Fences
By August Wilson
Symbolism,
Imagery &
Allegory
Baseball
Fences is chock full of baseball imagery, which takes on a lot of symbolic meaning. Troy
was robbed of a professional baseball career because of his race. The shadow of this
injustice has weighed on him for years and made him a bitter man.
Troy often thinks about life and death in terms of baseball. He describes Death as "a
fastball on the outside corner" (1.1.82) and claims he could always hit a homerun off this
kind of pitch back in his heyday. Here he uses the idea of baseball to almost taunt Death,
daring it to come for him.
Troy also tries to explain his affair with another woman in baseball terms. He tells his
wife that when he found her and had Cory he felt like he was "safe" (2.1.116). But after
eighteen years of that he saw Alberta and wanted "to steal second" (2.1.118). Rose isn't
too impressed with Troy's metaphors and tells him, "We not talking about baseball! We're
talking about you going off to lay in bed with another woman" (2.1.121).
There are also actual physical representations of baseball on stage: a baseball bat and rag
ball tied to a tree. The fact that the ball is made of rags could be seen as representing
Troy's poverty and his tattered dreams. It also shows that after all these years Troy is still
trying to hold onto his glory days.
The baseball bat is especially important in the climactic scene between Cory and Troy,
becoming a weapon the two threaten each other with. It seems pretty symbolic that Cory
and Troy fight each other with a bat, since Troy's inability to play baseball due to racism
is what motivated him to sabotage his son's sports career. Now the two do battle with a
symbolic representation of this dream deferred.
Raynell's Garden
In the final scene of the play, a seven-year-old Raynell runs out in her nightgown to see if
her garden has grown. It hasn't. Of course, this isn't much of a surprise, since the girl just
planted it the day before. Rose assures her, "You just have to give it a chance. It'll grow"
(2.5.12). We're guessing this literal garden might just have some symbolic meaning.
For one thing, Raynell runs out to check her garden on the day of her father's funeral.
Perhaps the garden represents the promise of new life in the face of death. Raynell herself
is the flower that has sprung from Troy's seeds.
We can't help but notice that Raynell is looking at the garden just when another of Troy's
offspring, Cory, enters. Cory is struggling desperately to escape the shadow of his father.
Later in the scene, Cory's interaction with Raynell helps him come to terms with his
father's memory. You could see Raynell's garden as representing the possibility that Cory
will grow beyond the shadow of his father.
Fences
The fence that Troy and Cory build around the yard has all kinds of symbolic meanings.
Check out "What's up with the Title?" for a thorough discussion of these..
Setting:
The play is set in the dirt yard of the Maxson house. We're told that it's a two-story brick
house, set off a back alley. Two junky chairs sit on a porch that's in bad need of a paint
job. All this seems to communicate that the Maxsons aren't exactly the richest folks. The
set reminds us that money is a constant concern for Troy and his family. They're getting
by on Troy's garbage collector salary, but just barely.
Though we never actually hear the word "Pittsburgh," the play is definitely set there.
Pittsburgh was August Wilson's hometown, and almost all of the plays in his ten-play
cycle take place there. The play also directly mentions many Pittsburgh landmarks, like
the Strip District, a popular market area.
The setting of Pittsburgh seems to be particularly important because of what it and other
Northern industrial cities represented for many black people. In the decades following the
Civil War, many African Americans migrated north to escape the poverty and racial
discrimination of the South. They hoped to find work in the factories, but were often
disappointed. Troy discusses not being able to find work when he first came to
Pittsburgh. He ended up living in a shack and resorted to crime to survive. In some ways,
Pittsburgh represents promise and promises broken.
The play's time period, the 1950s, is also important to think about. Some progress had
been made in terms of race relations since Troy was younger. Probably the most
significant bit of progress to the play is that pro sports teams had begun to be integrated.
Of course, this seems to only piss Troy off more, because it rubs the racial discrimination
he experienced as baseball player in his face.
It's important to note that even though progress had been made by this point in American
history, there was still a long way to go. Keep in mind that this was before the days of the
Civil Rights Movement. The South was still officially segregated, and in the North many
African Americans faced unofficial racial barriers. The racial tensions of the time
definitely fuel the conflicts of the play.
Tone:
Heightened, Everyday, Universal
August Wilson's voice is a unique blend of African-American dialect and heightened
poetry. The tone of Fences and the other plays manages to be incredibly approachable
and lofty at the same time. Wilson's characters are somehow bigger than themselves.
They seem to represent not just themselves, but all African Americans, and all people.
