August Wilson's "Fences"

Fences seem to encompass many facets of life, in its original time period but also in present day: financial distress, blended families, parental issues, mental issues to name a few, the hardships of everyday living.

I felt compassion for each character in its own individuality of the story. Each had their own issues they were dealing with as they tried to exist congenially as a family. Troy portrayed the harsh father, head of the household. The gruffness of his character could have come from the idea of Wilson’s own father, in his absence. I had felt Troy to be a man trying to make a living to support his family, even though I did not agree with all the choices he made. However, it was hard to accept his disloyalty to Rose after he had expressed such love and admiration for her. His reasons seemed compelling and one could almost feel sorry for him; however, my beliefs do not allow for such behavior regardless of reasons or excuses. What was most saddening was Rose’s commitment to Troy and his denial of her hurt and frustration. He never seemed to understand the pain which he had caused her or the idea of her experiencing the same feelings which caused him to seek out someone else. He thought he was the only one not happy, needing something else to fulfill a void he felt in his life and marriage. Wilson may have written of this topic from his experience of his father’s leaving.

Rose is to be admired for her commitment to her family and husband, to the point of being willing to restore the physical part of their relationship even after the infidelity Troy had committed. She was a strong woman, always trying to keep the peace in the family and take care of everyone. She was portrayed as a loving woman as she accepted the newborn baby to raise resulting from the extramarital affair of her husband.

I think the supporting characters were interesting. I believe their purpose was to include the many issues and problems families have to face from day to day.