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''Fences'' is a play by August Wilson ; it was his second play to go to Broadway . It secured a Tony Award for James Earl Jones and won a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1987 for the author. The play is set after the Korean War and before the Vietnam War , from 1957 to 1965 . Like many other Wilson plays, the main character is a tragic black man; in ''Fences,'' his name is Troy Maxson. Other major characters include:
PLOT SUMMARY The play begins on payday, with Troy and Bono drinking and talking. Troy's character is elucidated through his speech about how he (Troy) went up to Mr. Rand (their boss) and asked why black men weren't allowed to drive the garbage trucks (they are Garbage Men ). Then Rose and Lyons show up. Lyons comes to ask for money, and knows that he will be successful. A few days later, Cory tells Troy that a man from North Carolina will come down to talk about Cory's future in football, and that he will be offered a Scholarship . Troy, disheartened by his years as a Baseball player, (incessantly complaining about "Selkirk's .269") allows Cory to only play Football on the condition that he (Cory) keep his job at the A&P Supermarket . Cory, although knowing that this was impossible, accepts Troy's offer. By the next scene, we learn that Troy has won his case and is the first black man to drive a garbage truck in the city. As he is boasting to Bono about his past struggles, (with his father) Cory comes in enraged, because Troy has told the football coach that Cory cannot play football anymore because he didn't keep his job at the A&P. In the next scene, Troy bails Gabriel out of jail. Also, in this scene, Bono warns Troy about not "messing" with Alberta and sticking with Rose. Troy says that he knows what value Rose has, but it manifests itself that he is "messing" around with Alberta. After this discourse, Troy admits to Rose that he is having an affair with Alberta, and that Alberta is pregnant. Rose is distraught and mentions how she "planted my seed" in Troy, knowing well that it will not "bloom." When Troy grabs her arm, Cory comes from behind and shoves Troy down. Troy admonishes Cory that this act is "strike two" and tells him not to strike out. For the next few months, all Troy does is come home, change, and go to Alberta's house. No one in the family talks to each other. The next scene picks up when Rose answers the phone and announces that the baby is a girl and that Alberta died in childbirth. When Troy comes home with the baby he asks Rose to act as Raynell's mother; she complies but tells Troy that he is now a "womanless man." Then Rose leaves, and Troy sits on the entrance to the house. When Cory tries to push his way through, Troy is enraged and demands that Cory say "excuse me." Cory then points out that the house is not really Troy's but rather is Gabriel's. Troy then kicks Cory out, and tells him to provide for himself. The next scene is set years later, at Troy's funeral. Cory returns, and is now a Marine . At first he refuses to come to Troy's funeral, but when Rose tells him that "it won't make you {Link without Title} any better of a man," and when he hears Raynell sing the song about Blue he joins in song. Feeling nostalgia for his father, he concedes. Also, Gabriel shows up and tries to open the gates of heaven, by blowing on his horn. This fails, and the gates only open when Gabriel does a traditional African Dance . |
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