Fences

Troy Maxson is a generally unhappy man, and he’s also unable to shoulder the blame for his shortcomings, preferring to project his failures onto his circumstances or onto those around him. The fact...

Each character sees this conflict differently. For Cory, Troy is creating a rivalry with him regarding sports. Cory feels that Troy is refusing to allow him to play football out of a jealous...

I think that the quote plays a significant role in both works. In Fences, I think that Cory's reaction to his father at the funeral might be one specific instant where Wilson's quote is most...

Troy tells both the audience and Lyons and Bono about his past in Act I scene 4, which includes the story of how he came to be put in prison due to the accidental murder of somebody he was trying...

The play Fences was written by African-American writer August Wilson in 1985. It is the sixth installment in Wilson’s ten-part series, Pittsburgh Cycle. In 1987, it was awarded both the Tony Award...

In 1985, August Wilson wrote the play Fences, which centers around an African American man named Troy who struggles to provide for his family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Troy was a great baseball...

Troy had a problem with his son, Cory, getting serious about football because he believes the color of his skin will not work in his favor in this sport. He fears that white boys will get...

The significance of Troy Maxson’s singing about a dog named “Blue,” or “Old Blue,” lies both in the African American origins of the musical genre known as the blues as well as Troy’s nostalgia for...

Situational irony refers to a situation in which actions have the opposite effect of what is intended or expected. One example of situational irony in Fences is that Troy builds a fence around his...

Because of Gabriel's head injury he received in World War II, he believes he is the angel Gabriel and that St. Peter is going to one day call upon him to open the gates of heaven. At the end,...

Troy and his son Cory seem to have parallel lives in many ways, which manifests in both similarities and differences. One similarity is that both Troy and Cory have fathers who are cold and...

One theme in Fences is love—more specifically, the balancing act of love versus obligation. Troy is a character who has difficulty placing his love in his family. Perhaps this difficulty stems from...

The short answer is that it affects his future in almost every possible sense, from how he approaches his day to day existence to how he treats his family. Troy is a man who is constantly depressed...

On the surface, the primary conflict of Fences is the struggle of Troy to accept that his son, Cory, is likely to surpass him in terms of his success. Troy was an outstanding baseball player, but...

Gabriel's trumpet is another important symbol in the play. After Troy's death, his disabled brother Gabe blows into his instrument with all his might in order to open the gates of Heaven. Gabe's...

Gabe's infirmity plays several roles in the play, but two seem to resonate with me the most. The first is that Gabe gave his life and service to the nation during the war, only to return a shell...

Death is a character, a practical concept and a symbolic concept for Troy in the play. Of these roles, the symbolic concept is the most important for understanding Troy's character and his internal...

These lines come at the close of the First Act. It is a moment where Troy finds out the Cory has been neglecting his job and his chores in order to play football and pursue his dream. Troy sees...

It is possible to view Rose as a long-suffering wife who, as the previous educator mentioned, is a complementary and "countervailing force to Troy's own sense of destruction." It is also possible...

Troy Maxson's relationships with both of his sons can be characterized with complexity and antagonism. Troy Maxson is portrayed as a bitter man who resents the fact that he was not given the...

Though Troy does not admit it directly, it becomes clear, through his recollections, that he is repeating the mistakes of his father. These mistakes are a lack of compassion for his son, Cory, and...

Bono and Troy's friendship serves as a type of juxtaposition technique in Wilson's play. Bono in some ways is Troy's foil. Where Troy is charismatic, Bono is mild-mannered. We see this in the...

There’s already a lot of answers to this question that have been posted, so I’m going to try to focus on a few different ideas about the symbolic nature of fences in Fences. The protagonist of...

One of the most important characteristics of the relationship between Troy and his son Cory is that they are effectively repeating history (and, ultimately, breaking the cycle of history). As a...

The meaning of Gabriel's dancing and his line "That's the way that go!" at the end of the play Fences is a celebration of Troy entering the gates of heaven. Wilson writes this about Gabriel's...

