Literature Essay on Fences by August Wilson

Friday is a payday for two main characters in Fences, Try and Bono. These two people are responsible for collecting garbage in the organization. Later in the day when they reach Troy's house for the everyday activity of drinking, Troy recounts a story concerning a co-worker named Brownie who lied to the boss. The lie is about a watermelon and in which both the two drinking characters think their Brownie's embarrassment concerning the watermelon was a bit stupid. Bono gets very interested in hearing how the conversation between Rand, their boss, and Troy, together with the commissioner of the union regarding Troy's complaint went about. Of which Troy explains to his friend how he is not intimidated and doesn't care getting fired. They then shift from that particular conversation to another concerning a woman, a different character named Alberta. Bono is consistent to ask Troy if he is having an affair with that particular character, Alberta but the character, Troy tactfully denies the fact that his friend is hooking him into a relationship with the bar attendant named Alberta. The question makes Troy mad at his friend for having been following him around. Soon enough, Rose gets out of the house after which both Rose and Troy inform Bono how changed Troy is after marriage initiation. They then tell him how their son, Cory, had been recruited by a college football team. As time elapsed, the two friends got themselves drunk as they told several stories. As the chapter ends, Troy embraces his wife and informs Bono how much he cherishes his wife and would even make love to her in the Monday mornings during working hours.

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It's a beautiful Saturday morning, and Rose hangs clothes in the yard. She sings a song that asks Jesus to protect her like a fence. Rose and Troy then begin talking about lottery games that both Rose and Lyons do play. During this conversation, Gabriel who is Troys brother shows up in the how with a basketball and humming a tune about selling plums. The two brothers hold several conversations including the reasons why Gabe had to relocate to his new place of habitation. Gabriel is a very brain-damaged character who happens to think he is the angel Gabriel. Gab then leaves Troy after he thinks he has seen hounds of hell around Troy's feet. Troy and Rose then argue about what to do to help Gabe now that he had migrated to another place. As the scene ends, Troy tells her wife that he is going to be with Taylor to listen to a baseball match.

Cory gets home from practice where he is met by his mother's complaints about him not doing his chores before leaving the house. Cory argues with Rose that every Saturday, Troy, his father, promises to work on the fences but does not do so. He then gets into the house and takes lunch after which he does his chores. Later, Troy and Cory works on the fences together. Later in the play, the two characters, father, and son gets involved in a hot misunderstanding. Cory gets a recruitment opportunity to play football in a team in the North, but Troy refuses to sign the consent documents. He instead demands that Cory works at the A&P Supermarket. He is so adamant to change his stand even after Cory informs him that he had already quite the job at A&P. the argument heats up and Cory asks his father, Troy, the reason for his hatred. His explanations include parental responsibility to Cory and requiring him to treat his father with respect. At the end of this scene, Rose gets involved in the argument.

The fourth scene of Act one occurs on a Friday when Troy wins his case winning himself praises in the city. Bono and Troy then recall their parents and their childhood lives during their times in the South before moving to the North. Later in the play, Troy bails Gabriel out of prison. While working at the fence, Bono tells Troy and Cory that Rose requires the wall due to her affections towards the family. She, therefore, wants them as close as possible to her love. At this point, Troy admits to Bono that he is having an affair with Alberta. After discussing Gabriel's issue with Rose, Troy then finds himself telling her the relationship he's got with Alberta. A fight involving Rose, Troy, and Cory erupts after Rose accuses the husband of taking and not giving back in response. Tory wins the match. After six months, Tory goes to the hospital to see pregnant Alberta. Rose informs Troy that his brother Gabriel had been taken to the asylum because Troy couldn't sign the papers to see him out. Alberta is blessed with a fine baby girl but dies in the process of childbirth. At this juncture, Troy builds a fence and challenges death to take him. When Troy brings home his daughter, Rose accepts her as his child but refuses to be dutiful to Troy as a wife ought to.

On the payday of Troy, his friend Bono shows up unexpectedly. They acknowledge how good their bets were placed on both the fence and the refrigerator. Later, Troy insists that his son Cory should leave the house. The issue brought up by Troy heats up making Tory kick out his son in an attempt of persuading him to tender for himself. In a span of eight years, Raynell is playing with her garden. Troy himself has died from heart attack, and Cory has returned home from the Marines to attend his father's burial. In the funeral, Gabe turns up. He had either been freed from the mental hospital or escaped. He then blows his trumpet but gets frustrated from the fact that no sound comes from the same. As a result, he begins to dance. He then makes a loud cry and the heavens open.

In the play, Fences, Wilson uses a long opening scene to forecast several important elements within the plot. The author forces the readers to get entangled in the world of the play. Most scenes of the plot focus on two characters, Bono and Troy. We understand that the nature of Troy is entangled in the themes of dreams and hopes. He has a sense of responsibility by the way he reacts to his wife's hobby. Contrary to that, he is providing an element of selfishness towards the manner in which he treats his wife. It is therefore quite ironic because Troy complains about her wife's acts of playing with numbers whereas his risks involving losses he incurs when he gambles with Alberta proves to be much more expensive to the family. Later his characters lead to his demise as the story unravels.