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Essay Subject: Discusses the August Wilson play set in the 1950s.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses the August Wilson play set in the 1950s. Conflict between father Troy and his son Cory. Troy's relationship with his family; his sense of responsibility. His bitterness over past and present racial discrimination, including being kept out of the all white major baseball leagues. The different symbolism of the fence to Troy and to Cory. Paper Introduction: FENCES One often wonders whether fences were built to keep people out or to keep them in. August Wilson’s play shows us both sides of that old adage. Troy has just finished serving fifteen years in prison and now has an honest job. Upon returning to his life, however, he wants to rule the lives of his wife, Rose, who is more than willing, his injured brother, Gabriel, who doesn’t understand the world’s realities any more, and his son, Cory, who dreams of going to college and playing football, but whose dreams are shattered by his father’s different dreams for him. It would be easy to say that Troy destroyed his family, and, eventually himself. Wilson searches far deeper for the reasons Troy does and says what he does. It is the 1950s, and slowly things are changing for American’s blacks. Yet, the change comes too late for Tro Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. 1 ). What are we to read into the "adoption" of Troy's illegitimatedaughter by Rose? That's why I don't want you toget all tied up in them sports" (p. There are not many facets to this, oneseems merely to want to go over some of the ones that made the greatestimpression. More like trying to keep him from suffering the hurt andindignity of being "colored" in a white man's world. Trying to hold his son back fromhis dream? W. It is the 195 s, and slowly things are changing forAmerican's blacks. Even in thisdream, even as he realizes that Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron and WesCovington were symbols, and that there were better players. AsLloyd Richards writes in the play's introduction "Fences encompasses the195 s and a black family trying to put down roots in the slag slipperyhills of a middle American urban industrial city that one might correctlymistake for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" (p. Then there is Troy the dreamer -- the man with the imagination that hecould have been a baseball star if only the major leagues had not beensegregated. Perhaps Wilson's focus was narrowing in on the way a black mansaw himself, rather than a white man's point of view. One needs to look at the supporting cast. For instance, Gabriel, thebadly wounded younger brother is a symbol of the fact that, despite beingtreated as second class citizens, the Blacks fought for their country inthe War. Fences. At the same time, Troy's aim with his son is for him to be different.Perhaps better. The Fifties were not an easy time for Blacks, North and South. No matter how hard he tried to involve his son in this fence-building chore on a Saturday morning, the more the fence was an illusionfor Cory. Onewonders, what would have happened to Troy, had he lived and worked inAlabama, rather than Pennsylvania? Then, when they were badly wounded, were again treated as second-class citizens when it came to payment. References Lerner, M. (1956). He died peacefully, if not at peace.Yet, like so many black men of his era, he left a life unfinished: a wifewho could not forgive his infidelity. Is it any wonder, then, that Troy wants his son tobe better and different? "The jazzman may be on an adolescent seesaw where, when he feelstoo dependent or too independent, the result may be self-destructive"(Stearns, 1956, p. New York: OxfordUniversity PressWilson, A. Yet, the change comes too late for Troy, although hemakes every attempt to stand up for racial justice in his own way. He was fighting for control of the nextgeneration. He died quickly. Probably not,but he would have been thinking about it. Stearns, M. America as a Civilization . It was a way of getting out of the poverty of the South formany black men, who endured all kinds of racial problems. . (1957). 37-8). It wouldbe simplistic to say that the reason Troy won't sign those papers for hisson to be recruited, and perhaps, go on to college, is -- as he explainsit: The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football no way. What is the purpose ofTroy's relationship with his family? "Hell, I knowsome teams Jackie Robinson couldn't even make" (p. New York: Simon &Schuster. His native South is beginning to reverberatewith Civil Rights demonstrations, which one day will affect Pittsburgh. You understand that? . Hisefforts, though failures for the most part, were still efforts. "The colored guy got tobe twice as good before he get on the team. .It's my job.It's my responsibility. Would he have dared complain aboutracial prejudice to his boss at the garbage dump? Would he have sent Cory to pass the gauntlet ofNational Guardsmen in order to go to an integrated school? It would seem,surely, that in the neighborhood bars (including the raided one) therewould have been some discussion about politics. There is Troy the loving husband, who tells Rose over and over again,especially in front of friends, how much he physically wants her. No real mention of politics or civil service orunions, except in a couple of "throwaway lines". It would be easy to say that Troy destroyed his family, and,eventually himself. What law is there say I got to like you? Is there something symbolic about the way Troy died, holding that batwith which his son had threatened him years earlier? A Man got to take care of