Troy Maxson, a former baseball player in the Negro Leagues, compares much of life to a game of baseball. In baseball, players get three chances, and Troy often feels cheated because he has not...

Women are the glue that hold people together in Fences. Rose, Troy's wife, is the central force keeping her family together, while her husband tries to cut people off from him. For example, Rose...

Troy Maxon is not a good man, but that doesn't mean that those around him can't love or forgive him. Troy takes advantage of people throughout his life. Not only does he commit murder, he doesn't...

Lyons’s response to his father shows the reader that Lyons prioritizes his passions and desire to enjoy life over his need to make money. Lyons is a musician, and making music is not a lucrative...

Though the primary father-son relationship is between Troy and Cory—a relationship whose contention is borne from their similar dream, as well as Troy's transference of his fears and envy onto...

Rose’s statement introduces a notion that is evident in all of the play’s events. For example, consider how Troy struggles to understand that his sons' experiences with society will be different...

Lena Younger in Raisin in the Sun is in many ways similar to Troy Maxson in Fences. They are both middle-aged, African American people who head their families and who come from families with a...

The play Fences is set in the 1950s and presents themes regarding the African American experience during this time in American history. Music has always played an important role in the African...

In Fences, Troy is being undone by the responsibilities he faces. He has to support his family as a garbage man, and he is frightened of many things. He worries about his sons, as one wants to be a...

I think that Bono's function in the play is a hopeful one. His purpose is to show that there can be redemption within the psyche of individuals no matter how difficult external conditions may be....

Additionally, I would say that baseball symbolizes the American Dream. In American culture, baseball is known as something that is quintessentially American (although it now has significant appeal...

Troy's refusal to support Cory's scholarship and the pursuit of his dream of playing football stems from Troy's own experiences and his belief about the father/ son relationship. Troy's background...

Troy Maxson is depicted as a conflicted, selfish man who is still bitter about not playing baseball in the Majors because of racial discrimination. Even though Troy is fifty-three years old, he has...

Bono is a foil to Troy, meaning that he provides a contrast to Troy's negative qualities and is the voice of conscience. Bono possesses the qualities that Troy does not. Bono is, for example, a...

In these two scenes, the relationship between Troy and Rose is strained, to say the least. At the beginning of scene 2, Troy and Rose have not been on speaking terms for months. This is due to Troy...

There is an interesting part of August Wilson's description of the setting in which his play Fences takes place: "The yard is a small dirt yard, partially fenced, except for the last scene,...

I think that Alberta wields influence over Troy and Rose, and is more representative of what Bono would call “the walking blues” to the other characters. She is the other woman for Troy, and...

The play seems to marginalise women to some extent. Rose is the only major female character, and much of the time she takes second place to the main action involving her husband Troy and other male...

The first step to creating an argumentative essay is forming a thesis statement. If your aim is to discuss the most present conflict in the play, you could arguably either talk about Troy's...

The limits to achieving the American dream for working-class African Americans are represented best by Troy Maxson. Troy had once been optimistic about his future, with a dream of playing baseball,...

This is a really interesting question! Some might say that Troy doesn't deserve to go to Heaven. He commits adultery and he lies. I think when looking at Troy's character, it's important to...

Masculinity is one of the metaphorical "fences" in the play. Troy, particularly, but also Cory, Lyons, and Gabriel struggle with, and are limited by, notions of masculinity which often have nothing...

If the question is related to Wilson's play, the choice of symbol is a powerful one. Troy's entire existence is generated by fences. Troy's building of the fence in the backyard is designed to...

Rose is the character that goes goes through the most dramatic change in August Wilson's play entitled Fences. The first change is when Rose is told by Troy, her husband of eighteen years, that he...

I think that one of the most profound lessons that Cory learns at the end of the drama is to not be like his father. The father/ son relationship is a powerful one in that its negative elements...