Fences: Introduction: Characters, Setting, Play

Define the words from the Introduction, from context if possible, or use a reference source for help.

Play's Epigraph When the sins of our fathers visit us We do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness As God, in His Largeness and Laws.

The lines above by August Wilson are placed on the back leaf of the title page, the page with Fences printed on it (page x). Phrases like this placed before a work are called EPIGRAPHs and the quotation is usually suggestive of a work's theme. Keep these ideas of fathers and forgiveness in mind as you read the play.

Characters (page xiii): Note that Troy has sons from different marriages and a daughter from a third relationship (more on that to come). Also of note, Troy's brother, Gabriel, was seriously wounded in World War II and has a metal plate in his head.

Setting (page xv): Note the partially finished fence surrounding the house. As you read, follow the ongoing construction of the fence: who works on it? What are some things that interfere with Troy working on it? What are some things that interfere with Cory working on it? What's promised at its completion? What's its purpose? The ball hanging from the tree and the baseball bat against the tree will be important, too.

The Play (xvii): August Wilson recounts the inequalities prevalent in northern industrialized cities where European-descent white immigrant populations flourished while the descendants of African slaves struggled to survive. Just as you heard in the poem, black African Americans sought not only their rights and respect, but also the economic opportunities that seemed just out of reach.