Fences

This play has been my favorite play to read by far. "Fences" is the first play this semester that I have been able to just sit down and enjoy start to finish. One aspect that I really liked about this play was that it was all of the references to sports and comparing the philosophies of sports to things in life. For example, when Troy is telling Rose about his extramarital affair and the baby on the way, the only way that he knows how to explain it is by comparing the situation to baseball. He states, "But.. you born with two strikes on you before you come to the plate. you got to guard it closely...always looking for the curve-ball on the inside corner...I stood on first base for eighteen years and I thought... well, goddamn it... go on for it!" (409).

Baseball is such an important part of Troy's life and all of the references throughout the text make that very clear, however it was really driven home in this particular part of the play because when something was really tough for him to talk about, the only thing he had to refer to to help him explain how he was feeling was baseball. I believe this is why Troy was so protective of Cory when he wanted to pursue his dream of playing football. Troy saw how important it was to Cory and didn't want him to be upset if and when his dreams didn't come true. I definitely don't agree with how he handled the situation and think that it was very selfish of Troy to do that to his own son, but at the same time I guess we can see that he is doing it out of love as well.

Overall, now that I think about it, I think all of the sports references are what made this reading so enjoyable for me. Sports are a big part of my life so I can relate to the play in that regard. Very good play though! Enjoyed it a lot!