Death is a powerful, recurring theme throughout August Wilson's Fences, and each character views it differently. Rose believes death should not be discussed (10). Gabriel believes death is a vehicle for Judgment Day and the afterlife. For protagonist Troy, however, death is much more personalized—so much so that it becomes its own character throughout the play. In Troy’s view, Death is inevitable, but not someone to fear; Death is his enemy to protect himself from; Death is his equal; and ultimately, Death is his source of peace. But Troy’s battles with Death do not simply involve escaping physical death to prolong his life on Earth; they also refer to surviving the death of his childhood and his freedom, two of his reasons to live. Troy fights Death in many forms throughout his life, but he ultimately greets his enemy as a friend when “Judgment Day” arrives.
Troy reveals his complex relationship with death in acknowledging that he cannot avoid it altogether, but he has the power to fight it. Early in the play, he refers to death as nothing more than “A fastball on the outside corner” (10). This language gives Troy the upper hand over death because it places mortality in terms of baseball, a strength of Troy’s. It allows him to believe he can “get the meat of the bat on” death and “kiss it goodbye” (10) because on his own field, Troy is unbeatable. He strips death of its power further in explaining that it is simply “part of life. Everybody gonna die” (10). Although he recognizes the inevitability of death in this moment, he simultaneously trivializes it as something everyone experiences; thus, Troy’s portrayal of death as nothing more than part of life eliminates its ability to induce fear in him. Here, he speaks about death, the natural part of being human, not Death, the aggressor he must fight.
Troy’s depiction of Death as his antagonist differs from the death he reduces to part of nature because of the active role Death plays in Troy’s life; while Troy has power over death, he and Death are equals. Troy claims that he “ain’t worried about Death” (11), but he still feels the need to “keep watch” (11) because “Death ain’t nothing to play with” (12). In other words, Troy does not fear Death, but he does view him as a worthy adversary. Troy likely feels that he gains Death’s respect through the “battles” he wins against him. For example, he tells the story of “Death…marching straight at” (11) him in the form of pneumonia, ready to take his life. In Troy’s dramatization, he wrestles Death “for three days and three nights” (12) until both men are weak, and his enemy relents with the words, “I’ll be back” (12). In Troy’s mind, the physical and mental strength he exerts over Death in this extended wrestling match prolongs his life, impresses his opponent, and carries him to his victory.
Troy further develops his status as Death’s equal in using the death of his childhood to fuel his will to live and care for his family. He grew up in a house where his father “ate first. If there was anything left over, that’s what you got” (50). Troy’s father neglected him, beat him (52), and forced him onto the streets at the young age of 14 (53), destroying his childhood happiness in the process. Troy “used to wonder why [his father] was living” (51) because all that mattered to him was his work; “All he wanted was for [his kids] to learn how to walk so he could start [them] to working” (50). When Troy’s father did not treat his children like employees, he treated them as nothing more than burdens in the way of his freedom and happiness.
Like his father, Troy cares about his work, but he also cares about his family and sees it as a reason to live. Not once, but twice, Troy comes dangerously close to beating Cory, but he “stops himself” (72, 88) both times. He does not perpetuate the cycle of his father’s neglect and abuse in his own household, living by the belief that “A man got to take care of his family” (38). Although he easily could have beaten his son just as his own father had beaten him, Troy refuses to allow the death of his childhood to exercise that power over him, proving victorious in another battle against Death.
While Troy chooses not to share in his father’s abusive tendencies, he does share and understand his father’s desire for freedom—a freedom that both men ultimately find only in death. He explains that while his father “felt a responsibility towards” his family, this sense of duty made him feel “trapped”(51). Troy’s father likely resented his children for “trapping” him with obligations, and this resentment drove the abuse he inflicted upon them; while “[h]e stayed right there with his family…he was just as evil as he could be” (51). In spite of “wish[ing he] hadn’t known [his] daddy” (51), Troy almost seems to defend him in explaining that had he not felt obligated to his children, his father “could have walked off and left [them]” (51), leaving them safe from abuse, but also parentless and forced to fend for themselves. Going one step further, Troy almost empathizes with his father in saying that he hopes he “found some peace” (53) in death, perhaps because he feels similarly trapped. Troy believes he “locked [himself] into a pattern trying to take care of [Rose and Cory] that [he] forgot about [himself]” (69). He craves “some space…some room to breathe” (77) because the responsibilities he has been forced to carry since his childhood have prevented him from “enjoy[ing] life” (74). Thus, in wishing for his father to have peace, perhaps Troy wishes the same peace for himself, foreshadowing his own fate following Alberta's death.
