August Wilson Essay

308 Words2 Pages
When the sins of our father visit us We do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness As God, in His Largeness and Laws. --August Wilson, the epigraph from Fences * Set up Project: This paper uses August Wilson’s play Fences—including his symbol of the “fences” that divide black from white, father from son, friend from friend-- to examine and illuminate the African-American experience in Pittsburgh during the 1950s and 60s. “You Can’t Be Nobody But Who You Are”: Wilson’s Life and Background Rose’s words at the end of Fences apply perfectly to the life of August Wilson: He just couldn’t be anybody but who he was. The Four Bs: Baraka, Borges, Blues and Baseball August Wilson’s influences can be summed in these 4 Bs: Amir Baraka, Jorge Borges, blues music, and of course, baseball. “Blues is the bedrock of everything I do,” Wilson said in an interview…. The Symbol of Fences This is a place where you can establish the symbolic nature of Wilson’s work, how he takes symbols like “fences” and Gabriel’s horn and uses them to tell a story, to make visible the challenges and struggles of black life and experience, and the general human condition….In this discussion of the Pittsburgh as the context of Wilson’s work, I will use and return to these symbols…. Two examples of how these symbols work (inside the play); (outside the play) “The Dream Deferred”: The Hill District, Wilson, and the Negro Leagues Gabriel’s Horn: “I’ve Got My Trumpet Waiting for Judgment Time” *** 3 Things to Remember: Think in sections and subsections. Make sure each section and subsection has a framing power sentence. Build off your headings. Write in your own voice. Use examples and make clear moves to those
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