Question

What does the title Fences have to do with the characters and themes in the play? What literal and figurative “fences” do the characters, especially Troy Maxson, face? Why is the literal fence around the house such a source of conflict? What other “fences,” not just the literal one made of wood, might be drawn around the lives of the main characters?

Answer 1

• On the surface, it seems pretty obvious where the play's title comes from, Troy and Cory spend a lot of time building a fence. Over the course of the play, we see the fence gradually reach completion. Of course, this fence is much more than just a fence – it's a complex symbol that pretty much sums up the whole play.
• The significance of a fence in this play is that it serves a dual purpose -it keeps people in and it also keeps them out, both literally and figuratively.The most obvious fence is the literal fence that is being built throughout the play. A physical fence implies ownership.Fences are, obviously, barriers,obstacles to be respected or to be overcome. They not only present physical barriers, but psychological ones as well.
• August Wilson did not name his play, Fences, simply because the dramatic action depends strongly on the building of a fence in the Maxson's backyard. Rather, the characters lives change around the fence-building project which serves as both a literal and a figurative device, representing the relationships that bond and break in the arena of the backyard.
• The fence can also be seen as symbolic of the things Troy wants to keep out, the things he separates himself from.Troy clearly establishes the fence as a dividing line between him and his son – an actual, physical barrier that separates them. By winning the climactic fight with Cory, Troy establishes that he's still the alpha male.
• The fence now marks the boundaries of Troy's territory; he is still the king of the castle, and his son is no longer welcome within its walls. While the fence is now a literal barrier between the two, you can also see it as representing the emotional barrier that Troy places between them.
• The fence also becomes symbolic of the barrier that Troy tries to put between himself and Death. Troy realizes that he'll eventually lose his battle with Death. But here we see that the fence has come to symbolize to Troy the fact that he's not going down without a fight. Troy declares that he'll resist death up until his last breath. In a lot of ways, Troy's struggle with Death humanizes him. When Troy completes the construction of the fence after this declaration, you could see it as his trying to protect himself and the rest of his family.
• While Troy is constantly trying to keep things out, his wife, Rose, is trying to keep things in. The fence actually comes to symbolize this difference between the two characters.
• It seems like the fence becomes a symbol here of the difference between Rose and Troy's personalities. Because of his combative nature, Troy assumes the fence is meant to keep something out. It takes Bono to make Troy see that a fence can have the opposite effect. It's possible that Rose asked Troy and Cory to build the fence as attempt to help the two to bond.
• She feels the distance growing between them and is trying to keep her family together. Rose may instinctually feel that her family is disintegrating, and the fence is her way of trying to symbolically hold it together.
• Lastly, the fence could be seen as symbolizing all the barriers that our protagonist, Troy, has had to face in his life. First it was his cruel and abusive father. Then it was poverty and homelessness. Next it was the racism that kept him from the professional baseball career that he rightly deserved.
• The tragedy of the play is that Troy lets his history of being confronted with barriers separate him from his friends and family. In the end, though, the biggest fence of all opens for Troy. This occurs in the play's final moments, when Gabriel dances a dance that opens the gates of heaven itself. We're left with the feeling that somewhere out there Troy may just have found forgiveness and peace.
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