¶ … Fences (Wilson, 1986) August Wilson, one of America's preeminent black playwrights presents the mercurial nature of one, Troy Maxson. Not much effort is needed before the real and metaphorical fences become evident. Delving deeper into Troy's character unearths the fence that distinguishes his "makeup": vacillation between a sober, responsible person from one that is self-destructive.
Troy Maxson, a son of a share-cropper, leaves the deep-south, escaping from his father's brutality. He reaches Pittsburgh where a black man does not find a place among a burgeoning, blue-collar, middle class. He lives on the streets. He steals. In this part of his life he finds a woman, gets married and has a son -- Lyons. He then spends fifteen years in jail for stealing. Being rehabilitated, he plays baseball and becomes a star in the Negro Leagues -- though no note-worthy financial compensations are forthcoming; he considers himself better than "Jackie Robinson." Eventually, he marries Rose and has another son, Cory. Troy works as a garbage collector; he often complains that he would be happier driving the garbage truck (eventually does) though he does not have a driver's license. He lives angry that he was not allowed to play baseball with whites despite his talents. Yet he ensures that Cory, a promising football talent, does not pursue his dreams. His brother Gabriel, a World War II veteran who is mentally handicapped due to a severe head injury is a part of his life until Troy signs him over to an institution in return for half "Gabe's" veteran benefits. Rose, the true stabilizing influence in his life, dissolves their emotional togetherness when Troy has a child with another woman out of wedlock.
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