SECTION B (NON-AFRICAN DRAMA) AUGUST, WILSON: Fences
Comment on the appropriateness of the title, Fences.
Explanation
Theme of racial discrimination and its negative effects on an African-American family in the 1950s. African Americans had to fight white segregation as well as deal with their own internal conflict. So, they are externally fenced off while they also put up their own internal fences. Fence is a structure, like a wall to separate one area from another or to prevent people or animals from entering or leaving its enclosure, The play is about the building of a fence in the Maxsons' backyard. In the final showdown between Troy and Cory, Troy kicks Cory out of the house. The fence becomes the physical barrier that separates father and son. The constant friction between Troy and his son Cory can be seen as an emotional barrier that separates them. Even though the play is about the building of a single fence, the little 'Fences' derives from the fact that there are other fences'. The play's main conflict is between father and son, troy and Cory. There is a metaphorical fence between the two.