Rather than lash out against his family for keeping him from freedom, Troy uses Alberta as a temporary escape from his familial duties. She allows him to “get away from the pressures and problems…be a different man” (68-69) in that he does not feel the need to be a good husband to her or put a roof over her head. He can “sit up in her house and laugh…laugh out loud…and it feels good. It reaches all the way down to the bottom of [his] shoes” (69). So when Alberta passes, it marks not only the death of Troy’s freedom, but also his first loss in his war against Death. Towards the end of his life, Troy seeks freedom from responsibility and hardship. He has spent his life fighting Death as a seemingly relentless enemy, and this lifestyle does not lend itself to the peace he desperately craves. He feels Death overstepped his bounds in taking Alberta’s life, so to deter his enemy from interfering with his loved ones further, he plans to build a fence around his yard. “With a quiet rage that threatens to consume him,” Troy tells Death to “stay on the other side” (77) until he is ready for him, and him alone, because this war is between just the two of them.
Troy never seeks Death out until he loses Alberta, his only perceived source of freedom left on Earth. In his final dialogue with Death, Troy tells him, “I be ready for you…but I ain’t gonna be easy” (89). These words almost seem like an invitation for Death to battle him one last time, or Troy’s way of accepting death while maintaining his pride. While Troy still wants to fight the fair fight, perhaps he realizes losing the final battle to Death would allow him to attain the freedom he could not find on Earth, thereby leading him to the ultimate victory. It would also allow Troy to ensure that Death would leave the rest of his loved ones safe and untouched. He no longer needs a fence to protect himself from Death because he recognizes his former antagonist as a source of peace. Thus, he invites his enemy-turned-friend in with a “grin on his face” (96) and creates the opportunity for himself to pass through the ultimate fence: the gates of Heaven to which Gabriel refers throughout the play.
Gabriel acts as a symbol for Troy’s Judgment Day and the inevitability of death. He often sings, “Better get ready for the judgment/Better get ready for the judgment/My Lord is coming down” (27), portraying death as something to prepare for and celebrate. He even foreshadows Troy’s death when he reportedly sees his brother’s name in St. Peter’s book as he marked “it up for the judgment” (26). Gabriel seemingly believes that his primary purpose on Earth is to prepare Troy for Judgment Day and wait “on the time to tell St. Peter to open the gates” (47). The stage directions even indicate that at Troy’s funeral, he blows the trumpet “like a man who has been waiting some twenty-odd years for this single moment” (100-101). He celebrates his brother’s death with “A dance of atavistic signature and ritual” (101) that open the gates of heaven “as wide as God’s closet” (101). Finally, Gabe emphasizes the celebratory nature of Troy’s funeral with the expression, “That’s the way that go!” (101), sending his brother off into heaven to enjoy peace and freedom from earthly hardships and responsibilities.
Though death and grief walk hand-in-hand, Troy’s death ultimately deserves some level of celebration because it marks the end of the obstacles he endured on Earth. He survives pneumonia, the death of his childhood, and the death of his freedom. While he refuses to fear Death, Troy recognizes him as his opponent and treats him as such. He battles Death to protect his pride, his family, and his opportunity to find freedom in his time on Earth. However, Troy ultimately discovers that Death is the only way for him to experience the peace he seeks. Troy’s acceptance of Death as a friend is his acceptance of his earthly losses and victories, Gabe’s advice to prepare for Judgment Day, and ultimately, his lack of control over mortality.
Works Cited
Wilson, August. Fences: August Wilson. Samuel French, 2010.