Boundaries in Fences Essay

Fences

The play Fences deals with boundaries that hold people back and the attempts and troubles of those who try or wish to cross them. Fences showed me that people will always have boundaries in their life that they would have to cross to get what they want and would have to be willing to face the consequences. The characters in this play are African-Americans in a time before the civil rights movement, living in an industrial city. The main character, Troy Manxson, is a talented baseball player who never had the chance to let his talent shine, and had to deal with restrictions on race and his time in jail as the main obstacles that held him back. He is now hard working and loves his family. However, he seems to have a wondering eye when it comes to women. His wife, Rose, is younger than him and loyal, but she may not have known about all of his faults when she married him. At the beginning of the play, Troy has a son from a previous marriage, Lyons, and a son with Rose, Cory. The characters who also appear in the play are Bono; Troys drinking buddy, and Gabriel; his brother.

All of the characters are "fenced in," by many barriers. Troy is working in a job where African Americans can get the lowest and most difficult tasks. A husband has certain responsibilities to fulfill for his family. Rose had chosen life with Troy as an alternative to living a life with an abusive husband, a life of partying, or the Church. Troys son, Lyons, is supposedly a musician but has gone nowhere following his talent. His other son, Cory has potential but his dream of playing college football is being pushed down by the over protective and jealous Troy. The characters showed that life isnt easy when you must deal with hardships of daily life, racial discrimination, straining relationships with each other, and the feeling that this is all their lives are: somewhat of a confined space with no escape; fenced in.

Troys brother Gabriel is a small character in the play, but is just as important as any other characters in the play for many reasons. Gabriel shows that you dont always have to let anything hold you back in life. The most important thing about Gabriel he is probably the only character with the highest and unharmful fence around him. He is the only one who ignores it and he is not being held back by it, at least not in his own mind. Gabriel is seven years younger than Troy. They were both in a large family with a frustrated and abusive father. Many people can relate to this situation because there are still many abusive families till this day. Gabe is the only family Troy ever speaks with now. Gabriel was injured in World War II and had part of his head blown away during the war. After that experience, he came out to be confused and somewhat delusional. He truly believes to be the Archangel Gabriel. He seems to be happy, even if hes not fully functional mentally. Although Gabriel was mentally ill, he showed me that no one should feel put down just because life is getting hard. He also showed that you should always look at the bright side in life to be able to live through it.

Gabriel affected others in the play for less obvious reasons then being given a compensation check by the government. Troy using the check to fund the house showed that even family members can be hard to trust when it comes to money. Throughout the play Gabriel talks about how he is on a speaking basis with St. Peter and sings about getting ready for the judgment day. Although at the time it seems like he is just rambling on, it holds deeper meanings for the characters. They all had their own demons to face, as does everyone else in life. Perhaps the most widespread one in the play was Troys affair with a woman named Alberta. The whole situation was more complicated than it appeared because Troy really did love his wife and family. Troy didnt even want to think about how others would judge him if his secret life was disposed. Troy showed that people shouldnt do irresponsible acts in life unless you are able to bear, which still doesnt make it right. If you dont think its right, dont do it; this is basically what I learned from his mistakes.

Gabriel had the most cramped "fence" around him, yet out of all of the characters in the play, he was the only one who acted unbounded, and limitless. He was different than all the others by the fact that he was happy and showed it. He appreciates things that others would laugh at. Gabriel serves as sort of a measure of the others happiness. Troy may not become the famous ballplayer he could have been, and may feel frustrated with his life, but he has more than he realizes. Troy is just like anybody else you can meet in our world today which makes it easy to understand what hes going through. While the characters may be miserable and have their own problems, while it seems as if theres no purpose to life, they must appreciate what they already have. They may not be rich, but they do have each other. They are just like anyone else. They struggle, but that just makes their lives more meaningful. This play helped me understand that life is not easy and you have to learn to be able to stay on track.