hisfamily" (pp. Yet, sheobviously had to be a reminder of Troy's "black infidelity". To the casual reader or viewer of the play, this is the point at whichit might appear that Troy doesn't want his son to get ahead. Surely, when Troy "knew" hewould not be fired after his meeting at the Commissioner's office, therewould have been a sentence or two about how the Commissioner and Troy'sboss got their jobs. 517). His self-destructiveness ends him in the work-house for a three-year term. There is surely a heart-breaking point in the play whenTroy, trying to defend his dominance, tells his son "Who the hell says Igot to like you? It is anger and it is frustration. Perhaps not as frustrated. Yet, at one point, he admitshe can't read. For one thing, Troy is trying hard to be the stable family man, tryingto keep his eyes and hands (and other body parts) off women not his wife.He is trying to be a masculine and dominant force in a black family. "It is this power which revived the movementfor federal civil rights legislation, and in turn caused the urban Negro tobe wooed by both major parties" (Lerner, 1957, p. 39). As hesaw from his own father, this is something that causes women to either runoff, or for men never to stay around (Bono tells us about the father henever saw or knew). Did he ever play baseball? Lyons is dependent on the ten dollar loans (whichhe repays from his live-in girl friend's pay check). (1986). New York: Plume Books A son who joined the Marines becausehis father would not let him work on his college dreams. If anything, we can learn that Troy tried his best toprevent his family from being what today we consider "dysfunctional". 34). He lies about paying tendollars a month to "the devil" for furniture he bought earlier. Cory himselfsays as much later on, "You ain't never done nothin' but hold me back.Afraid I was gonna be better than you" (p 86). Hewants to be that good neighbor who nevertheless wants to build that fence. At whom is the frustration aimed?Given his lack of education, and his 15-year prison record, what sort ofjob with dignity could he have expected? You go on and get your book learning so you can work yourself up in the A & P, or learn how to fix cars or build houses or something, get you a trade. When he gets the promotion to truck driver, it turns out hehas no driver's license. Finally, there is Troy, who awakens to the unfairness of his job --his asking why no blacks are driving trucks, and taking that question tothe Commissioner's office. I want him to move as faraway from my life as he can get" (p. Lyons, the eldest son, is supposedly a jazz musician. Would Troy have done, as Rosa Parks did, and refuse to move to theback of the Montgomery bus? Food on the table, and not leavings, either. He boastsabout his "fight" with death when he was sick. The History of Jazz . There isa bond between the two. As Max Lerner (1957) pointsout that the migration of the Negro to the North had given them a sort ofbalance of political power. Within that pipedream is reality. Upon returning to his life, however, he wants to rule the livesof his wife, Rose, who is more than willing, his injured brother, Gabriel,who doesn't understand the world's realities any more, and his son, Cory,who dreams of going to college and playing football, but whose dreams areshattered by his father's different dreams for him. Perhaps what thereader needs to become aware of is that there is no reason to mourn for anuntimely passing. A roof that needs new tarpaper for $264, that he will drive agarbage truck to pay for. 3 ). FENCES One often wonders whether fences were built to keep people out or tokeep them in. Would he have been ableto afford a nice home, and spend carefree payday evenings drinking -- justenough? An older son, released fromjail for the funeral. That way you have something nobody can take away from you (Wilson, 1986, p.35). When his wife admonishes himabout Cory's, "just tryin' to be like you" (p 39) Troy follows with anangry outburst, "I don't want him to be like me. It strikes hard at Cory's dreams. Knowing that he andother blacks at the garbage dump got no respect, Troy demanded a "SIR" fromhis teen-age son. Man of the house -- that is one of the images Troywants to give friends, neighbors and his own family. From a strictly historical perspective we have a Troy caught in themiddle of momentous change. Then there is Troy the trustee for his shattered brother, whosegovernment money paid for the house. A house bought andpaid for. Yet, there is not a trace of politics in this play, as if Troy andRose were vacuums when it came to even discussing who was running thecountry -- or Pittsburgh -- for that matter. Wilson searches far deeper for the reasons Troy doesand says what he does. This, too, wasan escape from reality for many younger black men who had some musicalaptitude. That all his strength was in permission or denial ofevents within his own household. Probably not, but Bono, for onehumors him. August Wilson's play shows us both sides of that old adage.Troy has just finished serving fifteen years in prison and now has anhonest job. A disabled brotherwho was signed into an institution by Troy. In this speech, where he alsotells Rose that she is the only good thing that ever happened to him, andthat he wants that for Cory, we can see the hidden anger in the 195 s blackman. Perhaps what Wilson was trying to show was that Troy's commitment laywithin his fences. The dignity that Troy aspires to comes out from time to time as in hisboasting that the house is bought and paid for. The little girl is certainly symbolic of all the out-of-wedlock children, only a few of whom end up in a loving home. vii). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.