Themes:
*Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
1) Theme of Race
Most of Fences is set in the 1950s. There had been some progress made on race relations
by this time, such as the integration of pro sports teams. However, on a whole, America
had a really long way to go. Slavery has been gone from America for over seventy years,
but its shadow still presses down on the country. All the characters in the play are African
American, and they must deal with racism everyday. The South is still officially
segregated and much of the North is unofficially. Keep in mind that the play takes place
before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Fences shows what it was like in the
decade before the movement caused such radical change in America. Some of the
characters seem to sense that progress is in the air, while others are still trapped in
America's troubled past.
2) Theme of Men & Masculinity
Fences is often thought of as a father-son play. The main conflict centers around the
tension between Troy Maxson and his son Cory. The play shows how Troy in many ways
repeats the mistakes of his own father while raising Cory. By the end, we're left with the
hope that Cory will be able to break the cycle. Fences also questions what it is to be a
man. Throughout the play we are forced to ask what it takes to be a good man. Is it duty
to your family? Is it following your heart? Check out "Quotes" and see what you take
from the play.
3) Theme of Mortality
Though there are only two actual deaths in Fences, mortality is a constant theme. Troy
Maxson kicks it off by telling a story where he literally wrestled with Death and won. We
get several monologues throughout the play where he taunts Death, almost daring Him to
try and take him again. In the end, Death does take Troy, but we're left with the
impression that Troy doesn't go down without a fight. Fences seems to view human
mortality as both a dark inevitability and our ultimate chance for peace. When the gates
of heaven open for Troy at the end of the play, we're left with the impression that he's
found rest in the afterlife.
4) Theme of Dreams, Hopes & Plans
Troy Maxson, the protagonist of Fences, has had his dreams taken from him. He wanted
more than anything to be a pro baseball player, but his career was stopped because of
racial discrimination. The central conflict of Fences centers around Troy's refusal to let
his son Cory play football, which destroys Cory's chances of going to college. In this
way, Fences explores how the damaged dreams of one generation can damage the dreams
of the next. By the end of the play, Cory must find a way to form new dreams out the
ashes of the ones he's lost.
5) Theme of Family
Revolving around the trials and tribulations of the Maxson family, Fences is a great
example of a family drama. We watch Troy struggle to fulfill his role as father to his son
and husband to his wife. You could say that Troy doesn't do such a great job in either
role; before his death, his family has all but disintegrated due of his failures. However, by
the end of the play, we see that the family has also grown by his example. Fences depicts
the complex dynamics that both tear families apart and hold them together.
6) Theme of Betrayel
Fences explores many different types of betrayal. Troy Maxson manages to betray just
about everyone in his life: his son, his wife, his brother, and his best friend. Pretty much
every character in the play is betrayed by Troy in some way. Of course, the play does go
deeper than that. Though many of the characters are hurt by Troy's actions, the final
scene shows that they also have respect for him. Perhaps they see that, in some ways,
Troy never betrayed them in his heart. Troy never apologizes for anything he does in the
play. It could be that this is why the other characters respect him by the end. Though they
were all disappointed by the things he did, Troy always did what he thought was right.
You could say then that Troy never once betrayed himself.
7) Theme of Duty
There's lots of discussion about duty in Fences. Most of this involves the duty of a father
to his family. Troy Maxson, the play's protagonist, seems to think that a father's only real
duty is to provide food and shelter. He doesn't think it's important for a father to show
love to his son, and he doesn't feel his duties to his wife include fidelity. Troy has an
affair, but doesn't believe it's necessarily wrong. He's provided for his wife and loves her,
but his love now includes someone else. Though Troy fulfills his own idea of his duties
to his family, others may question this. What do you think? What does a father and
husband owe his family? What is he required to give?
8) Theme of Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction causes lots of trouble in Fences. The play's protagonist, Troy Maxson, is
dissatisfied with his life. He's unhappy that his pro baseball dreams were stopped by
racial discrimination. He feels trapped and unfulfilled in his job as a garbage collector.
His son constantly disappoints him by not seeing the value of work. And even though he
loves his wife, Troy finds a new love in another woman's arms. Fences explores how
dissatisfaction can lead to behavior that destroys a person's life and the lives of those
around them.
Major Characters:
Troy Maxson - The protagonist of Fences, a fifty-three year-old, African American
man who works for the sanitation department, lifting garbage into trucks. Troy is also a
former baseball star in the Negro Leagues. Troy's athletic ability diminished before the
Major Leagues accepted blacks. Hard-working, strong and prone to telling compelling,
fanciful stories and twisting the truth, Troy is the family breadwinner and plays the
dominant role in his over thirty-year friendship with fellow sanitation worker, Jim Bono.
