August Wilson's play Fences offers an introspective view of the world and of Troy Maxson's family and friends. The title Fences reveals many revelations about what the meaning and significance of the impending construction of the fence in the Maxson yard represents. Wilson shows how Troy's family and friends survive daily through good times and bad. Wilson uses his main characters as Fences performers, both literally and figuratively. Racism, confinement and protection show what Wilson was conveying when he chose the title Fences. Lewis states that Wilson was an African-American playwright, whose past of racism as a child forced him to drop out of high school after a racist accusation that he had plagiarized an article (Lewis). When Wilson wrote the play Fences, he centered his main characters on this racism he grew up with. Troy, a man dealing with his issues of failure in baseball and the pride of having done well for his family, says “Why? Why did you make white men lead and black men lift up?…what's the problem, don't I count?” (Wilson 1575). This display of racism and the meaning of the title fences go hand in hand because the construction of the fence in the Maxson yard is a way to show that African Americans wanted to protect their families. Rose, Troy's wife, wanted the fence built to protect her family from the outside world of a predominantly white society. Fences also represent the barrier between African Americans and the rest of society. Alchura says that the way Wilson uses setting dominates the fact of racism in this play (Alchura 1). Wilson uses the following quote as a way to show how racism has affected African Americans. They ...... half of the paper ...... om. Yahoo, June-July 2009. Web. 17 July 2014vvvv. .Lewis, Miles M. "Interview with August Wilson." The believer. The Believer, November 2004. Web. July 20, 2014. SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNotes: Fences: Character List." SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. nd. Network. July 17, 2014. Wilson, August. "Fences." Literature: reading, reacting, writing. Compact 7th ed. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth CENGAGE, 2010. 1572-1625. Print.Zirin, David. “Homage to August Wilson: Tearing Down the Fences.” Home | Common dreams. CommonDreams.org, October 14, 2005. Web. July 17 2014. .