In the Fences Game, written by August Wilson, the theater is filled with symbolism that shows the meaning of growth and death through; baseball and blues suits. At the same time, Fences considers the African-American experience and relationships. Troy, a black former Baseball League player, deals with the bitterness affecting his family. Fences is a strange character because it talks about an individual and everything focuses around him. The backyard of a town house becomes the setting for the Maxson family's problems. Moreover, the protagonist Troy Maxson is represented as "the purest form of the survival instinct of the African-American race" [Pereira, 1995]. Wilson did not name his play, Fences, simply because the dramatic action culminates in the construction of a fence in the Maxsons' backyard, rather because the characters' lives change around the fence-building project. The fence serves as both a literal and figurative device, representing the relationships that come together and break apart in the courtyard arena. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAs has been said, Fences is against the property metaphor and its historical meaning, especially the connection between property rights and human rights, for African Americans; it is full of symbolism. The game of baseball has long been considered a metaphor for the American dream: an expression of hope, democratic values ​​and the drive for individual success. Baseball has become the great repository of national ideals, the symbol of all that is good in American life: fair play and sportsmanship; the objective rule of law-arbitration of disputes; equal opportunities: each side has its innings; the brotherhood of man: most welcome harmony and more. Furthermore, in Fences, by situating Troy within three mythical baseball settings - the garden, the battlefield, and the sacred space - Wilson contradicts the idea of ​​America as a "field of dreams", instead using baseball as metaphor of a heroic challenge. Herrington, 2002:73]. It is evident that in Fences Wilson uses Troy's experience in the Negro Leagues to demonstrate that the American dream remained out of reach for people of African descent. When Troy's friend Jim Bono remarks that Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson were the only players to hit more home runs than Troy, Troy responds, "What's wrong with me? I don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw him out." of" [Wilson, 1986: 9]. Troy's wife, Rose, and Bono both argue that times have changed since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, that many black players are involved in professional sports now and that Troy "came too soon" [9]. To this argument Troy responds indignantly: “Hell, he never should have called time. I know some teams Jackie Robinson couldn't even form! What are you talking about, Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was nobody tell me I'm coming too soon of Robinson,” not only through his open criticism of Robinson, but through his self-styled image as a slacker. Like Babe Ruth (and his Negro League counterpart, Gibson), Troy embraced a conservative approach to the sport of baseball, eschewing the game ofRobinson's running game or Mays' spectacular defenses, and instead focusing on hitting the ball out of the park. Troy tells Bono, "Take one of those fastballs, waist high, over the outside corner of the plate where you can put the bat meat on it... and good God! You can kiss it goodbye." Wilson, 1986: 10]. By connecting to "Ruth's house," Troy not only transcends certain racial stereotypes, but claims he can beat the white man at his own game. Troy's metaphorical references to Robinson's brand of baseball help capture the double consciousness [Du Bois 45] of the African American experience; for, as a black slacker in a white-dominated world, Troy inevitably belongs simultaneously to the "house of Ruth" and the "house of Robinson." a black man: "two souls, two thoughts, two incongruous efforts; two conflicting ideals in one dark body, whose only stubborn strength keeps it from being torn apart." Driven to see himself and measure his success through the lens of white America, Troy embodies both the psychological fragmentation of the black American both the dualistic nature of black baseball, a cultural institution he describes as an ironically compressed expression of shame and pride, of degradation and success In addition to invoking the falsity of the American dream in Fences, Wilson makes use of the stew metaphor in Fences To illustrate the economic inequalities experienced by members of the black working class, Troy Maxson recalls the following incident he witnessed in a restaurant: “I saw a white guy come in and order a bowl of stew. Pope took all the meat out of the pot for him. The man had nothing but a bowl of meat! The nigger comes after him and has nothing but potatoes and carrots” [Wilson, 1986: 23]. what Baker calls "the economy of slavery" - a governmental statement of American history that perpetuates the economic structure and patriarchal myths of the antebellum South [Baker, 1984: 26-27]. Indeed, in Fences the closest Troy comes to participating in the American Dream—and thus inhabiting such a paradise—is during his life in the Negro Leagues. Wilson associates the American dream with Troy's younger days as a baseball player. For Troy, however, the American dream has turned into a nightmare. Therefore, Troy Maxson is indeed considered a tragic hero and there is evidence throughout the aforementioned work that further proves this: instead of unlimited opportunities, he experienced racial discrimination and poverty. At age 53, this former Negro League hero is a garbage collector living a meager existence, working hard to support his family and living hand to mouth. “I do my best,” he tells Rose. “I come here every Friday. I bring a sack of potatoes and a bucket of lard. You are all lined up in front of the door with your hands outstretched. I'll give you lint from my pockets. I give you my sweat and blood. I have no tears. I've already spent it” [Wilson, 1986: 40]. Troy claims he wouldn't even have a roof over his head if it weren't for the $3,000 the government gave his mentally disabled brother Gabriel following a severe head injury during World War II. It is known that a tragic hero is a character who did good deeds in light of others but allows his flaws or internal struggles to overwhelm him. Aristotle once said that a tragic hero is "one who does not fall into misfortune through vice or depravity, but falls through some error." As a result, this fall leads to the character's death. In the case of Troy Maxson, it is clear that he constantly struggles to keep up with good deeds for his family, but unfortunately he has allowed his inner flaws to lead him, 2002.