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Love And Acceptance In Fences, By August Wilson

1182 Words5 Pages

August Wilson writes in the epilogue of Fences, "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). Wilson’s comment reveals the significance of love and loyalty and how they cross generational boundaries. He implies that, while individuals can be divided by race and class, a universal tie binds us together. Wilson highlights how transformational and powerful love can lead to greater understanding and acceptance through the characters of his drama. Cory Maxson, son of Troy Maxon, is forced to confront his father's flawed parenting. However, he accepts that Troy loves him as he tries to teach his son not to repeat his mistakes. In August Wilson's …show more content…

In the final act, Cory initially refuses to attend Troy’s funeral, insisting on the importance of the chance to finally stand up to Troy and take back the power his father stripped him of (96). However, before sharing a moment with Raynell, Rose tells Cory that Troy wanted what was best for his son and expresses that Troy did everything to make Cory what he was. Rose states that Cory rebelling against his father by not attending his funeral does not make him more of a man because she believes that Troy meant more good than harm to Cory. As a result, not only does Cory attend the funeral, but he also bonds with his younger sister. In August Wilson’s drama, Fences, Cory's transformation shows the importance of acceptance and understanding. At the start of the play, Cory is filled with anger towards his father due to his strict parenting style and lack of support for Cory's dreams. However, after Troy's death, Cory accepts his father's legacy and embraces his identity. This transformation is a testament to the power of love and how it can lead to understanding and growth. Every parent has flaws, and children often think they will become like their parents. Cory proves to be wrong growing out of the cycle. Nevertheless, children do not inherit the faults of their parents. Instead, flaws serve as a point of reference or anchor in how to grow and learn from a parent's mistakes so that the sins of our fathers do not become the sins of our

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An Analysis Of August Wilson's Play Fences

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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.

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Troy Maxon Character Analysis

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Hesler Garcia 3/7/18 Mr. Amoroso English 10H 3. Troy Maxon is a paternal figure in Fences. Troy is a responsible black man. However his responsibility leads him to be a selfish person. The book states “Troy: It’s my job.

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While Troy didn’t treat his son exactly how his father treated him, he still disrespected Cory to the point where it was traumatic for him, affecting their relationship. “Chronic deprivation or distortions in the psychological environment may impair the capacity for human relations, thus hampering the ability to form healthy parent-child relationships” (Rowland-Klein, Dunlop). This is also illustrated when Troy gets into a fight with his son, before Cory is forced to leave his

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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.

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Cory is compassionately fighting for his “Mama” (72) while Troy is only fighting for self preservation. Cory is starting to grow up mentally and physically and can now stand toe to toe with both the figurative Troy living in his head and the physical one he lives with. The maturity that came with Cory’s change into a young man has allowed him to have a shift in mindset regarding the opinions that had been passed down to him. Cory’s love and compassion for others justifies this violence while Troy’s selfishness and anger does not. This truly marks a change in the family as someone is finally breaking past the selfish values that had defined the Maxsons, albeit using violence.

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Troy not only disapproves of his son Cory playing football, but he also disagrees with his oldest son Lyons aspirations of becoming a musician. We see this when Troy states “get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living”. Instead of focusing on sports, he believes Cory should pick up a trade that can provide an income for his future. Cory is a talented athlete just like his dad, but due to Troy’s dreams being shattered by the white man, his outlook is tainted. Although Troy is predominantly aggressive, he is attempting to protect Cory from the same disappointment he once endured.

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Rose, his wife, is the one who holds the family together through the toughest times. She defends her family, and cares for another woman’s child. Cory, Troy’s son, attempts to be like his father while growing up; however, he soon realizes he is mistaken. He eventually turns out to be nothing like his father. While Rose and Cory emotionally progress throughout the play, Troy emotionally declines.

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Troy’s tough parenting style towards Cory is a result of his unresolved pain from being abandoned in the past, demonstrating how Troy’s generational trauma affects his parenting with Cory. Troy recounts his father’s lack of affection and he justifies his lack of affection for Cory when Cory questions his fatherly love. Flashback, Troy and Bono’s earlier conversation about their experiences. Troy shares his life story where he grew up with ten siblings, an absent mother, and an abusive father. While taking care of the responsibility of his eleven kids, Troy’s father provided for them, but also repeatedly mistreated them.

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The potential to transform one's life for the better, the development of one's sense of independence and self-efficacy, and the promotion of accountability for one's actions and decisions are all benefits of accepting responsibility for oneself. In August Wilson's Fences, Troy Maxson, despite having a flawed persona, shows that he takes his role as a father seriously by making an effort to support his family and teach his son the morals he thinks will help him succeed in life, despite the fact that he is aware that doing so might jeopardize their relationship. The complicated character of Troy Maxson in August Wilson's "Fences" accepts the role of father to his son Cory despite the possibility that doing so would damage their relationship.

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"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.

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August Wilson Fences Symbolism

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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.

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August Wilson Fences Literary Analysis

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He persistently criticizes and neglects his two sons, which thus draws them away from him. Troy pushes Lyons away by refusing to hear him play his "Chinese music". He also scars hisrelationship with his other son, Cory, by preventing him from playing football and rejecting his onlychance to get recruited by a college football team. Also, Troy states that Cory's things will "be on theother side of that fence" when he kicks Cory to the street. Through this scene Troyacknowledges the fence as an actual, physical divide between him and his son.

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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.

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Brother, Gabriel. He shows the father and son complex in the relationship between Troy and Troy’s son, Cory. And finally he shows true friendship in the relationship between Troy and Troy’s best friend, Bono. Wilson masterfully crafts the novel to show many different types of relationships in a short three acts.

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How Does August Wilson Use Language In Fences

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He has a softer tone in the dialogue with Rose which shows that he does care about Cory. He is tough on Cory because he doesn’t want his son to experience the same things as he, as a black male in the mid-century, endured. He believes that a sturdy hand will lead his son in the right direction and prepare him for a harsh world. Troy tells Rose, “He’s got to make his own way. I made mine.

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