In the play Fences, fences serve as both a physical and symbolic barrier to protect Troy from his fears, regrets and struggles. The play takes place in 1957 in a black neighborhood in Southside Pittsburgh, where physical fences signify the boundaries of Troy’s world.
Troy has built his actual fence to keep out the outside world, but figuratively it also serves to protect him from his past. Throughout the play, the boundaries created by this fence come to represent Troy’s attempt to shut out the pain of his unhappy childhood, his failed dreams and his painful memories, such as his broken relationship with his best friend and one-time lover, Bono.
Additionally, the fence serves to protect Troy’s family, at least in his eyes. By not allowing them to enter the outside world, he believes that he is shielding them from the same failures and disappointments he suffered and preventing them from being hurt like he was.
Thus, his fence creates a safe haven for Troy and his family.
What does the fence symbolize in fences to Cory?
The fence in “Fences” symbolizes several different things to Cory. On the surface, the fence represents the attempt of his father, Troy, to literally protect his family. For example, Troy has been building the fence during the play which he plans to finish before he dies.
He protects his family by providing a safe boundary between his home and the outside world and he works to pay for his family’s needs.
However, the fence also symbolizes Troy’s attempt to protect his family emotionally. By enforcing rules and expecting Cory to follow them and honoring Troy’s authority, Troy is trying to teach Cory the skills that he believes will provide Cory with the best chance of a successful future life.
The fence therefore represents Troy’s presence in Cory’s life and his attempts to direct Cory’s growth.
Finally, the fence symbolizes Troy’s conflicted emotions about his son and a larger cultural context that limits Cory’s opportunities for success. The fence represents Troy’s attempts to protect Cory from life’s dangers, but at the same time, the fence acts as a barrier between Cory and the chance to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball.
As Cory contemplates the fence, he is forced to confront the choices and decisions that Troy has made for him and their implications for his future.
Why is the play called fences?
The play “Fences” is set in the 1950s and explores the life of the Maxson family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The title is fitting as so much of the play focuses on the complexities and consequences of the metaphorical walls, or “fences,” that the characters have built around themselves.
The main character, Troy Maxson, is a broken man who has erected a wall of bitterness and resentment to protect himself from pain and hurt – a wall that is literalized by his insistence on building a fence around his yard.
As the play progresses, we see how his walls of protection become his prison.
Troy’s walls also symbolize a larger structure of containing and confining African Americans on the grounds of race. In his emotional and physical struggle to gain a foothold in the white world, Troy is repeatedly denied opportunities and respect.
His wife, Rose, meanwhile is trapped within the fence of their marital relationship, unable to move beyond Troy’s emotional boundaries. Fences both protects and confines these characters and their dreams.
The play stands as an exploration of how our efforts to make sense of the world no matter how well-constructed sometimes limit us and prevent us from stepping forward and expanding our horizons. The word fences, therefore, implies an emotional barrier that we must learn to transcend in order to truly progress.
What is the moral of the story Fences?
The moral of the story Fences is that we all create our own realities. The main character, Troy, is a man struggling to cope with the racist attitudes of a society that has oppressed him from every angle—he struggles to accept his reality but ultimately fails as his pride and stubbornness prevent him from adapting.
Ultimately, he is not able to fully realize his dream of success and stability for his family, and realizes he has made mistakes in trying to protect his own pride instead of cultivating love and understanding in his family.
The moral of the story is that we all create our own realities and must accept responsibility for our actions and decisions–we can’t blame others for our failures and shortcomings. In order to achieve true success and happiness, we must learn to accept the cards life deals us and look ahead with hope and understanding.
Why is Troy building a fence?
Troy is building a fence for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it can provide increased security and privacy for his home, ensuring that his family, pets, and property are safe and secure. It can also help to clearly mark property boundaries and discourage any trespassers.
It can also be a great aesthetic addition to his yard, adding a sense of visual appeal as well as creating a feeling of space in his outdoor area. Additionally, it can be a great deterrent for pests such as rodents, birds, and snakes.
Finally, it can provide some respite from the elements, protecting his home and garden from strong winds, excessive sunlight, and extreme temperatures. All of these reasons make Troy’s decision to build a fence an extremely wise one.
What is the meaning or meanings of the title Fences What does the fence represent and why does Wilson choose to focus our attention on this element of the play?
The title of August Wilson’s play, Fences, can refer to a variety of elements within the play. The most obvious is the literal fence that Troy Maxson is building around his home, which serves as a physical representation of the metaphorical boundaries and obstacles that are present between him and his family.
