Fences

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In many ways, Fences is about generational inheritance. In this case, the focus is on father to son.

• What is the original Sin of the Father (or sins) that Troy’s father passes to Troy? (topic sentence)
• How does this legacy affect Troy and then Cory?
• In your concluding sentences, discuss whether Cory sufficiently breaks the cycle.

2. The American Dream has been defined and redefined by each generation of Americans.

• What does The American Dream mean to Troy? (topic sentence)
• In what ways does The American Dream drive Troy’s thinking and actions? Cite examples from the play’s beginning, middle, and end.
• In your concluding sentences, discuss the constructive and destructive power of a concept such as The American Dream in a life such as Troy’s.

3. Troy has several direct conversations about and with Death.

• What is Troy’s relationship with Aging and Death? (topic sentence)
• In Troy’s mind, what does Ruth’s fence have to do with Death?
• In your concluding sentences, discuss with rationale from the play why Troy smiles as he dies.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Ultimately, Troy views the three women in the play—Ruth, Alberta, and Raynell—as burdens or responsibilities he must carry as a man. In what ways is this thinking destructive for Troy’s character development? As Ruth suggests, what does Troy take without seeing from each of them? What does each woman offer Troy? Does Troy recognize the offers as such? Does he accept or reject these offers, and why? In what ways are The Sins of the Father visited on Troy’s relationships with each woman?

2. What does Ruth mean when she says that she gave up too much of herself to be with Troy? What did she give up, and why? What were the returns on her sacrifices? At the play’s end, is Ruth better or worse off without Troy, and why? Is there a kind of redemption for Ruth in becoming Raynell’s mother?

3. At the end of the play, Cory still struggles to define his relationship with Troy. Is the shadow Cory speaks of Troy’s or, as Ruth says, Cory’s own? In what ways are Cory and Troy similar and different? Is acceptance of Troy an important part of ending the cycle of The Sins of the Father? Why or why not?