Analysis of August Wilsons Short Story Fences - 2029 Words

I once wrote a short story called The Best Blues Singer in the World and it went like this: The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning. End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. Ive been rewriting that same story over and over again. All my plays are rewriting that same story. Im not sure what it means, other than life is hard (Calvert, n.d.) In so many ways Fences is such an ordinary story that its power comes from the ways in which ordinary people hear and view it. There is no doubt but that the metaphor of the fence prevails, working its way across work, family, friendship and the emotional pain of living a life literally dependent on garbage for survival. This is what Wilson wrote about in his Fences of the 1950s. In retrospect, however, it doesnt take a lot to put some of these pieces together yet again to create a difference story of its own kinds of fences, wooden, social, economic. But then or now, this story is still about the ordinary failing of a person who cannot figure out how to get out of the box that surrounds him and who thus finds himself pulling others inside his own fenced in troubles and pains. Being a black man wasnt easy then and it isnt easy today. Wilsons obituary offers a good summary. Charles Ishwood wrote it for the New York Times in 2005, though it was excerpted by Calvert for a theatrical study guide: In bringing to the popular American stage the gritty specifics of theShow MoreRelatedSocial, Political, And Family Issues On August Wilson s Fences1596 Words   |  7 PagesSocial, Political, and Family Issues in August Wilson’s Fences August Wilson’s Fences depicts life in the 1950s for a typical African American family. The play touches upon racism, shifting family dynamics, and the politics of war. While racism plays an important and vital role in the play, instead of lamenting the issue, Wilson uses the characters as a weapon against the rampant racism of the time. In the same fashion, the relationship between Troy, Rose, and Cory demonstrates the shifting culturalRead MoreNotes On The Novel Fences And Pied Piper Of Tucson 1080 Words   |  5 Pagesreaders. First, students read short stories and poetry, including a close reading of Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† and Mara Bovsun’s article, â€Å"Pied Piper of Tucson;† they identify and describe ways authors ‘hook and hold’ readers with specific choices. Next, students read the play Fences by Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson and analyze the role of stories within in the story to create tension and advance the plot. Fences is the foundation for the unit’sRead MoreThe Rise And Fall Of Troy Maxon1278 Words   |  6 PagesThe Rise and Fall of Troy Maxon: An Analysis of August Wilson’s play Fences In Fences, August Wilson, the playwright, provides a believable and powerful examination of the African American experience in the late 1950’s. It provides an apt portrayal of the mentality of African American men going into the civil rights movement, as well as a well-developed account of the friction that occurs between a father and a son, and a husband and wife in the face of conflict. According to Wilson, his play providesRead MoreAugust Wilson3685 Words   |  15 PagesAugust Wilson: Poet, Playwright, and So Much More August Wilson is a man who, outside of the theatrical world, is not very well known. Yet there are those, like Paul Carter Harrison, who would rank him in the same artistic continuum as Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, and Thelonius Monk.1 When I began research on August Wilson I asked myself, so what? So what if hes won awards and recognition? What has he done to merit them? What makes this man important enough to do a research paperRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesby Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds