Fences by August Wilson

Fences by August Wilson
Fences one among Wilsons plays whose aim was to depict the lives of the black people in America before the civil rights movement. The play uses drama to show the conflicting lives that the blacks lived at the time. Conflicts between husbands and spouses, fathers and sons and at the workplace between employees and their bosses dominate the play. In addition, the play shows how difficult it was for the resources blacks to live in a financial city. The drama is typical of the 1950s lifestyle embraced by the blacks, an extension of the lives that this minority group lived after the demolition of slavery by Lincoln (Toledano 65).
Although a sense of freedom for the blacks was achieved through the abolishment of slavery, the government did not have good strategies to integrate these free slaves into the society. As a result, most of the blacks ended up seeking a life outside the law leading to a conviction. Troy spends most of his life in jail because the lives of his father’s generation continue to influence the actions and the decisions of the new generation (Furr 41). Further, Troy passes these traits to his sons by instilling his perception of life and manhood to them. He chases Cory away from the house so that he can fend for himself and become a man because according to Troy, that is the only way a boy child can mature. The play is set in the backyard of Troy, and most of the issues, including the title of the play are created within his family.
Fences were first played in the year 1987 at the 46th street theater in Broadways.

Lloyd Richard directed the play at the time, but many changes have occurred over the decades. Different directors and producers have tried to revive the play in different places to ensure that the message intended by Wilson at the production of the play is not forgotten. A lot of racisms and discrimination against the black characterized 1950s (Lindop 102). As such, the play is set in a world of unfair treatment, and the characters represent this fact quite well. For instance, Troy is working in an organization where the blacks are given the most demeaning jobs, but he fights for his rights until he gets the opportunity to drive the truck. The play represents the world where the blacks are oppressed, but they have the chance of breaking free from this bondage by becoming more assertive. However, regardless of the efforts towards freedom, the blacks are still confined by the Fences of their past. Troy is unable to accept that his son Cory will have better luck in the football club (Furr 59). As a result, he ends up shutting him out and forcing him to continue working at the store because he does not want his son’s dreams to be shuttered. In so doing, he confines himself to the old world where the blacks could not function normally in the world instead of embracing the new changes in the society.
The author uses conflict to set the dramatic effect of the play. A lot of conflicts exist throughout the play especially involving Troy’s family. Troy fights with his son in most occasions leading to Corey’s departure from the house. The conflict between the two is caused by the difference in their understanding of the world. Troy is still stuck in the olden days where blacks could not succeed in anything (Sinha 86). On the other hand, Cory is born at a time where the tide is changing, and both characters are unable to resolve their ideas of life. The conflict between Troy and his father alluded in the play also contributed to the dramatic effect of the play. Other relevant conflicts include that between Troy and his wife Rose as well as Troy’s internal conflict.
The design elements and the acting style used in Fences traditionally and in current productions do not differ much because the play is meant to remain as authentic as possible to represent the 1950s era (Sinha 68). However, the lighting and the arrangement of scenes has improved to meet the needs of the current audience. There are better lighting and better coordination of scenes and acts in the current productions in comparison to the original play.
The play is relevant to the modern world because it helps people understand the effects of racism. The play encourages equality in the society and challenges the government to put up better policies to deal with the issues of minority communities in the United States. The play serves the same roles as it during its production dates: to challenge the government and the people to bring down the barriers that are created between people of different classes (Wiese 66).
Fences by Wilson is an ideal representation of the issues that affected the blacks in the 1950s. The play has remained relevant over the years, and it has helped to shape the society in terms of racisms and discrimination in the modern world. The dramatic effects of the play and the title serve to bring out the messages of boundaries and limitations in the world as intended by Wilson.

Works Cited
Furr, Ladrica C. August Wilson’s Fences. London: Continuum, 2008. Print.
Lindop, Edmund. America in the 1950s. Minneapolis, Minn: Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. Print.
Sinha, Manisha. The Slave’s Cause: a History of Abolition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016. Print.
Toledano, Ehud R. Slavery, and Abolition in the Ottoman Middle East. Seattle, Washington-London England: University of Washington Press, 2014. Print.
Wiese, Andrew. Places of Their Own: African American Suburbanization in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. Print.