Baseball as a Plot and a Metaphor The play, Fences by...

Baseball is America’s pastime. The sport of baseball goes back all the way to civil war era, 1839. August Wilson saw the potential this sport had to send a message, and incorporated it into his play Fences. His collection of ten plays portrays the hardships of African Americans for every decade of the twentieth century (Wilson 961). Fences, in particular portrays the nineteen fifties (Wilson 961). When one reads Fences, yes it is about the struggle of African Americans in the time period, but it also incorporates baseball as multiple plot elements, and a metaphor for life. The play, â€Å"Fences† by August Wilson describes the life of an African-American family that is por. Troy Maxson, the father of the family, was a baseball player in the†¦show more content†¦One of the first baseball metaphors used is relatively near the beginning, when Troy is telling Bono, his friend, about how he sees death as a â€Å"Fastball to the outside corner† (Wilson 970). T his means that he is not scared of death; rather he is ready and eager for it to come so he can hit it away. The next example of a metaphor is when Troy gets into an argument with his son Cory, about Troy taking Cory off the football team and canceling his meeting with the recruiter (Wilson 995). At the end of the argument Troy tells Cory that he has one strike, and he better not strike out (Wilson 995). He was pretty much telling him he made a big mistake, and he better not make two more. Then we get a big long metaphor form Troy, trying to explain why he cheated on Rose (Wilson 1001). Where he says that, â€Å"you born with two strikes on you before you come to the plate†¦ You can’t afford a call strike†¦ I bunted. When I found you and Cory and a half way decent job†¦ I was safe†¦ I was on first looking for one of them boys to knock me in. To get me home† (Wilson 1001). He had lived a hard life and was in big trouble then he found Rose and she bec ame â€Å"his rock† she offered him stability, he had a kid with her and he had found a decent job. â€Å"Then when I saw that gal†¦ I got to thinking that if I tried†¦ I might just be able to steal second† (Wilson 1001). He then met someone else and she made him feel like anything was possible, and he thought he could get awayShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Fences By August Wilson1521 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Jesus be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way† (Wilson 1.2.21). The play Fences follows the journey of an African American family, the Maxons, and their struggle to handle the appearance of both physical and metaphorical fences. Fences shows the difficulties that the Maxons face in an attempt to balance love, loss, and laughter. The Maxson family lives in Pittsburgh during the 1950’s, and they meet tensions when searching for equality within theirRead MoreAnalysis Of August Wilson s Fences16 09 Words   |  7 PagesIn 1965, August Wilson’s â€Å"Fences† was created as the fifth part of his Pittsburg Cycle of dramas of the 20th Century investigation of the evolution of black culture. The play has an abundance of symbolism and metaphors that tells the late life story of Troy Maxon and the family that surrounds him. Even from the beginning of the drama there is conflict and foreshadowing that can be attributed to his own belief that he has failed in life and that the world did not give him what he deserved. He takesRead MoreAnalysis of August Wilsons Short Story Fences2029 Words   |  8 Pagesagain. All my plays are rewriting that same story. Im not sure what it means, other than life is hard (Calvert, n.d.) In so many ways Fences is such an ordinary story that its power comes from the ways in which ordinary people hear and view it. There is no doubt but that the metaphor of the fence prevails, working its way across work, family, friendship and the emotional pain of living a life literally dependent on garbage for survival. This is what Wilson wrote about in his Fences of the 1950sRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article Fences 1165 Words   |  5 PagesFences by August Wilson is a play about an African-American family in the 1950s. Troy Maxson is the breadwinner of his entire family because of his job in a garbage truck company. Cory, one of the children of Troy, is a great football player in high school and he wants to continue to play for college football, which has been absolutely denied by Troy because of the discrimination as a colored people they have. 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