Task:
Answer two of my questions. These initial posts should be thoughtful and complete, about 150 words long.
The title of the play is "Fences" - plural. Yet, there is only one actual fence. Explain.
Troy often uses baseball as a metaphor (a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things), most notably on page 1549 of the text. What does baseball symbolize for Troy? Is his use of this metaphor effective?
Fatherhood is a major theme in Fences. Comment on Troy's childhood and how it has influenced his parenting.
Characterize Rose. Is she weak or strong? What do you make of her assertion that "I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom. And it didn't take me no eighteen years to find out the soil was hard and rocky and it was never gonna bloom ... I gave everything I had to try and erase the doubt that you wasn't the finest man in the world" (Wilson, 1985, p. 1550).
Will Cory become like his father? Why or why not?
This play has a strong cultural background. What do we learn about the way African Americans were treated in this era?