August Wilson - 3685 Words

August Wilson: Poet, Playwright, and So Much More August Wilson is a man who, outside of the theatrical world, is not very well known. Yet there are those, like Paul Carter Harrison, who would rank him in the same artistic continuum as Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, and Thelonius Monk.1 When I began research on August Wilson I asked myself, so what? So what if hes won awards and recognition? What has he done to merit them? What makes this man important enough to do a research paper on? Why not Langston Hughes or Martin Luther King, Jr.? What makes this man matter in this society? As I continued my research I realized that, throughout my entire life, I had been deprived of knowing about such a man as August Wilson. I†¦show more content†¦He didnt have the money for bus fare so he hauled it to his apartment and plunked it down on his rickety old table. He first thing he wanted to do was to type his name, but he didnt write Frederick August Kittel, instead he wrote: August Wilson. This was in effect to discard his fathers abs ent history and to adopt that of his nurturing mother. So, on April 1, 1965, August Wilson celebrated his birth as a poet.w Continuing his daily excursions to the library Wilson made a few friends and together they started the Centre Avenue Poets Theatre Workshop, which sponsored readings and published small poetry magazines.6 Doing this he was encouraged to write poetry of his own and was soon being published by Black World and Black Lines. In 1965, Wilson stumbled across some old 78-rpm records and bought a few for a nickel apiece, one of which was Bessie Smiths Nobody in Town Can Bake a Jelly Roll Like Mine. When he got home he was so impressed with it he played it 22 times.l This was the first major influence on Wilsons life, and jazz continued to exert a profound influence on him and his career as a playwright through recurring images in his plays of the black musician. Bessie Smith may very well be figured as Wilsons mother, for she gave birth to Wilson as what Houston Baker would call a blues detective, who is able to decipher blackShow MoreRelatedThe Tone Of August Wilson1377 Words   |  6 Page sThe tone that August Wilson uses is an approachable and lofty blend at the same time. To begin with the protagonist of fences, Troy is a mindful man whose dreams are obstructed, this makes him have confidence in self-made fantasies. The play first begins with an entertaining story about his struggle with a personified Death character. In addition to this Troy has the ability to live in a fictitious world, denying his affair with Alberta. Troy instigates conflict as a result of his ability to believeRead MoreThe Fences By August Wilson1813 Words   |  8 PagesIn the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the right way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen charactersRead MoreFences by August Wilson883 Words   |  4 PagesFences, written by August Wilson, is a play about a man, named Troy, struggling to support his family during the late 1950’s. In this play, we see that Troy hurts the people closest to him. He has been uncaring towards his wife, Rose, his brother Gabriel and his son, Cory. This is because Troy had nothing to go on but the harsh example set by his father. In Fences, Troy has felt like he has been fenced in all of his life, which causes him to fence others in. Troy has felt fenced in all of his lifeRead MoreFences, By August Wilson807 Words   |  4 PagesFences â€Å"Some people build fences to keep people out...and other people build fences to keep people in† (61). In the play, Fences, by August Wilson who displays how fences symbolize different situations to represent different characters. The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950’s, and in the play fences gives an outlook of providing an obstacle or barrier that is intended to keep something out or in. It shows through the protagonist character, named Troy Maxson and his wifeRead MoreAnalysis Of Fences By August Wilson1656 Words   |  7 Pagesemulate are not the best examples society has to offer. In the play Fences Cory looks up to his dad when it comes to sports. However, by the end of the play the reader starts to notice that Troy is not the man to look up to. The plot in Fences by August Wilson is centered around an African American family that looks at the world a little differently by that I mean when Troy was young people believed blacks sho uldn’t be able to do the things whites can. People were rude and outspoken about how they feltRead MoreSymbolism In Fences By August Wilson1460 Words   |  6 PagesKeep Love in or Lock it Out?: An Analysis of Symbolism in Fences Symbolism is defined as an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. In Fences by August Wilson, symbolism is used heavily throughout the play in order to represent deeper meanings and add to the emotion of the storyline. In order for the play to have so much depth and emotion, symbolism is crucial to the work itself and the heavy topicsRead MoreFences by August Wilson Essay771 Words   |  4 PagesIn Fences, August Wilson introduces an African American family whose life is based around a fence. In the dirt yard of the Maxson’s house, many relationships come to blossom and wither here. The main character, Troy Maxson, prevents anyone from intruding into his life by surrounding himself around a literal and metaphorical fence that affects his relationships with his wife, son, and mortality. Throughout the play, readers see an incomplete fence which symbolizes Rose (Troy’s wife) and Troy’sRead MoreAnalysis Of Fences By August Wilson1521 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Jesus be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way† (Wilson 1.2.21). The play Fences follows the journey of an African American family, the Maxons, and their struggle to handle the appearance of both physical and metaphorical fences. Fences shows the difficulties that the Maxons face in an attempt to balance love, loss, and laughter. The Maxson family lives in Pittsburgh during the 1950’s, and they meet tensions when searching for equality within theirRead MoreThe Piano Lesson By August Wilson1143 Words   |  5 PagesThe Piano Lesson was written by August Wilson, formerly Frederick August Kittel Jr. Wilson wrote the play in 1990, which received various rewards, notably a Pulitzer Prize in 1990 and a Peabody award in 1995. The play takes place in the Hill District of Pennsylvania 1936, where Wilson was born and grew up. It is set during the great depression and revolves around the Charles family and an important family heirloom. A piano that represents the Charles family history during slavery in America. TroubleRead MoreThe Piano Lesson, By August Wilson1054 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Piano Lesson, by August Wilson, Berniece struggles with her personal connection with the piano. Her families past reveal her relationship with the piano. The piano meant a lot of things to a lot of different people over the years. The piano is a complex and multilayers symbol; its meanings are both personal and political. For example, Berniece was affected by the piano positively and negatively. She had a sentimental connection with it and never wanted to get rid of it. But the piano had a