Fences Act Two Juanita Hawkins

In the second act of the play by August Wilson I discovered that this play is filled with nothing but turning points. Well this act said a lot about Troy, he is nothing but a cheating bitter man who needed to excuse himself from the play honestly,. First he was with Rose for 18 years and decided to cheat on her with some woman he met at a bar, and that's a problem. Second he decided to check his poor disabled brother Gabriel into a mental hospital, then lie about it. Now it may not have been that bad if Troy actually cared about Gabe's health but no he just wanted half of his disability check. So now if that's not bad enough that he cheated on his wife of 18 years, and checked his brother into a mental hospital, he then ultimately decided to get the side chick Alberta pregnant and have a daughter. But now we could see that coming but then this man had the nerve to ask his wife( whose has made the executive decision to no longer be his woman) to help him take care of Raynell after Alberta died giving birth. In the end Troy ended up dying and the funeral  was the last scene of the play. Which is interesting to me since it's extremely ironic. Troy's main reason for building the fence was to keep his family together, and to keep death out. But I find it extremely interesting since one, he was the one who ultimately cheated on his wife, drove his son away, and locked his brother away in a mental hospital. Also he was the first one to die. So with that being said the fence did not serve the purpose that he wanted it to.

Act II Analysis

Act II of Fences begins to show how Troy's personal relationships are beginning to fail. Alberta had the baby but died leaving the child with Troy. Nonetheless he is still married to Rose even though they are not speaking. Cory has no respect for his father and begins to point out how he has failed basically as a father. Troy signs away Gabriel life to a mental asylum. Lastly Troy and Bono aren't as close as they used to be because of Troy's promotion. Throughout this story Troy have found every way to sabotage his life by making decisions. People say "you don't know what you have until its gone". This is a perfect quote representing Troy. He's been calling death out, wondering why not him. Basically getting what he asks for by dying from a heart attack doing something he truly loved which was swinging a bat. Troy had problems with being loyal to the ones who really matter. This caused an unhappy environment. My analysis is Troy didn't know that he was a stranger in his own home. He made his bed and now he has to lie in it. 

In this scene you can see how Rose good by Troy even though she knew he was no good. She spent her life being loyal to him even though hens necessary there for her. This is a great example of how Troy treated people who loved him and would do anything for him. 

Fences Act One Analysis Juanita Hawkins

So far in the book Fences you can see the main character Troy Maxson halting his son Cory's dreams. The dream that Cory is to play football professionally. Now most of the time fathers would dream to have their son become successful, but this is not the case for Troy. The why troy wants to prevent Cory from playing college football is because, he was once an athlete. Troy Maxson was a star in the negro leagues, with the promise to become a MLB player. But Troy was not able to fulfil his dream since, at the peak of his career the Major Leagues was not allowing colored players. So troy put down the glove and decided to learn a trade instead. After that he decided that he didn't want the same thing to happen to Cory. So he keeps his son from ever meeting with a NC recruiter. Also Troy goes down to the school and tells Cory’s coach that he is no longer allowed to play on the team. Another interesting thing that happened in act one is the fact that the fence is trying to be built. I'm thinking that the fence is symbolism for Troy not achieving his goals of playing in the Major Leagues. He is trying to put up this fence that is the goal that he is trying to reach and the fence is being built slowly. Also he tries to get help from Cory but that doesn't work out since, Troy isn't letting Cory reach his own goals. In the end my theory is that the fence will never be completed, or it will be completed by someone else.

Fences

August Wilson

Act 1 Analysis: 

        The first act of Fences shows a close relationship between two of the main characters, Troy and Bono. Troy is who the story is centered around but their friendship is of great importance. They are both garbage men. Troy had a couple problems with the job. He wanted equal opportunities and rights for him and his African-American coworkers. He wanted to know why do the white people only get to drive the truck? And why don't they have equal opportunities. 

       This is a huge conflict throughout the first Act. Troy and Bono wonder the whole time why they are not seen as equal to their coworkers. Bono sees Troy as loyal and some one he can trust so this is how their important relationship built. I think their friendship is of great importance to the story because Troy doesn't have many other friends, and his family doesn't always see eye to eye with him. 

Blogging on August Wilson's Fences

Denzel Washington & Viola Davis in Fences
(Photo credit:  broadway.com)

What do we blog about?

Well, we're all reading the same play, so we don't want to summarize (as always).  Instead, you can provide brief context for what part of the play you're discussing & use examples from the play, but your main purpose is to have an analytical focus for each post.  You can write about one of the options below or feel free to get a different topic approved:

• Literary elements you see in the play
• Conflicts (how they arise, how they define characters, etc.)
• Characterization:  
• actions, dialogue, or lines that define a character
• character's motivations
• Relationship between plot line and structure of a play
• Close reading of stage directions where you're looking for clarification
• Events in the plot that serve as a major turning point
• How unique traditions, values, or practices function within the specific society of your play and reflect that society's values
• Themes developed in the play and morals reinforced by characters' fates
• How literary elements serve a theme (revenge, regret, fluctuation of power, gender relations, loyalty/betrayal, tradition)
• Mythology/Fate/Prophecy all are concepts highly regarded and of considerable importance to the Greeks, as we read in Oedipus. Examine any one (or more) of these topics as it functions in the play you are reading. In what ways does the concept impact the plot/characters/theme of the piece?
• Identify an ironic moment.  What does the ironic moment reveal?  How does that moment of irony impact the overall plot?  Impact individual characters?
• Identify and analyze a character's tragic flaw.  How did this flaw become their downfall?

Things to keep in mind for this type of assignment:

• You're writing online, but this isn't social media, which means no text-speak or slang.  Write in an academic language.
• Use this space as practice for properly writing literary analysis (writing in present tense, avoiding 1st/2nd person pronouns, using active voice, being succinct)
• Don't let your work disappear forever somewhere in the land of lost internet posts.  Be smart & save your work.  Some people like to work in Google Docs, MS Word, or Apple Pages first.  Then, just copy & paste all you've typed into Blogger & add some bells & whistles (i.e. pictures, links, videos)

Timeline for posting & commenting:

• 4/22:  1st blog post due (Act I)
• 4/25:  comment on 2 posts
• 4/29:  2nd blog post due (Act II)
• 5/2:  comment on 2 posts
• TOTALS:  2 blog posts & 4 comments
• NOTE:  posts & comments are due on stated due date by 11:59 p.m.  
• DON'T PROCRASTINATE!

Other requirements:

• 250-300 word count
• For each post, you must include at least one picture, video, or link.  Be sure that whatever you add is relevant to your post.  You must also discuss the connection between your writing and the picture/video/link within the post.
• Comments should be at least 3 sentences that add or extend the post.  Be sure to ADD and EXTEND instead of just agreeing with the writer.  Comments are not a place for jokes, sarcasm, or your own use of hyperbole.
• Quote evidence from the play & use proper MLA format for embedded citations (MUST IDENTIFY ACT & SCENE IN YOUR PARENTHETICAL CITATION!)  Use Purdue OWL if you need MLA assistance.