Plot Summary

The life and death of African-American Troy Maxson is assessed in August Wilson’s play Fences. Raised during the Depression, Troy learned family responsibility from a brutal father, who drove away the mothers of his 13 children and who struggled in the losing enterprise of share-cropping in the American South. After running away from home, Troy settled in Pittsburgh where lack of economic opportunity turned him to thievery. He had a son Lyons, but went to the penitentiary when he killed a man in a fight. In prison, Troy learned to play baseball, but he was too old to play in the major leagues when the color barrier in national baseball finally came down. He married Rose, had one son Cory, and worked as a garbage collector--a menial but steady job.

As the play opens, we see Troy’s exuberance as Troy jokes with his admiring friend (from prison) Bono. Troy pictures his struggle with Death as a baseball game, with him ever vigilant against his opponent. Troy’s job brings in steady money, but without the disability pension of his brother Gabe (wounded in the head in World War II) he has trouble making ends meet. Troy is in danger of losing his job when he questions that only white workers get to drive the trucks, but eventually he wins the labor dispute. He grudgingly lends money to his musician son Lyons, but seems almost disappointed when Lyons can pay him back. Troy also insists on respect from his son Cory and worries that he will suffer disappointment--as he did--if Cory counts on advancement through sports, so he refuses permission for Cory to go to college on a football scholarship because his son has neglected his responsibilities to work at the A&P and around the house. He alienates Rose when he admits to an affair with Alberta, who dies in giving birth to Raynell. Rose agrees to raise the child, but vows that Troy will be a "womanless man." Troy finishes the fence he has promised Rose he would build and limits his responsibilities when he drives away Cory in a fight reminiscent of his earlier, more brutal fight with his own father. Troy also agrees to commit Gabe to a hospital--a decision he has always opposed before--and to receive a part of his disability checks for himself.

The last scene shows Cory coming home for his father’s funeral and meeting Raynell, now a young girl. Gabe comes from the hospital, and Lyons gets a pass from prison to attend. When Cory tells his mother he will not attend the funeral, Rose assesses Troy’s life and his love for Cory.