Fences, By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Upon finishing the week, on Friday Troy and his friend Bono talk about what they witnessed during the week. While arriving home, Bono brings up the subject of how he knew that Troy was not going to get fired from work. Upon entering Troy comes face to face with his son, Lyon, who is there to give Troy back the money he borrowed from him. After, seeing this Bono and Lyons greet each other and Bono talks about the promotion Troy got at his job.  He states, “ your daddy got a promotion on the rubbish. He gonna be the first colored driver. Ain't got to do nothing but sit up there and read the paper like them white fellows "( Wilson, 1168). In this quote it is clear that a black man getting a promotion is not an everyday thing. This can be observed in the way Bono talks about the incident. The idea of race is seen impacting Troy’s opportunity and type of work. This is seen through the fact that there are societal roles which have been placed upon each race and the type of job he or she is supposed to pursuit. In this case, the author characterizes that the job for whites is to be the drivers, who drive a truck and “read papers”. In comparison, the job for blacks like Troy are labor intensive work, which do not pay a significant amount needed for survival. The author through this quote shows how the topic of race effects Troy day to day life which includes his job. Troy’s race has a major impact on his job, due to the fact that based on his color Troy was not allowed the job of being a driver for a long time. This leads to a lack of funding from Troy to support his family, which in turn leads to conflicts between Troy and other members of the family. This impact race has on Troy’s job also, affected the way Troy feels about himself.  This is due to the fact that when not being able to provide his family's needs, he begins to question his masculinity. In

After World War II, the United States has emerged as the world's number one power in both economic and military. However, the consequence of this strong emergence makes the contradictions internal of the US more painful than ever. These are the gap between rich and poor is increasing in large cities, the discrimination that people of skin color suffer every day, and the inequality gender between male and female in American society. In the 1950s after the war, women still played the traditional role in the life of the family as a housewife. However, it seems that the war brings them a taste of another life and an opportunity that pushed them slowly breaking out to become more independent. Through the main character Rose in the play Fences, a Modern play was written in 1985 by the African-American playwright August Wilson, it is not difficult to recognize the black women’s true images in the 1950s whose were limited in the role of expected being a good wife and mother, trying to become stronger, as well as filling of altruism.

Throughout time there have always been conflicts of morality and injustice. August Wilson wrote this play about issues that were prevalent in the 1950’s but also still are sadly present today. In Fences, there is an abundance of evidence of cultural clashes. In this play these clashes span over racial, generational, and even gender lines and its effects on the characters.

The play, “Fences” by August Wilson describes the life of an African-American family that is por. Troy Maxson, the father of the family, was a baseball player in the

Troy is constantly exposed to racism and attempts to overcome it in everyday life. There are many instances throughout the book of black people, often working very hard to try and get an opportunity to make something of their lives. This opportunity that is searched for is constantly dismissed because of the underlining theme of racism. Troy isn’t one to stand up for himself, but does when he speaks to his boss about inequality in the work area “I went to Mr. Rad and asked him ‘why? Why you got white men’s driving and the colored man lifting?’” (Wilson 19) Troy’s frustration in dealing with racism and inequality everyday reflects his frustrations from being denied a career in baseball. Despite Troy’s efforts to work hard, he along with many others is not given a chance to change the lives of their families. Troy says that he works as hard as possible and receives nothing for it

life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.

In past times, racism and economic injustice headline the many problems that present themselves to society. Some people accept the horrors that appear with the issues while others take actions to change the issues for the better. August Wilson reveals that in his play Fences.” Written in 1957, Wilson’s play portrays an African American family during the time of the civil rights movement who struggle to reach the self-proclaimed American Dream in the United States (Wilson 963-1018). The protagonist, Troy Maxson, is influenced by Wilson’s stepfather, David Bedford (Martin and Downing). During the civil rights movement, African Americans carried few to no rights as an American citizen, presenting controversy to the world of political science and economic power. Wilson also contributes to the theory of Marxism in Fences. Introduced by Karl Marx, Marxist Criticism paints an identical picture of the way society reveals itself in the twentieth century. “Marx’s main interest was in economic power and the ways in which it disguised and manipulated.” (Schakel and Ridl 1455). Wilson incorporates those views into his play Fences. Wilson also reveals his intake on the views of Marxism. “Today I would say that the conflict in black America is between the middle class and the so-called underclass, and that conflict goes back to those who deny themselves and those who aren’t willing to (Lyons 1024).” The author believes that African American struggle contributes to the theory of Marxism.

