FENCES – by August Wilson
Name: ___________________________
Act 1, Scene 1 – “Union Dues”
1.
What type of job do Troy and Bono have? What is their big complaint about the job?
2.
What suspicions does Bono have about Troy? Do you feel these suspicions are justified?
3.
Why doesn’t Troy want his son to play football?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
Every character in every scene must have an objective (something s/he wants), a motivation ( a reason why s/he
wants it), and a tactic or tactics (a way of getting what s/he wants). Actors will either find the answers in the
script, or have to create the answers themselves if they are not found. This helps actors appear to be more real to
the audience. Fill in the following:
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
BONO
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
************************************************************************************
Act 1, Scene 2
“Gamblin’ Blues”
1.
What are Troy’s thoughts on gambling?
2.
Why does Troy respect Pope, the restaurant owner? How does he disrespect him?
3.
Who is Gabe? Briefly relate his story from the war to this scene.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
GABRIEL
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
****************************************************************************************
Act 1, Scene 3
“Do You Love Me?”
1.
What does Troy and Cory’s conversation about money concern? With whose view do you agree?
2.
How are Troy and Cory’s views about race and sports different?
3.
Why do you think Troy doesn’t want Cory to go to college?
4.
Does Troy ‘like’ Cory? Why or why not?
5.
What do you think about Troy’s parenting philosophy?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
CORY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
*********************************************************************************************
ACT 1, SCENE IV
“Back in The Day”
1.
What ‘gain’ does Troy make?
2.
Who is Lyons? What does he want Troy to do?
3.
How does Troy treat Lyons? Why do you think this is so?
4.
What do we learn about Troy’s father? Do you think that relationship influenced Troy’s relationships with
his kids? Explain.
5.
What was Troy’s job when he first met Rose?
6.
What did Troy do that made Cory angry?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
LYONS
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
BONO
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
*******************************************************************************************
Act II Scene I
“Baby Mama Drama”
1.
Who’s Alberta?
2.
Discuss Bono’s statement about Rose’s reasoning for the fence.
3.
Bono compliments Troy on p. 62, then he gets to the heart of the matter. What’s his message, really,
to Troy?
4.
How many years have Rose & Troy been married?
5.
What is the advantage/disadvantage of eliminating the character of Gabriel from this scene?
6.
Is there any indication in the script that Rose had any ideas that Troy had been cheating on her?
What, if so?
7.
What does Rose tell us about her family?
8.
What one line of Rose’s could possibly indicate that she would forgive Troy for being unfaithful under
certain circumstances? What would those circumstances be?
9.
What metaphor does Troy use for his life? Write three comparisons here:
10. Some might say Troy is going through a mid-life crisis. A. Define what you think amid-life crisis is. B.
Do you think this is Troy’s problem, or do you feel it is something else? Explain.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
******************************************************************************************
Act II, Scene II
1.
What happened to Gabe? How?
2.
What happened to Alberta? How?
3.
Who is Troy talking to at the end of the scene?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
“Breathing Room”
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
*********************************************************************************************
Act II, Scene III
1.
“Please Mr. Engineer”
What sacrifice must Troy make to give his daughter a mother? Why?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
*********************************************************************************
ACT II, SCENE IV
1.
Who stops by to see Troy? Why?
2.
Who initiates the argument and why?
“ Get Out My House Boy!”
3.
If Troy were not drinking, do you think he would be reacting in the same way toward his son in this scene?
Explain.
4.
Who really paid for Troy’s house?
5.
Summarize both Troy and Cory’s argument. With whom do you agree? Why?
6.
The title of the play is Fences. Rose wants her husband to build a fence to symbolically keep her family
together. At the end of this scene, how does the fence function?
7.
When Troy says, “I can’t taste nothing no more,” what do you think he’s really saying?
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
TROY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
CORY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
**************************************************************************************
Act II Scene V
1.
Why doesn’t Cory want to go to his father’s funeral?
2.
Why does Cory change his mind?
3.
What does Rose’s speech say about forgiveness? Marriage?
4.
What do you make of ‘Gabriel’s ‘ending? Explain its effectiveness.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Follow the directions from scene 1.
CORY
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
ROSE
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):
“Raynelle”
LYONS
Objective:
Motivation:
Tactic(s):