3+Commentary+on+the+play+Fences



The first act of the play introduces Troy Maxson's life. We meet all the main people surrounding Troy. His best friend, Bono, who Troy met while in prison. Now the two work together as garbage collectors and drink every Friday night. Rose, Troy's wife. Lyons, Troy's son from a previous relationship. We also meet Gabriel, Troy's brother, who suffers from a World War II head wound and now thinks he is the archangel Gabriel. Last there's Cory, Troy's son by Rose. August Wilson has all the major conflicts of the play in the first act. Troy is trying to break the racial barrier at work by becoming the first black garbage truck driver. This conflict is quickly resolved as Troy wins his battle. We get strong hints in the first act that Troy is having an affair with a woman named Alberta.

The main conflict of the play involves Troy's son Cory. Cory has the chance to go to college on a football scholarship, but Troy refuses to sign the permission paper. Troy says he doesn't want his son to suffer from the same racial discrimination that kept Troy from being a pro baseball player. This tension comes when Troy tells Cory's high school football coach that Cory can't play football anymore, which destroys Cory's hopes of going to college.

Things start to go really bad for Troy in the play's second act. When Alberta becomes pregnant Troy is forced to tell Rose about his affair. Making matters worse, Alberta dies in childbirth. Rose agrees to raise the baby girl but says she no longer considers herself Troy's woman. Not only does Troy lose his mistress and his wife he also loses his best friend, Bono. Two men no longer hang out. This is partly because ever since Troy got the promotion to driver, the two don't work together anymore. Bono is really disappointed in Troy for having the affair. Troy put Gabriel away in a mental hospital. Rose accuses him of doing this just to get half of Gabriel's disability check.

The play comes to a climax when tensions explode between Troy and Cory and the two go at each other with a baseball bat. Though Troy wins the fight, he loses his son forever. The last scene of the play takes place years later on the day of Troy's funeral. We see Cory return home in a military uniform. He's gone out and made his own way in the world but is still struggling with the shadow of his father. He considers not going to the funeral, but is talked out of it by Rose. We're given hope that Cory is on the path to becoming his own man and forgiving his father when he and young Raynell, Albertas child, sing a song together in honor of Troy.

The play ends when Gabriel returns. He tries to blow his trumpet to open the gates of heaven for Troy. When no sound comes out, he does a dance and chant. In the play's final moment you are told the gates of heaven are wide open.

Fences: SparkNotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 1/9/2012. [].