Fellow AgTHAR 20126 April 2019Fences: World Theatre Assignment Becoming a strong and capable man is a father’s dream for his son. In the drama, Fences, by August Wilson, the expectations of manhood are strongly varied through the confrontational relationship between father, Troy, and his son, Cory. Troy struggles with gaining respect from hisson because of his harsh expectations and quick judgement of what a strong black man should become and represent. The story is set in the 1950’s. During this time period, racism was at an all-time high, especially with integration still being fairly new. “The 1950s was an era of great conflict and black segregation was at its utmost”. There were many firsts for African Americans during this time period. African Americans began standing up for their rights and freedoms in which laws were set to prohibit segregation. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was the group who ultimately struck down segregation. In the early 1950’s, the NAACP brought many lawsuits against various school districts. Most of the lawsuits began whenAfrican American students were denied access to White schools. The major lawsuit, Brown v. Board of Education, was the crucial turning point. The U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The Supreme Court case finally banned segregation in all public schools in the United States. As a young man, the protagonist, Troy, was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues but never got a chance to play in the Major Leagues. He became too old just as the Major Leagues werebeginning to accept black men on their teams. His son, Cory, has the opportunity to play football and have a career as an athlete, but Troy does not want him to play ball, but instead learn a trade. In this time period, Jackie Robinson was the first African American to set foot on a Major League Baseball Field. “When Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, more than sixty years of racial segregation in major-league baseball came to an end.” Robinson broke sixty years of racial segregation in major-league baseball when he started for theBrooklyn Dodgers. Robinson became the first African American to win the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, and was the first player in the history of baseball to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The early 1950’s not only changed in the aspect of schools and education, but also in athletic sporting events. As we know from history, black men who participated in sports were very proud of their accomplishments but also encountered countless forms of racism. The white community was not as accepting of a blended team as some would have hoped. Black athletes faced offending crowds, unaccepting towns where games were held, and their own teammates would purposefully make each day a struggle. Troy carries with him this pain, heartache, defeat, and brokenness throughout his life. Therefore, he projects this onto his son anddoes not want him to pursue a dream as an athlete. He wants his son, Cory, to learn a trade and take care of his family first. The major conflict in Fences is when Cory rebels against his father. The tension rises throughout their relationship and spills over into all aspects of Troy’s life. He wants to be seen asa man who takes care of his family, has a loving wife, works to earn a respectable job, yet he fails at keeping his family unit together. Father and son physically fight on multiple occasions and words are said that will scar for life. The turning point in the drama is when Troy goes up to the school to tell the coaches that Cory will not be playing football ever again. This is what reallybreaks the bond between father and son. Troy does not want Cory to end up like him, but instead wants him to learn something he can use for the rest of his life. The 1950’s was a hard time to be an African American. In Troy’s mind, an African American was useless if they didn’t have a certain skill. He wanted his son to have a steady job so that he didn’t have to worry about puttingfood on the table for his family. All in all, Troy was wanting the best for Cory, but he decided to take matters in his own hands which killed his relationship with his son. Throughout the drama, Troy continues playing the role of a strong man that cares for his family financially but is unable to support his son or wife emotionally. In the 1950’s jobs for African Americans were very limited. Troy begins as a trashman, but as time moves on, he becomes the first African American to drive the truck. African Americans were lucky if they evenhad a paying job in this time period. African Americans were generally excluded from higher paying jobs, and the women had even less job opportunities than them. As white males ran most businesses at this time, the whites still had the power to hire who they wanted. The white males had advantages in both businesses and government, and usually only hired blacks for low-level, manual labor jobs. In Fences, Troy rebels against his employer and protests limitations of black workers. This was a huge leap of faith because of how easily he could have gotten fired. However, the employer listens to Troy and allows him to start driving the truck and increases his pay. The common theme throughout the play is death. Troy narrowly escaped death once as a boy and feels that death constantly taunts him. He fears that death is coming his way because of his guilty feelings and his inability to soften his heart and truly love. Baseball being the one thing that truly gives Troy confidence becomes the verbal outlet and piece of imagery used with this character. The first time his son defies him, he tells him that is strike one. Strike two comes whenCory and Troy fight after Cory witnesses him grabbing his mother’s arm. The two had been in anargument after Rose, the mom, realizes her husband had stepped out of the marriage. When Corycame to the rescue of his mother, Troy declared this dishonoring moment strike two against his son. Troy constantly uses baseball metaphors and imagery throughout the play. He raises a bat to the sky in anger and anguish and yells at death not to come. Many times, he comes to a place in his life that is dark, the guilt takes over, and Troy feels defeated. These are the times that Troy believes death is approaching. The protagonist finally meets death face
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