Anaysis of a Dollhouse and Fences

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Analysis of A Doll House and Fences At a mere glance, a reader would believe that Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House” and August Wilson’s “Fences”, could not be more different. But, as we transcend deeper into the underlying themes and personal characters of these two plays, similarities can be drawn. Regardless of their obvious differences, the two award winning plays share more in common than meets the eye, in terms of plot and characterization. Nora, the main character in “A Doll House”, is a younger women living in nineteenth century Europe; a place and a time where women were literally seen as inferiors under the law. They were not allowed to handle their own affairs or undertake any duties that would distinguish them as independent, self- sufficient beings. Women were rendered completely reliant on a patrilineal figure. And so, Nora’s tale begins. In “Fences”, the main character, Troy, is the head of his household. He is a middle-aged, African American man living in 1950s Pittsburg, where discrimination and racism are present. He is a hard- working, strong, provider for the family and was looked up to. “The protagonist of Fences, Troy is a responsible man whose thwarted dreams make him prone to believing in self-created illusions. . . He was once at the top of an exciting career opportunity as a ball-player that nose-dived into a life in a dead-end job. ” <www.sparknotes.com> The main characters come from very different upbringings. Nora is thought to have been born with ‘a silver spoon in her mouth’. Growing up, she and her family never were faced with severe hardships and crippling tragedies. Nora can be seen as extremely sheltered and even oblivious to the outside world. Nora seems to have a rather close bond with her father and looks up to him. This is seen in Nora’s response when
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