What lesson does Fences teach?
1. Emptying yourself into another person at the expense of your dreams does not guarantee their love and devotion to you. You will be empty and they will be full of you whilst still flourishing in themselves. Learn to reciprocate the energy you are handed.
What is Troy’s tragic flaw in Fences?
Troy’s tragic flaw was his failure to effectively use the metaphoric fence. Rose used a fence to bring people together and to keep them safe as she did by accepting Raynell as her own child.
What are the major themes in Fences?
Themes
- Race.
- Men and Masculinity.
- Mortality.
- Dreams, Hopes, Plans.
- Family.
- Betrayal.
- Duty.
- Dissatisfaction.
What is the main idea of the play Fences?
Fences is a portrayal of family life—of how its characters view their roles as individual family members, and how they each define their commitment or duty to the family; it also explores how betrayal can break the familial bond.
What does the fence symbolize in Fences?
The fence appears finished only in the final scene of the play, when Troy dies and the family reunites. The wholeness of the fence comes to mean the strength of the Maxson family and ironically the strength of the man who tore them apart, who also brings them together one more time, in death.
Whats the meaning of Fences?
: a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary. especially : such a barrier made of posts and wire or boards. : an immaterial barrier or boundary line.
Who is the tragic hero in Fences?
Troy Maxson
Troy Maxson is a classically drawn tragic-hero. He begins the play loved, admired and getting away with his secret affair. But eventually, Troy’s death leaves many negative attributes as an inheritance for his family to sort out and accept.
Why is the play Fences called Fences?
The fence serves as the framework of the plot due to the fact that the character’s lives change throughout the play in constructing the fence. The title “Fences” represents the symbolic fences the main characters are building around themselves in order to keep people in or to prevent people from interfering.
Is Troy a tragic hero in Fences?
Troy Maxson is a classically drawn tragic-hero. He begins the play loved, admired and getting away with his secret affair. But eventually, Troy’s death leaves many negative attributes as an inheritance for his family to sort out and accept.
Why did Troy cheat on Rose in Fences?
Before Rose responds, Troy muses that he cheated on his wife because he has felt restrained and worn out due to “standing in the same place for eighteen years” (Wilson 2.1).
What is the irony in the play Fences?
The prevailing irony in Fences is that it is the protagonist himself, Troy Maxson, and not society that provides the obstacles or “fences” in his life that keep him hemmed in and unfulfilled emotionally. The fence between Troy and his wife Rose is Troy’s infidelity.
What does the title Fences refer to?
The title “Fences” represents the symbolic fences the main characters are building around themselves in order to keep people in or to prevent people from interfering. “Fence” may appear to be a simple title, but after reading the play it becomes obvious that it is a complex symbol which sums up the whole play.
What part of speech is fence?
Fence can be a noun or a verb.
What is the example of fence?
A fence is defined as a barrier used for protection or to create a boundary. An example of a fence is a two foot wooden barrier around a person’s front yard.
What does Troy symbolize in Fences?
Troy casts the Devil as the main character of his exaggerated stories that entertain, bewilder and frustrate his family and friends. Eventually, Troy’s association of the Devil as a harbinger of death comes to represent his struggle to survive the trials of his life.
Why did Rose Marry Troy?
Rose tells Cory that a big part of the reason she married Troy was because she thought he would make good babies. Although Cory and his father did not get along, Rose insists that they are alike, and here she implies that she approves of the resemblance.
What does the ending of Fences mean?
Troy has died in between the action of the last two scenes of the play, so the final scene presents the lasting effects of Troy’s life on his loved ones. Though Troy’s relationships with Bono, Rose, and Cory were ruined and broken in life, they gather together in his honor.
What does the baseball bat symbolize in Fences?
It seems pretty symbolic that Cory and Troy fight each other with a bat, since Troy’s inability to play baseball due to racism is what motivated him to sabotage his son’s sports career.
What are some literary device used in Fences?
Literary elements such as symbolism, irony, and imagery affect the story of Fences as a whole because it allows the reader to understand the story in depth. They can make connections between scenes and what they really mean. It helps the story develop.
Why is the play called Fences?
Is the play Fences A tragedy?
Fences fits into the tragic genre based on the points given by Aristotle. In Poetics, he defines tragedy as “the imitation of an action that is serious and also as having magnitude, complete in itself.”
Whats the meaning of fences?
How do you describe a fence?
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
What is the metaphor of Fences?
Actually, the image of “fences” works in various ways in the play; it is functioned as a metaphor through which Wilson reveals the inner reality of the characters and their psychological motivation. Thus, “fences” provide relationships, character psychology, context and symbolic models.
Who did Troy cheat on Rose with?
Troy finally admits to Bono that he is indeed having an affair with Alberta. Bono wants Troy to stop the affair before it’s too late, and he reminds Troy of how much Rose loves him, and what a good woman she is.