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   cybil Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   According to the playwright August Wilson, Fences is set in 1957, and he identifies Troy's age as 53 in the stage directions for Act 1, scene 1. Therefore, this fictional protagonist would have been born in 1904. Your answer is correct! Troy's age is significant because it makes him too old to have been able to play baseball in the Major Leagues, which were integrated by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Troy, however, contends that he could have played, that he was and still is good enough to play---only his race has kept him from playing. Even Rose points out that he was too old at the time the Major League was integrated because he would have been 43 at that time.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/fences/historical-context

   http://www.enotes.com/fences/troy-maxson

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   Posted by cybil on Thursday October 1, 2009 at 7:24 AM