History Theatre / Fences

* AnAesop: The play teaches that times can change, and so do people, so you shouldn't hold grudges against people just because of what their ancestors did in the past.

** [[spoiler: Rose's decision to take care of Raynell teaches that children should ''never'' have to deal with the consequences of their fathers' sins.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: Rose, Troy's wife of 18 years is the Betty, and his never-seen mistress Alberta is the Veronica. [[spoiler: He ends up losing out on them both: Alberta dies giving birth to Troy's daughter Raynell, and Rose loses her trust in and respect for Troy after learning about the affair, though she's compassionate enough to take Raynell in and raise her as one of her own. Rose even tells Troy that he's now "a womanless man."]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler: In the end, Bono and Gabe are arguably the only ones that don't lose some sort of respect for Troy.]]

* FreakOut: At the end of the play [[spoiler: Gabriel has one when he realizes that his trumpet doesn't work. It is noted in the play directions that a sane man would not be able to withstand the trauma.]]

* MeaningfulFuneral: [[spoiler: Troy's]] funeral in the last scene.

* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Bono's father left his family when Bono was only a child.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: Troy, multiple times. First, by Cory for[[spoiler: telling the football recruiter that Cory doesn't want to play college football, when it's very obvious that he does]], then by Rose for [[spoiler: cheating on her with Alberta]] and finally a quiet one from Rose again for [[spoiler: signing the papers to send his brother Gabe to the asylum, despite saying multiple times that Gabe should be free]]
** Cory also gets one from Rose when [[spoiler: he says he doesn't want to attend Troy's funeral.]]

* GainaxEnding: It ends with [[spoiler:Gabriel realizing the trumpet isn't working, then dancing "a dance of atavistic signature and ritual", then howling "in what is an attempt at a song, or perhaps a song turning back into itself in an attempt at speech. And then the gates of heaven open.]]
* TheGhost: Alberta. [[spoiler:[[PosthumousCharacter She dies before we get to even see her.]]]]

'''''Fences''''' is a play by August Wilson written in 1984, the sixth in Wilson's ten-part ''Pittsburgh Cycle'' (although the third to be written) documenting the history of Black America through the lens of Wilson's native UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, PA. Officially, it's never gotten a TV movie, but it's been performed in various theaters throughout the country.

* GainaxEnding: It ends with [[spoiler: Gabriel realizing the trumpet isn't working, then dancing " a dance of atavistic signature and ritual", then howling "in what is an attempt at a song, or perhaps a song turning back into itself in an attempt at speech. And then the gates of heaven open.]]

* HairTriggerTemper: Troy
* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: Troy dies after a time skip at the end of the play]].

The play premiered on Broadway in 1987, with Creator/JamesEarlJones in the role of Troy. The play earned a ton of Tonys, including Jones' second for Best Leading Actor in a Play.

** Troy to some extent. Why, Death is a wrestler and they wrestled to [[JustForPun death]] for three days.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Cory assumes his father is scared of his son being better at sports than he is. Troy's dickish move is preventing his son from ever playing sports in the leagues because he doesn't want his son to have to deal with the stigma of racism like he did.

* ICouldaBeenAContender: Troy would have been a professional baseball player, but he wasn't allowed due to his race.

* MissingMom: Troy's mother, and also Troy's first wife, Lyons's mother. [[spoiler:Technically, Alberta is this to Raynell later on in the play.]]

* TheGhost: Alberta. [[spoiler:She dies before we get to even see her.]]

* HairTriggerTemper: Troy, especially around Cory.

* FreudianExcuse: Troy is extremely hard on Cory and constantly pushes him to get a job and an education instead of pursuing being a professional athlete like he did. The reason why is because when Troy tried to do so, African-Americans were not allowed in sports. A noble, just cause...if not for the fact that the times have changed and Cory would be treated much differently than Troy was.

Fences is a play by August Wilson written in 1984, the sixth in Wilson's ten-part ''Pittsburgh Cycle'' (although the third to be written) documenting the history of Black America through the lens of Wilson's native UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, PA. Officially, it's never gotten a TV movie, but it's been performed in various theaters throughout the country.

* BetaCouple: Bono and his wife.

Fences is a play by August Wilson that premiered in 1984, the sixth in Wilson's ten-part ''Pittsburgh Cycle'' (although the third to be written) documenting the history of Black America through the lens of Wilson's native UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, PA. Officially, it's never gotten a TV movie, but it's been performed in various theaters throughout the country.

Fences is a play by August Wilson that premiered in 1983. Officially, it's never gotten a TV movie, but it's been performed in various theatres throughout the country.

Main character Troy Maxson used to play baseball, but now he's a garbageman along with his good friend Jim Bono. Troy has two sons, one from one mother and the other from another mother, his current wife Rose. However, what Rose doesn't know is that Troy's off having an affair with another woman named Alberta.

* TragicHero: Troy Maxson, one of the oldest examples of the trope.

* BettyAndVeronica: Rose, Troy's wife of 18 years is the Betty, and his never-seen mistress Alberta is the Veronica. [[spoiler: He ends up losing out on them both: Alberta dies giving birth to Troy's daughter Raynell, and Rose loses her trust in, and respect for Troy after learning about the affair, though she's compassionate enough to take Raynell in and raise her like one of her own. Rose even tells Troy that he's "a womanless man."]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic:
** Fences, as the title would indicate. More specifically, how they can be used: either to keep something in (Which Rose metaphorically does by trying to keep the family together) or how it could be used to keep someone out ([[spoiler: which is what Troy eventually does, isolating himself from his family by cheating on Rose and kicking Cory out of the house]])
** Troy's references to injustice towards African-American baseball players represent the injustice ''all'' black athletes faced in a time where racial integration in sports didn't exist.

* BettyAndVeronica: Rose, Troy's wife of 18 years is the Betty, and his never-seen mistress Alberta is the Veronica. [[spoiler: He ends up losing them both, in a sense: Alberta dies giving birth to Troy's daughter Raynell, and Rose loses her trust in, and respect for Troy after learning about the affair, though she's compassionate enough to take Raynell in and raise her like one of her own. Rose even tells Troy that he's "a womanless man."]]

* AbusiveParents: Troy's father, and arguably, Troy himself.

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* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Cory assumes his father is scared of his son being better at sports than he is. Troy's dickish move is preventing his son from ever playing sports in the leagues because he doesn't want his son to have to deal with the stigma of racism like he did.

** The fence around the Maxson home.
** The baseball references everywhere.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Cory assumes his father is scared of his son being better at baseball than he is. Troy's dickish move is preventing his son from ever playing baseball in the leagues.

** The baseball references everywhere. If there were a trope for sports reference overdosage, I would put that here.