The fence becomes a symbol of Troy’s inability to break down those barriers. It can be seen as a form of entrapment, as it confines Troy, who chooses to keep himself separated from those he loves.
The fence can also be an emblem of Troy’s pride and stubbornness. He wants to finish building it to prove that he can accomplish something tangible in his life and make a mark in a world which he feels has denied him all the opportunities he deserved.
It becomes ‘’an emblem of Troy’s will and ambition, a symbol of his determination in the face of defeat’’. Furthermore, the fence can be seen a representation of the segregation and racism present in 1960s America, a time period from which the play is set.
By focusing on the fence, Wilson shows us the varied emotions and motivations of Troy, as well as the struggles he faces. It serves as a reminder of the unfairness of life, as well as the strength to rise above despite the odds.
Through the symbolism of the fence, the audience is able to relate to Troy’s struggles, and understand his tragic story.
What is the purpose of Fences by August Wilson?
The purpose of August Wilson’s play Fences is to explore the idea of African-American identity during the 1950s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It focuses on a black family led by Troy Maxson, a fifty-three-year-old garbage collector and former Negro League baseball player.
There is a myriad of challenges that the Maxson family must overcome, including poverty, racism, and familial strife. The play takes a hard look at how these issues have affected the lives of Troy and his family.
Fences is most successful at exploring the idea of African-American identity in America. It delves into the life of Troy and how he tries – and mostly fails – to talk to his children in a meaningful way.
Troy experienced firsthand the harshness of racism in the Jim Crow era: he was denied the chance to play Major League Baseball, despite his superior skill in the game, simply because of the color of his skin.
This injustice, along with the discrimination he faced in more subtle ways, molded Troy’s sense of identity and, as a result, he is suspicious of “the white man’s world” and incredibly protective of his family.
Throughout the play, Troy’s complicated relationships with them demonstrate the attempts he makes to resolve the inherent tensions within himself.
Ultimately, August Wilson wrote Fences to illustrate the struggles and complexities of being a black man in 1950s’ America. It is an exploration of the power dynamics between African Americans and whites, as well as a commentary on the social and economic inequities.
Wilson’s play ultimately serves as a study in how oppression can shape a person’s life, pride, and family.
Why did Troy cheat on Rose in Fences?
Troy’s infidelity in Fences is a product of a lifetime of pain, trauma, and unfulfilled dreams. From an early age, Troy was forced by a racist society to settle for a life of poverty, hard labor, and a lack of opportunity.
Growing up in a home with an abusive father, he developed a deep resentment towards authority figures, which was only compounded by his time spent in jail. Even after he found a good job, the racism of the day prevented him from achieving the financial security he longed for.
All of this left Troy feeling helpless, bitter, and unworthy of true love and a fulfilling life. His cheating was a way of gaining some sense of power or control over his otherwise disempowering life.
It was a way of assuaging his deep-rooted issues with his father, looking for recognition and acceptance from someone other than Rose.
Troy’s unchecked emotional needs, combined with deeply rooted insecurities, were ultimately the reasons for his affair. It was his attempt at reclaiming some of the power and autonomy that had been taken away from him due to racism, poverty, and adversity.
What happened in the end of Fences?
The final scenes of Fences take place at Troy and Rose’s home on the day of Troy’s funeral. At the funeral, Gabriel, Rose’s brother, reads a poem he has written in Troy’s memory. Raynell, Troy and Rose’s daughter, gives a eulogy in which she talks about how much she loves her father.
After the funeral, Rose, Bono, Gabriel and Lyons decide to go to Troy’s favorite bar, Gabriel’s Horn, to remember him.
At the bar, Rose confronts Bono about how he must learn to accept Troy’s death and move on, which Bono is initially resistant to. Lyons comforts him, revealing that he too has had trouble dealing with his father’s death.
After the group leaves the bar, Rose and Lyons are seen walking together, both of them carrying on Troy’s legacy in different ways.
The final scene of Fences shows a bittersweet moment between Cory and Rose, where Cory confides in Rose about his feelings of guilt and Rose gives him words of wisdom about learning to accept his father for who he was and honoring his memory.
The film ends with Rose standing in Troy’s garden, looking off into the horizon with a hint of a smile.
Is Fences based on a true story?
