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Description:

Fences" is set in the immediate post-war period in Pittsburgh. Troy Maxson is a middle aged family man looking back on a what-might-have-been career as a baseball player. Troy was a gifted ballplayer, but in the pre-Jackie Robinson era, talent could not overcome skin color and his dashes dreams haunt and embitter him. From this vantage point, he counsels his son who is also a gifted athlete on the limitations that bind dreams of glory for the black man in America. But change is in the wind and the son is reluctant to embrace the defeatism of the father, spurring a story that embraces four generations of Troy Maxson’s family. © Rainbow Theatre

Booknotes about Fences:

• SparkNote by Monica A. Henderson
  Context, Plot Summary haracter List, Character Analysis, Themes, Motifs, and Symbols, Important Quotations Explained, Key Facts, Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics, Quiz, Suggestions for Further Reading
  http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/fences/ (SparkNotes LLC; )
  
  
• Gale Group - for teachers who are subscribed to the Gale Group online service there is an excellent overview of the Fences on their "DISCovering Authors" database. Go to Gale Group > Discovering Collection > Literature Search > Title Search. Type in 'Fences' and the booknotes will appear. There are also essays and biographies of the author.
  
  Source Citation: "Fences," in Drama for Students, Vol. 3, Gale Research, 1998. DISCovering Authors. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Discovering Collection. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group. December, 2000. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/

Other websites about Fences

• Mending 'Fences' August Wilson and the black tradition in theater
  http://arts.ucsc.edu/aatat/fences1.html
  
  
• Inspired by August Wilson
  http://www.humboldt.edu/~ah/wilson/
  Recorded readings from the plays of August Wilson, plus study guides, reviews, a timeline & more.
  
  
• Bridges Web Services: August Wilson
  http://www.bridgesweb.com/wilson.html
  Part of a larger site on African American theater and culture, this page includes detailed biographical information along with information on productions of some of Wilson's plays.