Major Social Issues in Fences by August Wilson - Essay Example

According to Menson-Furr (2008), the difficult circumstances in which Troy grew up are discussed extensively in act one, which subsequently provides a logical context to the relationship between him and his son, Cory. Troy’s father, much like his son, had witnessed a life of misery and lost opportunities. Lack of professional accomplishments led to distressed family life, resulting in Troy spending most of his childhood devoid of the comforting love of a mother. Troy also witnessed horror during his teenage years when his father raped the girl he had been going out with besides beating him mercilessly for small mistakes (Nadel, 2004). Incidents such as these had a lasting effect on Troy, which proved an important factor in forcing him towards a life of crime during his youth.

On the other hand, while Cory had a troubled relationship with his father, he nevertheless had enjoyed the caring love of his mother, Rose. Society had changed by then and new opportunities had opened up. Bryer (2006) says that there were now more avenues for African-Americans to pursue. While Troy could not play professional baseball due to racial discrimination during his era, Cory had the opportunity to participate in the major league. Troy finds it difficult to accept these new trends and bears the stubborn perception of confinement and discrimination. Resulting conflicts between father and son force Cory to leave home in pursuit of his ambitions. Both characters enjoyed little in the form of a fatherly role model as they labored through an abusive and difficult relationship.

Much of the earlier part of the play seems to portray ‘Fences’ as a simple and insignificant title. But as the story unfolds towards a conclusion, the real purpose of the title evolves to symbolize many truths about the story. In the play, the fence is depicted as something that both Troy and Cory have been building for a long time. Bogumil (1999) says that, in reality, the title provides a wholesome insight into the entire plot and the inherent complexities amongst its characters.

One of the primary reasons that the fence takes so long to construct is due to negligence on the part of Troy and his relentless tirades against Cory for not being able to complete it. Troy often mentions going out to meet the Taylors. As the story unfolds, it is evident that this was just a pretext by Troy to maintain an illicit relationship with a woman named Alberta. The neglected state of the fence is a striking symbol of how Troy shunned his responsibilities and neglected his family (Bloom, 2009).

August Wilson also uses the fence to describe Troy’s obsessive nature towards keeping death at bay. His use of the fence as a mental barrier is reflected when he says the following upon learning of Alberta’s death during childbirth (Shannon, 2003): "All right...Mr. Death.... I'm gonna take and build me a fence around this yard. See? I'm gonna build a fence around what belongs to me. And then I want you to stay on the other side. See? You stay over there until you're ready for me.”

While Troy realizes that death is inevitable, he seems unwilling to accept it as a part of life. He seems determined to outsmart death as long as possible and views this struggle as a brave opposition to his lifelong struggles against injustice and oppression (Nadel, 2004). To him, the fence also seems like a reasonable way to secure his family.

The significance of the fence is also reflected when Cory moves out of the family home due to differences with his father. For Troy, the fence symbolizes a boundary between the things he wants to keep and those that he wishes to discard. The fence also projects his dominance as the head of the family and demarcates his realm, from which he can throw out anyone he wishes including his son (Bryer, 2006). Aside from portraying physical significance, the fences also serve as a tool for Troy to separate his emotions.