with a harsh exterior, which masks his deep hopes for a better future for his son.

Read More

African American Experience In Fences

978 Words | 4 Pages

Fences is a play written by the playwright August Wilson, who dedicated himself to writing plays capturing what it was like to be an African American in the United States during every decade of the 20th century. Fences was a play that was specifically written to provide an outlook into the lives of African Americans in America during the 1950s, during the process of demarginalization. Each character of the novel provides a unique perspective to capture different aspects of the “African American Experience” during this time period. In Fences, it was very important to August Wilson to truly capture “The African American Experience” and he was able to do so through the portrayal of the Maxson family, with his representation of African Americans during the 1950s in Fences, and with the multiple perspectives of African Americans captured

Read More

The Importance Of The Father In August Wilson's Fences

1457 Words | 6 Pages

"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.

Read More

Theme Of Racism In Fences

1501 Words | 7 Pages

In August Wilson’s playwright Fences, the narrator portrays racism in a social system, in the workplace, and in sports, which ultimately affects Troy’s aspirations. Troy Maxson is constantly facing the racism that is engraved into the rules of racial hierarchy –– fair and unfair, spoken and unspoken. Troy suffers many years of racism when he plays in the Negro major Baseball League; therefore he decides to protect Cory from ever experiencing those blockades in his drive for success. In the end, although Troy is always driving to obtain agency, Troy always succumbs to the rules of racism because those racist ideologies are too hard to overcome. Throughout the play, Troy is perpetually confronting the racist social system that displays unspoken

Read More

More about How Does August Wilson Use Symbols In The Play Fences

Related Topics

Open Document