No, Fences is not based on a true story. It is an adaptation of an award-winning play by August Wilson of the same name. Wilson wrote it in 1983, drawing on his own upbringing in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
The story follows an African-American father, played by Denzel Washington, as he struggles to provide for his family and come to terms with events from the past. Fences won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe for Best Picture in a Drama.
Why does Troy think that his father is an evil man in Fences?
Troy Maxson in the play Fences by August Wilson believes his father is an evil man due to his own past experiences. Growing up in the deep South, he experienced racism and segregation, which had a lasting impact on his life and the way he perceived himself.
Troy’s father was a poor sharecropper who abandoned him when he was young, leaving him to be raised by his older brother. This abandonment left him feeling unloved and unwanted, which caused a great deal of anger and resentment.
At the same time, Troy’s father was also an alcoholic who neglected his duties as a father, leaving Troy feeling betrayed and let down. He believes that his father could have made something of himself if he had been given the same chances as white people, but instead he grew to resent the world and passed his bitterness on to his son.
As an adult, Troy has grown to believe that this bitterness and resentment of his father has had an evil influence on his life and his own relationships with his family.
How old was Troy when he ran away?
Troy was about 15 years old when he ran away from home. He had been feeling extremely restless and dissatisfied with his home and family life, seeing his future in his current town as unappealing and constrained.
Having no money and an extremely limited education, Troy had no real direction or plan and so he just made the decision to take off in search of a new lifestyle. He left with nothing but a few belongings and the clothes on his back and eventually ‘stowed away’ onto a train outside of the town.
Though it would all work out for the best in the end, Troy’s journey was full of unforeseen twists and turns and a few dead end roads.
What lesson does Fences teach?
Fences is a play by the renowned American playwright, August Wilson, and it is filled with important lessons. One of the major themes in the play is the generational gap between fathers and sons. The main character, Troy, is a middle-aged African-American man that has been hardened by years of oppressive mistreatment and economic hardship.
Through his relationships with his son Cory, wife Rose and brother Gabe, Troy struggles with his own insecurities and resentment, which prevent him from connecting with his family emotionally.
It is only when Troy is able to come to terms with his past and choose to move on that he is able to open himself up to the potential for authentic relationships with his family. By acknowledging his past and forgiving himself, he is able to access his ability to love.
This lesson is echoed throughout the play as Rose, Gabe, and Cory also find themselves struggling to come to terms with their varied pasts. In the end, it is the act of facing and accepting their shared histories that allows them to come together, heal, and move on.
Ultimately, Fences teaches the valuable lesson that building fences to protect ourselves emotionally doesn’t protect us in the long run, and that it’s only through understanding ourselves and the past that we can find lasting peace, genuine love, and authentic relationships.
As Troy learns, it is only when we let down our emotional walls and open ourselves up to the possibility of connection, that we can experience true peace and harmony within our lives.
What does raynell represent in Fences?
Raynell is an important character in Fences as she serves as a symbol of hope and optimism in a story filled with feelings of anger and resentment. She is the daughter born to Troy and his mistress, Alberta, but raised as his own by Troy and his wife Rose.
She is named after Troy’s father, Gabriel. While Troy is a hard and stern father, Raynell provides him with a source of comfort and understanding. She is always there to listen to Troy and accept his temperamental personality.
Raynell is the light at the end of the tunnel in Fences. She serves as a reminder of how much Troy has changed, how his love and understanding of others has grown, and how much healing he is capable of despite his past.
While Troy has trouble expressing love to his older children and wifie, he is tender and kind with Raynell, highlighting the growth Troy has made in his life.
Raynell’s presence does not only provide a sense of hope for Troy, but for Rose as well. She provides Rose, who has struggled with raising Troy’s children from previous relationships, with a chance to build a strong mother-daughter relationship.
Overall, Raynell represents the hope for a new, better future and the potential for change and growth.
What does Raynells garden symbolize?
Raynells garden in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” symbolizes a connection to a rich African-American heritage and cultural roots that has been passed down for generations. The quilts, which are made from scraps of old clothes that belong to the family, represent the traditional and unique African-American craftsmanship which has been passed down through the years.
In the story, Dee’s materialistic attitude towards her heritage causes her to value it for its aesthetic value rather than for its personal and spiritual meaning. In contrast, Maggie understands the deeper significance of the quilts since she has actively maintained the family’s connection with their cultural tradition by caring for the garden.
Ultimately, Raynell’s garden symbolizes the importance of maintaining a close connection to the culture and history of the family’s African-American heritage.