August Wilson's Fences centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African-American man filled with bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life in the mid-aughts 1950. In the play, Troy was raised by an unloving and violent father. When he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player, he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was poor and needed money. So he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy's life was anything but easy. In the play, Rose asked Troy and his son Cory to build a fence around their house. It's common knowledge that fences are used in two ways: to keep things out or to keep things in. In the same way that fences are used to keep things in or out, Troy used the fence he was building to keep out death, his family, and his disappointments in life, while that Rose used the fence to keep those she loved inside and help them bond. .Troy encountered many difficulties in his life that made him feel like he needed to protect himself from things that have hurt him and could hurt him. The fence that Rose told Troy to build symbolized the barrier he erects to protect himself from the things that have hurt him and might harm him in the future. Troy uses the fence to symbolize the emotional separation and neglect he has towards his family; Rose and Cory in particular. The main reason why the fence took up the entire room was because Troy neglected it and spent his time with his mistress, which symbolized his neglect of his family. Cory calls attention to this when he tells Troy that he "never does anything but goes down to Taylors", which is obviously his mistress's (Henderson) house. It was the f...... middle of paper... hand Rose wanted the fence built to keep the people she loved and were dear to her. These two different perspectives served to symbolize the difference between Troy and Rose in the story. At the end of the play you see Rose's fence brings her family together, showing that if you plant a seed, the idea of ​​building the fence and take care of it, by building the fence, in time it will bear fruit of your work and love, family coming together. Works Cited Henderson, Gloria M., Anna Dunlap Higgins, Bill Day and Sandra Stevenson Waller. Fences. Literature and ourselves 2009 Mla Update. Sixth ed. Np: Pearson College Division, 2011. 143-97. Print.Shmoop editorial team. “Title of the fences.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. December 8, 2013. SparkNotes Publishers. “SparkNote on Fences.” » SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. nd. Internet. November 26. 2013.