Part of a 10-play cycle examining African American life and experience in the US across the 20th century, Fences is set in 1950s. Troy is a man in his 50s who is trying to provide for his wife and son, but has also gotten his mistress, Alberta, pregnant. Throughout the play, Troy is working on a fence, which he thinks will keep death away. The fence also acts a symbol for the family, as it keeps them safe inside their home and intruders out.
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