How Are Fences Symbolic in August Wilson's Play "FENCES"

In 1950s Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson lives with his wife Rose and their son Cory, and works as a waste collector.

Troy left home at 14 after beating up his abusive father, and became a robber to sustain himself. After serving prison time for killing a man during a robbery, he met Bono and revealed himself to be a talented baseball player. He then played in the professional Negro Leagues; but he never made it to Major League Baseball, which had no black players in the years before 1947. Troy claims to have survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia in his youth by defeating the Grim Reaper in a fistfight, upon which the Reaper vowed to return for a rematch.

Troy is forced to reveal his affair to Rose when Alberta becomes pregnant, leading to an argument in which Troy aggressively grabs Rose's left arm. Cory intervenes and knocks Troy into the fence. Months later, Alberta dies in childbirth. Troy angrily challenges the Reaper to another fight.

Six years later, Troy has died of his heart attack, and Cory, now a USMC corporal, returns home, but informs Rose he will not attend the funeral. Rose admits to loving Troy despite his many flaws and pleads that Troy is still a part of him, and Cory later reconsiders after interacting with Raynell. Lyons is serving three years in prison for fraud, and gets furlough to attend the funeral. Similarly, Gabriel is released from the hospital to attend and reunites with his family as they all bid farewell to Troy. Gabriel prays for St. Peter to open the gates of heaven for Troy, and the sun glistens over them.