Fences

Fences

• Genre: Fiction; realistic historical drama
• Originally Published: 1986
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 11-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 2 acts; 4 scenes in Act I, 5 scenes in Act II; approx. 101 pages; approx. 2 hours, 19 minutes running time
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: In this sixth play of Wilson’s collection of 10 plays known as The Pittsburgh Cycle (or The Century Cycle), Troy Maxson is middle-aged and dissatisfied with his life. Despite his evident talent for baseball as a younger man, he was not permitted a career in the major leagues as a Black player. He served a prison term for murder, then became a garbage truck driver. Now, his unfulfillment manifests in troubled relationships with his wife, Rose, and son, Cory.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Adultery; physical abuse and rape; racism and discrimination; mental health issues; gender issues; death

August Wilson, Author

• Bio: 1945-2005; born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; dropped out of high school at 15 after being accused of plagiarism; taught himself and read widely in the following years, often noting on coffee shop napkins ideas for poems and characters; inspired by the Black Arts Movement; helped to found Pittsburgh’s Black Horizons Theatre (1968); met with significant success with Jitney and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; known for The American Century Cycle (also called The Pittsburgh Cycle), a group of 10 plays that reveal the Black experience in America from the 1900s to the 1990s; received two Pulitzer Prizes (for The Piano Lesson and Fences)
• Other Works: Jitney (1982); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984); The Piano Lesson (1987); Gem of the Ocean (2003)
• Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Best Play (1987); Tony Award for Best Play (1987)                      

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Sins of the Father
• The American Dream
• Aging and Death

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and historical contexts that influence the play’s plot and character development.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections to the text’s themes of The Sins of the Father, The American Dream, and Aging and Death.
• Identify with characters and construct metaphoric fences.
• Analyze and evaluate plot, setting, character, and theme to draw conclusions and make   inferences regarding race, marriage, and parent-child relationships.