Essay on August Wilson’s Fences
August Wilson’s Fences describes the boundaries that people have to deal with and the attempts and difficulties of those who try to cross them. All of the characters are fenced in by various barriers. They must deal with restrictions and oppressions of life, racial discrimination, and demanding relationships with each other. These daily situations the characters have to confront make them feel like they are in a confined space with no escape; fenced in. Much of the conflict in Wilson's Fences, happens because when looking at the past, most of the characters have regrets, and the future is vague for them.
Troy has been persecuted all in life because of his skin color, hard time to find a job, His difficult childhood, talented baseball player, time he spent in prison, the life he got now. Even though he is loves his wife and children and has a stable job, he feels he needs something else, wants to escape (Alberta) Cory’s barriers – Troy does not want him to play football because he does not want him to experience the hardship and disappointment Troy felt trying to become a professional baseball player. Troy instead wants Cory to have a stable job that assures him a better future. Cory ends up leaving the house because the restrictions his father was imposing to him were stopping his life. Gabriel’s barriers – It is interesting to notice that perhaps Gabriel has the highest and most inaccessible fence around him; he is the only ones who ignore it. He may be bounded to the eyes of others, but in his mind he is not.