August Wilson made his audience aware of the issues blacks were going through during that time period. For instance, Wilson shows the struggle Troy has with allowing his son Corey to play sports and get recruited. Troy goes on to say “I decided seventeen years ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports. Not after what they did to me in the sports” (Wilson 1.3.111). Troy is referring to how the whites would not let him play in the major league because of his skin color and he believes they will do the same to Corey. Wilson expresses another theme of color discrimination when Troy talks to Bono about how only whites drive the garbage trucks while the coloreds do the picking. Troy states, “…Why? Why you got the white men driving and the colored lifting? … What’s the matter, don’t I count? You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck…” (Wilson 1.1.10). This was a big problem for many companies in the 1950’s the African Americans played minor roles at the time only whites held the special privilege jobs. Many black men like Troy just wanted a change they wanted equal job opportunities like the white men were getting.

August Wilson’s Fences depicts life in the 1950s for a typical African American family. The play touches upon racism, shifting family dynamics, and the politics of war. While racism plays an important and vital role in the play, instead of lamenting the issue, Wilson uses the characters as a weapon against the rampant racism of the time. In the same fashion, the relationship between Troy, Rose, and Cory demonstrates the shifting cultural and family dynamics of the decade. Likewise, Wilson’s depiction of Gabriel as a wounded veteran who is not fully supported by the government that sent him off to war offers an enlightening commentary on the politics of the era. Wilson uses the

At Pittsburgh’s Halfway Art Gallery he found his audience for poetry, and got to meet some of Pittsburgh’s black literati. In 1981, Wilson submitted Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and it was accepted in the O’Neill Center. It did however, undergo many changes in the summer of 1982, it went on to play at Yale and became the first Broadway play in 1984. His next play that he wrote was Fences. Now Fences is a interesting play to read, because reading the background information I feel as if he was writing this book from his point of view. His dad was not always there, his dad cheated on his mom, his mom raised the kids, and his dad was a worker and then came home and never messed with the kids or played with them. Not so much as he treated the kids like slaves, but in a way you could say he did. Reading the play and then writing this paper has been a wonderful experience. Reading the play gives us some back ground information about what the “1980s” were about. The racism, the abandonment, the shame, the cheating, we see it all in this play. Wilson did a good job at showing us what it was like to be a boy in this time when you wanted to play baseball but could not because you were black, or wanted to go somewhere and you could not because you were black. Some people would think that only “blacks” would like to read something like this because they would “understand” it, but that is not true. Reading Wilson’s

In his essay “The Country Just over the Fence,” Paul Theroux describes his trip to Nogales, Mexico. He begins his essay by illustrating the physical appearance of the wall separating Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. He calls it “an unintentional masterpiece”. Theroux feels the wall is somewhat informal. He discovers that crossing the border into Mexico is not too difficult itself. He marvels over the appearance of the wall and also the underlying call to action it places on a person, “Do you go through, or stay home?” Theroux decided he needed to see for himself. After deciding to cross the border, he met many different people. They told him about the celebrations that used to be held between the two neighboring towns which are now divided by the wall. Theroux also met people who had attempted to cross the border illegally into America only to get sent back to Mexico. On his adventure, Theroux also learned about all the medical tourists who travel to the country for cheaper treatments, specifically dentistry. I am interested in discussing Theroux’s presentation of the his decision to cross the border, the people he met, and the medical tourism Nogales, Mexico draws in.

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

The play Fences by August Wilson centers around the character of Troy, a middle-aged African-American man. Troy struggles to keep his family together, mostly as the result of mistakes he has made as a husband and parent. These mistakes reflect certain personality traits that make up Troy’s complex character, including his obsession with providing financially, his inability to love his family, and his stubborn insistence on others following the paths he decides for them. These character traits can be explained by the social, racial, and economic climate of the time. Fences takes place in late 1950’s Pennsylvania during the beginning of the Civil Rights Era, and Troy’s character is shaped by the disappointments that have come along with racism and economic difficulty, along with not being up to date on the changes happening in the Civil Rights movement. Although Troy and his character traits are responsible for the tragic decisions he has made, it is possible that the social context of the time has shaped him into the person he is.

Alan Nadel argues that the object of the fence in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” symbolizes a great struggle between the literal and figurative definitions of humanity and blackness. The author summarizes the play and uses the character Troy to explain the characterization of black abilities, such as Troy’s baseball talents, as “metaphoric,” which does not enable Troy to play in the white leagues as the period is set during segregation (Nadel 92). The author is trying to use the characters from the play as examples of black people during the segregation years to show how people of that time considered black people not as literal entities and more like figurative caricatures. Stating that these individuals were considered to be in a

Responsibilities can cause people to be a responsible person, but sometimes it could be scary and people might experience more pressure on it. In the play, fences, by August Wilson, the main character Troy has also felt in the same way about the responsibilities. Which cause him to be unable to find or separate between love and responsibility. In this play, it gives the reader the vibe that he is a greedy, responsible, funny, sad, lonely, impotent, and caring person but also an affectless person. All he does is hurt people and their feelings. Is that who he is? Or what’s the reason behind this? What make him to do or be like who he is today?