Troy's character is the centerpiece that all of the other relationships in Fences gather
around. Troy is husband to Rose, father to Lyons, Cory, and Raynell, and brother to
Gabriel. Troy is a tragic-hero who has excessive pride for his breadwinning role. Troy's
years of hard-work for only meager progress depress him. Troy often fails to provide the
love and support that would mean the most to his loved ones.
Cory Maxson - The teenage son of Troy and Rose Maxson. A senior in high school,
Cory gets good grades and college recruiters are coming to see him play football. Cory is
a respectful son, compassionate nephew to his disabled Uncle Gabriel, and generally, a
giving and enthusiastic person. An ambitious young man who has the talent and
determination to realize his dreams, Cory comes of age during the course of the play
when he challenges and confronts Troy and leaves home. Cory comes home from the
Marines in the final scene of the play, attempting to defy Troy by refusing to go to his
funeral, but Cory changes his mind after sharing memories of his father with Rose and
Raynell.
Rose Maxson - Troy's wife and mother of his second child, Cory. Rose is a forty-three
year-old African American housewife who volunteers at her church regularly and loves
her family. Rose's request that Troy and Cory build a fence in their small, dirt backyard
comes to represent her desire to keep her loved-ones close to her love. Unlike Troy, Rose
is a realist, not a romantic longing for the by- gone days of yore. She has high hopes for
her son, Cory and sides with him in his wish to play football. Rose's acceptance of Troy's
illegitimate daughter, Raynell, as her own child, exemplifies her compassion.
Gabriel Maxson - Troy's brother. Gabriel was a soldier in the Second World War,
during which he received a head injury that required a metal plate to be surgically
implanted into his head. Because of the physical damage and his service, Gabriel receives
checks from the government that Troy used in part to buy the Maxson's home where the
play takes place. Gabriel wanders around the Maxson family's neighborhood carrying a
basket and singing. He often thinks he is not a person, but the angel Gabriel who opens
the gates of heaven with his trumpet for Saint Peter on Judgment Day. Gabriel exudes a
child-like exuberance and a need to please.
Jim Bono - Troy's best friend of over thirty years. Jim Bono is usually called "Bono" or
"Mr. Bono" by the characters in Fences. Bono and Troy met in jail, where Troy learned
to play baseball. Troy is a role model to Bono. Bono is the only character in Fences who
remembers, first-hand, Troy's glory days of hitting homeruns in the Negro Leagues. Less
controversial than Troy, Bono admires Troy's leadership and responsibility at work. Bono
spends every Friday after work drinking beers and telling stories with Troy in the Maxson
family's backyard. He is married to a woman named Lucille, who is friends with Rose.
Bono is a devoted husband and friend. Bono's concern for Troy's marriage takes
precedent over his loyalty to their friendship.
Lyons Maxson - Troy's son, fathered before Troy's time in jail with a woman Troy met
before Troy became a baseball player and before he met Rose. Lyons is an ambitious and
talented jazz musician. He grew up without Troy for much of his childhood because Troy
was in prison. Lyons, like most musicians, has a hard time making a living. For income,
Lyons mostly depends on his girlfriend, Bonnie whom we never see on stage. Lyons does
not live with Troy, Rose and Cory, but comes by the Maxson house frequently on Troy's
payday to ask for money. Lyons, like Rose, plays the numbers, or local lottery. Their
activity in the numbers game represents Rose and Lyons' belief in gambling for a better
future. Lyons' jazz playing appears to Troy as an unconventional and foolish occupation.
Troy calls jazz, "Chinese music," because he perceives the music as foreign and
impractical. Lyons' humanity and belief in himself garners respect from others.
Raynell Maxson - Troy's illegitimate child, mothered by Alberta, his lover. August
Wilson introduces Raynell to the play as an infant. Her innocent need for care and
support convinces Rose to take Troy back into the house. Later, Raynell plants seeds in
the once barren dirt yard. Raynell is the only Maxson child that will live with few scars
from Troy and is emblematic of new hope for the future and the positive values parents
and older generations pass on to their young.
Alberta - Troy's buxom lover from Tallahassee and Raynell's mother. Alberta dies while
giving birth. She symbolizes the exotic dream of Troy's to escape his real life problems
and live in an illusion with no time.
Bonnie - Lyons' girlfriend who works in the laundry at Mercy Hospital.
Mr. Stawicki - Cory's boss at the A&P.
Coach Zellman - Cory's high school football coach who encourages recruiters to come
to see Cory play football.
Mr. Rand - Bono and Troy's boss at the Sanitation Department who doubted that Troy
would win his discrimination case.
Miss Pearl - Gabe's landlady at his new apartment.