Fences play by Wilson
‘Fences’ is a play written by African-American written august Wilson in 1985. It is the third of the ten plays that august Wilson wrote on the African American experience a hundred years in the United States. The play has won many awards including the best play in Pulitzer wards for drama and the Tony awards in 1897. The setting of the play is in a small front yard of the household of Maxson in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. The play revolves around a famous baseball player, Troy Maxson, who is depicted as being full of pride and hardworking but very powerless when it comes to fighting for the rights of the blacks. The play features various self-induced fences that bar one through their path. To bring out the experiences of blacks in America, the author of the play used different literary devices. The devices are intermingled together with the themes to enrich the meaning of the story. The title of the play ‘fences’ for instance is a symbol. When deeply explored, it has been used to symbolize events that happen in the play. Literary devices used in the play include symbols/metaphors, similes, personification irony, and dialect.
One of the outstanding literature devices used by august Wilson is symbolism. Symbols/metaphors refer to the use of words not necessarily to depict their conventional meanings but to fit the current situation. The author uses different symbols, including the fence, baseball, trains, garden, rose, and Death in the play to bring out a different meaning. One of the symbols is the ‘fence’. The title ‘fences’ was not necessary based on the fence that was to be built around Maxson’s backyard. The term fence used in the play has a lot of meanings. When rose tells troy that he wants him to build a fence on their property, several definitions of fencing can be drawn from here. Firs could mean the physical fence and also mean that she wants to keep her family safe and free from intrusion. As Bono states, ‘some people build fences to keep other people while others to keep people in’. According to Bono, he was trying to tell troy that rose loved him, and she wanted to protect her family. This meaning is relevant since, at that time, troy had an affair with Alberta, and he was also not getting on well with his son. Bono tells troy that he is pushing away his wife by cheating on her. Troy’s lack of commitment to finish the fence shows his absences of commitment in marriage. The fence seems to be completed at the end of the play when troy dies and Cory come back to unite with his family.
The author also uses baseball to bring out different meaning. Playing baseball gave troy recognition that he would not have gotten if he wasn’t playing. Despite the positive experience, it increased his frustrations when he was denied to continue playing. This shows how African Americans were being denied opportunities while the whites were given chances to advance in their careers. Even though troy was a good player and played in the Negro leagues, he was not allowed to play in the whites. Baseball is used to show how American society was at Troys time. Troy’s son plays football but doesn’t get along with his father because troy still thinks that society has not changed. He was deeply affected by his experience and has not recovered.
Another symbol used in the play is the train. At the time in America, any reference to train meant to change. According to troy, when he sang the blues song asking Mr Engineer to let him ride the line he was asking for forgiveness from his wife rose. Troy knows that his actions had caused pain, misunderstanding and separation to his family. He was, therefore, trying to plead to rose to accept him back and continue living like before. His only hope is that the innocence and love for his daughter will make rose take him back to their home.
The author also used ‘Death’ to bring out the inner character of troy. According to Troy, he was always pessimistic and believed that Death was after him. He thought that he was supposed to fight Death to survive consistently. Rose actions represent the 1950s African American women who were loving and caring. They were compassionate and always strived to provide food shelter and support to their families. Rose raised Cory and Raynell to love and the importance of forgiveness.
Finally is the use of the garden as a symbol. Raynell woke up the next morning after she had planted her backyard to check whether it had grown. Logically, a garden wouldn’t have grown in just a few hours after planting it. These events take place the second day after troy was buried. When you Looking more profound, a garden growing represented life after Death. It is like Raynell expected that her father had beaten Death and rose to life.
The second literal devices used in the ‘Fences’ play are the similes. A simile is a symbolic speech that is used to compare one thing to the other. It is instrumental in vivid and powerful writings they are used to create meaning easily and interestingly. Similes and metaphors can be confused to mean the same thing. The only difference is that similes use ‘like’ and ‘as’ in comparison. The author of ‘fences’ play used similes in his writing to convey meaning fast and effectively. In-play Cory says ‘papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere’. By this, he meant that his father was always there and involving himself in his activities. He was comparing his father’s behaviour with a shadow that always stays with its owner. Another use of simile in the text was when Bono says ‘Got them great big old legs and hips as wide as the Mississippi river’. In this case, Bono is comparing Alberta’s legs and hips with the Mississippi River. He meant that they were as comprehensive or prominent, just like the river.
The third literary device used in the ‘fences’ play is personification. Personification means giving objects or animals human attributes. This is whereby they non-human objects are depicted as being capable of acting like humans. In the play, troy has personified Death. He states that ‘Death ain’t nothing to play with. And I know he’s gonna get me”. In this case, he referred Death as though it was a human being who would chase and find him. Throughout the play, troy brings up Death as though it was a person.
The fourth literary device used in the play is irony. Irony refers to convey the meaning of a word in a way that means the opposite of the word. This element, in most cases, is used humorously or to mock a person. In the play, troy says that he is going to build a fence that keeps Death away from him. Death, however, comes to him at the end of the play even after making the fence.
Another instance is when troy keeps complaining that he wants to be a driver to the garbage truck and worker who keeps lifting trash. After the promotion, his new job makes him sad and miserable rather than being happy. He complains that being a driver, you have nobody to talk to, and it feels like you are working alone. The two examples show that the results turn out to be the opposite of what is expected.
Finally is the use of dialect in the play. Dialect refers to a form of language that is associated with people from a specific region. English, for instance, has a lot of dialects which have their particular grammar. The play uses an African American dialect. In the play, when Bono asks troy what Mr Rand had said, and he replies ‘Ain’t said nothing’. This is the black’s dialect that often sounds ignorant.
Conclusion
In conclusion ‘fences’ by august Wilson is such an exciting play. The author has employed different literary devices to add flavour and enhance understanding of the play. The use of these elements makes it easier for readers and listeners to grasp the concept of the play. They create meaning and enables a quick and adequate understanding of the play. With such superb writing skills, august Wilson has been known as one of the best authors.
References
(Wilson)
Your Bibliography: Wilson August. “Fences”. Scriptfest.Com, 2013, http://scriptfest.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/FENCES.pdf.
(Menson-Furr)
Your Bibliography: Menson-Furr, Ladrica. “August Wilson’s Fences”. Google Books, 2008, https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=w-RbSI5udoEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=literary+devices+in+fences+play+by+augut+wilson&ots=4uXh9-PPmR&sig=mhMUFvQmZTqJ0_em0nWjKFnaOS8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=fals
(Ngwa, and Iden)
Your Bibliography: Ngwa, and Yvonne Iden. “Unfencing The Fence: The Wife As Mediator In August Wilson’s Fences.”. Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal Of Postmodern Studies, vol 4, no. 2, 2013, pp. 63-76., Accessed 11 May 2020.
(“August Wilson’s Fences In Richmond, Va – 2020”)
Your Bibliography: “August Wilson’s Fences In Richmond, Va – 2020”. Va-Rep.Org, 2020, https://va-rep.org/_fences-november-theatre-richmond.htm
: (Jabboury)
Your Bibliography: Jabboury, Latifa Ismaeel. “Meanings Within Meanings: A Study Of Metaphors In August Wilson’s Fences”. Pdfs.Semanticscholar.Org, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/eb43/34813106c6b0c06804ab57ca4556829fb47