Fences by August Wilson: a number of perspectives - Essay Example

There is a growing divide among the older generation of the African Americans and the newer generation of them. The older generation like Troy is skeptical about the prospects in America, while the newer generation views it as the land of opportunities. The fence works on a number of parameters, which tend to define the meaning of this play. The fence serves as the dividing line between the different elements of the society, with the division being present among the inner part of the fence which is the home to the most of the developed society, while the outer sections of the fence deals with the emerging capitalism that is rampant in the American society.

The “fence”, which is an integral part of the play and the overall performance of the characters, is used in a very significant manner by the author. This is representative of the social and the economic space, but also of the psychological space on a wider basis. This gap is very big in terms of the relationship that Tory enjoys with the family (his wife and kid). Even at one point of time, the character explains to one of his very close friends that everyone wants money out of him. All the relationships in the world that are built by him are dependent on the amount of money generated by him.

There is a lot of moving imagery in the play, one that takes the audience into the emotional turmoil being faced by all the constituents. Troy has problem of having a fence that is not repaired, while he pleads with Rose to take the baby and take the child in. The image of the fence in the spatial manner is seen a, along with the impact of the state of the fence. This forms the crux of the psychological position of the Marxson, mainly of Tory; who is seen as an integral part of this turmoil.

The character has been shown to fight against the number of injustices being meted out and the problems that are part of this community. This is one of the fundamental reasons of the psychological tear being shown in the family. Rose tries to bring the father and son together, but the fences built around them are very high. The fence is the denominator for a number of features. It is representative of the isolation of the characters from the outside world. It also explains the narrative in view of the scale of the development that is seen among the race.

The ability to have the fence would mean that there is sense of privacy, the sense of owning a property. These themes are recurrent in the majority of the play. The portrayal of the relationship between Troy and Cory is representative of the gap in the generations. As mentioned in the earlier part of the play, here is an inherent gap between Tory and Cory, which is amplified by the fences. In a way, the building of fences is also representative of the mending of relationships between the father and son, which Rose tries for.

The plot also identifies the frailties of a father; an inner struggle that is faced by Troy. Although, Troy comes across as being a very loving father by nature, this fact struggles under the lack of a more direct approach by him in terms of this