Themes:

The Devil:
At the beginning of the play Troy tells Cory and Bono about his battles with the devil. In Act 1, Scene 1, Troy gives an exaggerated tales of his elongated scuffle with the death. Troy describes the death as if he were a white KKK member saying, “Death stood up, throwed on his robe...had him a white robe with a hood on it” (pg. 1650). Sometimes the devil represents racism and injustice in America. Troy believes that he is undefeated because he wins all of his fights. This includes the case he files against the Sanitation Department resulting in him being the first black man to drive a truck in on his job. Because this occurs in the setting of the story the reader is aware early on that Troy has an extensive imagination and that he is capable of creating unbelievable stories. Although later in the tales prove to represent Troy struggle with lives obstacles, the initial story Troy tells throws off the reader and Troy’s family and friends.
Fences:
Wilson names this play Fences for more reasons than the fact that throughout the play Troy works on the Maxsons’ fence. In the backyard of the Maxson’s home many relationships come to bloom and doom here. Throughout the play Wilson inserts many innuendos to fences. For example, at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2 Rose sings the old church hymn, “Jesus be a fence all around me everyday...” (pg.1655). This represents the fact that Rose wants to be protected and she wants safety for her family and herself. When Bono complains about building the fence to his best friend, Bono he answers him saying, “Some people build fences to keep people out...and other people build fences to keep in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you.” (pg. 1679). Bono says this because he is afraid that Troy’s affair with the local vixen, Alberta could end up as a tragic ending to Troy and Rose’s marriage. He wants Troy to know that Rose’s desire for a fence is symbolic of her desire for her family to stay together. The Fence also symbolizes Troy belief that he has the power to control deaths fate. When Troy dies and family is subsequently reunited his theory is proven to be wrong.