Fences [Introduction Notes] — 3CPE

August Wilson's childhood

August Wilson was born in 1945 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—a poor area of the city occupied primarily by African Americans, Jewish immigrants, and Italian immigrants. August's father was a Sudeten German immigrant, who was a baker/pastry chef. He was primarily absent from August's life. His mother, Daisy Wilson, was an African-American woman from North Carolina who cleaned homes for a living.

August Wilson's education

In 1960, Wilson dropped out of high school in the 10th grade after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a 20-page paper he wrote on Napoleon I of France. Wilson hid his decision from his mother because he did not want to disappoint her. He educated himself—extensively—by going to the library every day and reading. At the age of 16 he began working menial jobs—listening to the music of the speech of those in his community.

Breaking Cycles [theme]

Much of the conflict in Fences arises because the characters are at odds with the way they see the past and what they want to do with the future. For example, Troy Maxson and his son, Cory see Cory's future differently because of the way they interpret history. Troy's perception of what is right and what is wrong for Cory, based on Troy's refusal to perceive a historical change in the possibilities for African Americans, tragically causes Cory to experience a disappointing fate similar to Troy's. Troy's inner narrative links his family to the difficult life in the south that his generation was free to run away from, though penniless and without roots in the north. Troy purposefully and inadvertently passes on his life experience to his children and family, for better and for worse.

Protection vs. Freedom [theme]

The fence in August Wilson's play serves as a symbol of conflicting desires. In one sense, Troy and Rose seek to build a fence to keep the world out of their lives. Rose's desire for a fence symbolizes the way in which she seeks to protect her family. She knows that Troy's checkered past is always there and that he is, perhaps, only moments away from making decisions that forever affect her and her child. Rose's fence seeks to keep the family in and the dangerous world out. It is a symbol of protection. Though Troy seeks to protect his family and his way of life, the fence also becomes a symbol of discontent in his own life. In his confrontation with Rose, Troy exclaims that he has spent his whole life providing for the family. He has been the protector and defender of a quiet, normal life. The fence, therefore, does not protect Troy but instead keeps him from achieving his ultimate desire for individuality and self actualization.

seeds [motif]

The play employs the motif of seeds, flowers, plants, and related actions like growing, taking root, planting, and gestation. The character Rose has the name of a flower. She is a typical African American 1950's housewife and, as the caretaker of the family and home, she represents loving care and nurturing, attributes also frequently used to grow plants. Like the characteristics of the flower after which she is named, Rose is a beautiful soul who protects her family and herself. Through this motif, the play honors African American women who have done so much of the hard work to keep families and communities going.

What is the setting of the play?

The play is set on the back porch and dirt yard of the Maxson's family home in the Hill District of Pittsburgh during the 1950s.

Troy Maxson [character]

The protagonist of the play, a fifty-three year-old, African American man who works for the sanitation department. He is hard-working, strong and prone to telling compelling, fanciful stories and twisting the truth. Troy is the family breadwinner and never lets anyone forget it.

Cory Maxson [character]

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.

fence [symbol/motif]

There is a literal fence being built throughout the course of the play. It comes to have a few significant meanings. For Rose, it means keeping her family together. For Troy, it means keeping everything that's bad in the world out. But he's also reluctant about building the fence, because it limits him. The imagery of the fence connects to all the barriers that have hurt him all throughout his life: escaping his father, coming from the South to the North with no money, prison walls, the segregation of professional baseball, etc. He spends his life struggling against barriers and limitations. His last name Maxson is intended to echo the name Mason-Dixon—the barrier between the enslaved South and the free North.

What is the premise of the play?

Troy Maxson, a man in his early 50s, is a former star baseball player of the Negro League. His athletic ability diminished before the Major Leagues accepted blacks. At present, he is a garbageman holding onto a lot of bitterness. The play chronicles how this bitterness deteriorates his relationship with his loved ones.

Broken Dreams [theme]

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. The dissatisfaction caused by broken dreams 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.

baseball [motif]

Troy seems to look at everything through the lens of baseball. He uses baseball as a metaphor in discussing his encounters with Death, in his monitoring his relationship with his son, and even in explaining his infidelity. This broken dream haunts every inch of his life.

Gabriel Maxson [character]

Troy's brother. Gabriel was a soldier in the WWII, during which he received a head injury that required a metal plate to be implanted in his head. 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 the angel Gabriel who opens the gates of heaven with his trumpet for Saint Peter on Judgment Day.

Jim Bono [character]

Troy's close friend of over thirty years.

Lyons Maxson [character]

Troy's first son—from a romance he had before he married Rose. Lyons is a struggling musician who wants some support and encouragement from his father.

Raynell Maxson [character]

Troy's third child.

Rose Maxson [character]

Troy's wife and the mother of his second child: Cory. 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.

August Wilson's career

Wilson started out writing poetry and over time turned his attention to writing plays. He lifetime project, which he completed just before his death in 2005, was the Pittsburgh Cycle. This is a series of ten plays documenting African American life in each decade of the the 20th Century. Many of the plays in this cycle are considered among the greatest American plays ever written. Fences and The Piano Lesson won Pulitzer Prizes. Other notable plays in cycle include: Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Two Trains Running.

Fences

Written between 1983 and 1985. It was the third play written in the Pittsburgh Cycle.