Gender Symbolism In The Fences - 1815 Words

Fences Essay In the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the right way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen characters represent people and show gender roles of the time, like Rose is a housewife, Troy is the provider. Also Cory is the new generation of emotion over responsibility, Gabriel represents the war heros that were permanently†¦show more content†¦Bono: Some people build fences to keep people out†¦ and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you.† (12.i.) Here August Wilson in the first part shows a little of the gender roles of the 1950s where men are the boss of the house and women are subservient to them. It also shows that Rose did not go in as told but remained there with them and Troy accepted that he could not tell her what to do. The image or action of Rose not leaving shows the changing of the times in other words the 1950s on the fence to between the old ways and the new ones. In the first part of what Bono says describes Troy with death and the other part describes Rose with her love for her family and desire to keep everyone close and happy. The character Gabriel (Uncle Gabe) is a mix of many different things and people that of the time and believes he signals the opening of heaven’s gate as his interpretation of the fence. Gabriel is Troy’s half brother who went and fought in the war. He was medically discharged after receiving a head injury that permanently reduced his mental functions. Troy helped Gabriel get a settlement and helps spend/manage the money. Troy used the money to buy himself a house that Gabriel originally lived in as well until Gabriel moved out at his own wish. Wilson wrote: â€Å" Gabriel: ‘Oh, yeah†¦ I know it. The devil’s strong. The devil ain’t no pushover. Hellhounds snipping at everybody’sShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In Fences By August Wilson1460 Words   |  6 PagesKeep Love in or Lock it Out?: An Analysis of Symbolism in Fences Symbolism is defined as an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. In Fences by August Wilson, symbolism is used heavily throughout the play in order to represent deeper meanings and add to the emotion of the storyline. 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