Playwright: August Wilson "Fences," which starred James Earl Jones, set a record for a nonmusical Broadway production when it grossed $11 million in a single year, and ran for 525 performances.James Earl Jones Together, Mr. Wilson's plays logged nearly 1,800 performances on Broadway in a little more than two decades, and they have been seen in more than 2,000 separate productions, amateur and professional.

Each of the plays in the cycle was set in a different decade of the 20th century, and all but "Ma Rainey" took place in the impoverished but vibrant African-American Hill District of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Wilson was born. Each of the plays in the cycle was set in a different decade of the 20th century, and all but "Ma Rainey" took place in the impoverished but vibrant African-American Hill District of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Wilson was born. In 1978, before he had become a successful writer, Mr. Wilson moved to St. Paul, and in 1994 he settled in Seattle, where he died. In 1978, before he had become a successful writer, Mr. Wilson moved to St. Paul, and in 1994 he settled in Seattle, where he died. But his spiritual home remained the rough streets of the Hill District, where as a young man he sat in thrall to the voices of African-American working men and women. But his spiritual home remained the rough streets of the Hill District, where as a young man he sat in thrall to the voices of African-American working men and women. Years later, he would discern in their stories, their jokes and their squabbles the raw material for an art that would celebrate the sustaining richness of the black American experience, bruising as it often was. Years later, he would discern in their stories, their jokes and their squabbles the raw material for an art that would celebrate the sustaining richness of the black American experience, bruising as it often was.

 In his work, Mr. Wilson depicted the struggles of black Americans with uncommon lyrical richness, theatrical density and emotional heft, in plays that gave vivid voices to people on the frayed margins of life: cabdrivers and maids, garbage men and petty criminals.  In bringing to the popular American stage the gritty specifics of the lives of his poor, trouble- plagued and sometimes powerfully embittered black characters, Mr. Wilson also described universal truths about the struggle for dignity, love, security and happiness in the face of often overwhelming obstacles.

Fences by August Wilson Fences is the story of a responsible yet otherwise flawed black garbage collector in pre- Civil Rights America who, in August Wilson's hands, rises to the level of an epic hero. Deemed a "generational play," it mirrors the classic struggle of status quo, tradition, and age, versus change, innovation, and youth. During its 1987 Broadway run, Fences garnered four Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. It has been produced around the world and is one of the most significant African-American plays of the 20th century.

August Wilson’s Fences  -Fences presents a slice- of-life in a black tenement in Pittsburgh set in the late 1950s through  -The main character, Troy Maxson, is a garbage collector who has taken great pride in keeping his family together and providing for them.  -Troy's rebellion and frustration set the tone for the play as he struggles for fairness in a society which seems to offer none.

 -In his struggle he builds fences between himself and family.  -Troy also wrestles with the idea of death and claims that he sees death as nothing but a fastball, something he can handle.  -The baseball metaphor is used in relation to death and throughout the play.

 -The father and son relationship between Troy and Cory is explored as a central part of the drama.  -Their relationship becomes complicated by strong feelings of pride and independence on both sides.

 -Troy is not a flawless protagonist in that his relationship with his wife, Rose, is challenged at every turn.  Eventually his behavior has consequenses.

 According to Wilson, "One question in the play is ` Are the tools we are given sufficient to compete in a world that is different from the one our parent's knew?'  I think they are--it's just that we have to do different things with the tools."

This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin They * (screw) you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were *(screwed) up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another's throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself. * The original language of this poem has been modified to suite the young, unsoiled, and impressionable minds of the youngsters at B.L.H.S.

 Fences is both unique to the plight of African Americans and universal in its depiction of the human condition.  The father-son and husband-wife relationships cross both unique and universal boundaries.

Eventually, Tragic Heroes Experience some or all of the following: FALL FROM GREAT HEIGHTS OR HIGH ESTEEM REALIZE THEY HAVE MADE AN IRREVERSIBLE MISTAKE FACES AND ACCEPTS DEATH WITH HONOR MEET A TRAGIC DEATH

Do any of these people look familiar?

Things to think about… Is Troy a tragic hero? Is Okonkwo? What similarities do these two characters share?