‘Fences’ Essay Topics to Ease Your Writing

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Are you struggling over what to write for your essay about the play ‘Fences’? If so, don’t worry! We’ve put together a great list of topics to help you get going. We’ve divided them into categories to make the choice easier for you. Here you’ll find a ton of great ‘Fences’ topics so you can write an amazing topic that will knock their socks off.

‘Fences’ Argumentative Essay Topics

1. Which conflict does Wilson use to drive the story ‘Fences’?
2. How do the generational differences in ‘Fences’ create conflict and characterization that
   help to establish the meaning of the work as a whole?
3. What is your favorite character in the book ‘Fences’? And what is the author’s “comment” on that character?
4. What is Gabriel’s role in the play? What is significant about his injuries and their cause, for example? About his fixation with Judgment Day? About his actions in the play’s final scene?
5. What was the writer trying to say about the times in which he lived? Was
   there a particular issue he wanted to illuminate? How well did he
   succeed? How does the author’s agenda limit the scope of the book?
6. What did you learn about the period and/or subject that you didn’t know before?
   If the answer is nothing, did you already have a background in the subject?
7. Why do you think this book is still in print? What can it tell today’s readers?
8. How have things changed since the novel was published? Is it still relevant?
9. n act II, scene 1, Troy uses baseball metaphors to explain his affair with Alberta to Rose. How is this use of language consistent with Troy’s character? On what basis does Rose reject the comparison?
10. In ‘Fences’ Troy is seen as tragic, a hero, and a villain. Using specific incidents from play, describe how he fits each.
11. What are we to make of Cory’s return home after his father’s death as a Marine (as well as his apparent connection with Raynell and acceptance of Rose’s wish that he attend the funeral)? Is his status as a Marine a symbol of success that Troy helped him achieve?
12. What ultimately do you make of or say about Troy? Are we to be most critical of his cheating on Rose and/or his refusal to support Cory’s dream of playing college football? Do we respect him for maintaining the responsibility of keeping a roof over his family’s head and/or for fighting against the racism that had white garbage men driving the trucks while the black men did all the heavy lifting?
13. Argue thematic linkages between ‘Sweat’ and August Wilson’s ‘Fences.’
14. How is fatherhood portrayed in the play ‘Fences’?
15. What would Aristotle think of the play ‘Fences’?

‘Fences’ Research Paper Topics

1. Historical research on the story and play ‘Fences.’
2. Research August Wilson, his life, ‘The Pittsburgh Cycle’ plays, and how they reflect the eras in which the plays are set.
3. A social issue in the story ‘Fences’ by August Wilson.
4. The roles characters play in the context of American society based on ‘Fences.’
5. Responsibility in ‘Fences.’
6. Troy Maxson as a tragic character.
7. Racism in ‘Fences’ by August Wilson.
8. ‘Fences’ as an accurate depiction of the African American community of the Pittsburgh Hills District in the 1950s.
9. The different character types we see in the play ‘Fences’ written by August Wilson.
10. Father and son in the play ‘Fences.’
11. A crucial moment in the play ‘Fences.’
12. Baseball history and the play ‘Fences’ by August Wilson.

Discussion ‘Fences’ Play Essay Topics

1. Discuss how Wilson uses the hostility between father and son in ‘Fences’ as a means of treating larger social issues for blacks in America.
2. Identify and discuss a rich theme in the play using specific evidence from the play to support your claims.
3. Discuss why Troy does not sign the papers that would’ve allowed Cory to go to college on a football scholarship.
4. Discuss Rose’s role and perspective in the play. As you do, consider Wilson’s initial description of her as the play begins.
5. Discuss African American history through the film ‘Fences.’
6. Discuss a major theme in August Wilson’s ‘Fences.’
7. Discuss betrayal in the play ‘Fences.’
8. August Wilson’s play ‘Fences’ is focused on a compelling character (Troy) but it also engages with social and political issues. Discuss what social and political issues are addressed in the play.
9. Discuss what social class roles are being explored in ‘Fences.’
10. Discuss what ideological issues (or social injustices) are present in ‘Fences.’
11. It has been said that authors choose the titles of their plays to reveal their themes. Discuss this idea in regard to ‘Fences’ by discussing three images in the play.

Expository Paper Topics for ‘Fences’

1. Choose the moment in the play that is the most dramatic and significant. Explain why this scene stands out from the rest of the play.
2. Explain how ‘Fences’ goes about correcting the social injustices.
3. Explain how ‘Fences’ exposes the inequalities that underlie all societies.
4. Explain what values ‘Fences’ reinforces.
5. Explain what social classes the characters represent in ‘Fences.’
6. Explain how Wilson’s play relates to the American landscape that we live in today. How is it relevant?
7. Explain how individuals come to understand themselves and their place in the world by analyzing one character from August Wilson’s play ‘Fences.’
8. Explain how feminist criticism is presented in ‘Fences’ by August Wilson.
9. Explain how Troy was sexist in the play ‘Fences.’
10. Explain how ‘Fences’ paints relationships.
11. Explain the meaning of Gabriel’s last speech at the end of ‘Fences.’ Why is it Gabriel who is the last speaker in the play? What is the meaning of Gabriel’s dance? Why does the play end as it does?

Information You Should Know about ‘Fences’

“How to write my essay about ‘Fences’ play?” If you ask this question, then the answer is that you should know its plot as well as historical reference.
Let’s start with a reference.

‘Fences,’ a play by August Wilson, premiered at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1985 and was published the following year. It was introduced on Broadway in 1987 with James Earl Jones as Troy. It was the third premiere of a play in Wilson’s Century Cycle, although chronologically it is the sixth play.

The Century Cycle, also known as The Pittsburgh Cycle, consists of 10 plays set in each decade of the 20th century. Each play focuses on the historical evolution of the African-American experience. Nine of the 10 plays are set in Pittsburgh, and one (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, 1984) is set in Chicago.

Wilson received his first Pulitzer Prize for ‘Fences,’ as well as Tony and Drama Desk awards. The 2010 Broadway revival featured Denzel Washington as Troy and Viola Davis as Rose. They reprized these roles in the 2016 Oscar-winning film adaptation of the play. By the way, if you want to write a paper about film adaptation but don’t know how to do it right, our writer can write an essay online for you.

“How to write my term paper about ‘Fences’ play?” To do it successfully, you need to understand the main theme of the play.

The play deals with the problems of a black father who feels betrayed by life because racism and segregation prevented him from reaching his full potential. The play remains Wilson’s most famous work and is partly autobiographical. It talks about the legacy of trauma from generation to generation, and how one black man tries not to follow in the footsteps of his abusive father, only to inflict the same abuse and harm on his son as a result. It is also about the choice to break the vicious circle in the developing world and the potential of one generation to rise above the next. The play shows that growth and change take time, but it is possible.

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