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The Significance Of The American Dream In August Wilson's Fences

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The Significance Of The American Dream In August Wilson's Fences
Essay Three In August Wilson’s “Fences”, the hardships of reaching the American Dream are revealed. The setting of this play takes place within the 1950s when racial equality was not yet established. Due to racism and struggles faced by the average African American, the American Dream was hard to achieve.
The American Dream is an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity (Webster). This dream for many consisted of several aspects. People hoped to be financially stable with a home, family, and job. Freedom, security, and most importantly happiness were qualities Americans strived for.
One of the main aspects of the idea American Dream is to have a loving, happy family. The main character, Troy Maxson, was unfortunately unable to fulfill his American Dream the exact way he had hoped for. Troy was a former negro league baseball player who was deprived the opportunity to play in the major leagues because of his race at the time. With Troy’s disapproval, his son Cory had been recruited to play college football. In Act One, Scene 1, Troy says to Rose, “I told that boy about that football stuff. The white man ain’t gonna let him get nowhere with that football. I told him when he first come …show more content…
Troy Maxson could not quite understand this concept. Instead of allowing his son to achieve more than he could, Troy chose to hold him back. He ruined his relationship with his son and later caused problems within his marriage due to his sudden feelings of freedom. Troy built the fence to separate himself from the world. For Troy, he was constantly reminded of the way he was unable to achieve his ultimate dream because of racism. Along with this struggle, he faced the many duties of being a father and husband. The American Dream seems to be an easy accomplishment; August Wilson reveals to us the true
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