[.ca] Fences (ISBN 0785796118)

Real Characters in a Real Situation:
From the opening scene we as audience members are dropped whole into the world of the characters in August Wilson's classic play. The dialect of the characters, the hints of jargon, and the references that aren't explained but simply ARE allow us to be immersed in his setting. This back porch, with its visible foibles (exposed icebox, half-built fence) make Troy Maxson, his family, and his friends into new beings that become larger than their own lives--and very like our own lives. There is nothing in this play we don't all have to face from day to day. Work, marriage, family disputes, mental illness, adultery, violence, and more events populate this play as surely as the characters do. Yet the clear, Sophoclean way they are addressed makes them matter to us in an immediate, powerful way. The play is broken up into two acts, comprising eleven scenes. The first ten take place over a span of a few months, while the final provides an epilogue some years later. Some modern theatre purists will balk at this many divisions, and yet the way Wilson makes them pop will let an audience that loves theatre to both enjoy and understand what's happening to the characters. This is a difficult piece of theatrical literature, yet one of the most important and compelling of the last twenty years. For all its faluts (slipshod editing, internal contradictions, great length) it remains a valuable play, and one that hasn't received nearly the acclaim it deserves.

Fences Review:
In my opinion , i think Fences is a really good play to read. The story is based on this black man named Troy Maxson and his family. Troy Maxson had a dream that never came true and unlike troy his son cory had a passion for football and his father never wanted his son to pursue his dream , until cory left and went to the marines to become a better a man. I also think that it brings out the struggles in a typical life in a family, and also the play brings out the cheating lies of what an unfaithful husband can do to his wife . I feel that if a person has been lied to or has any issues in their life they should read this play, because they can relate to whats going on this play .

FENCES IS A GOOD BOOK.:
If you have ever read a book called "Fences" you may think its a wonder full book , but I think its a good book. This book is not a book in which you think this is one of the best book. I agree that this book is pretty good but I think that the book could have had a better plot to it than it had. This book needs to let us know what happened to Cory one of the main characters in this play. Between this time period we don't ever find out if cory choose to go to the Marines or he just did it because he had no other choice. "Fences" is a book in which their could of been a better setting and a more interesting plot to the whole book.I think that this book was a good book. It was a slow moving plot book in which everything was a little confusing, but not all that confusing. What I'm trying to let you know is that this is a good book to read and its o.k. to read.

CM says: A portrayal of races in the 20th cent.:
August Wilson's Fences is the story of Troy Maxson, a sanitation worker, who is a hard nose but well to do man. The book covers Troy's interactions with his children and these relationships are the center of Wilson's themes. When these relationship's are strained Troy tenses up and eventually boils over with his outburst at second son Cory. Themes to look for are responsibility vs. love and sports metaphors. Overall this book is a rather negatiove book that lacks perspective to be an accurate portrayal of the mid 20th century.

August Wilson's Best Work:
"Fences" is a wonderful drama that can relate to all people. The levels in the play are great because all of the dramatic characters have a comedic side, which balances the story.