August Wilson’s Fences.

Paper details

Choose one of the following topics and write an essay of at least 800 words. Use the MLA system of parenthetic citation, which is different for plays, and include a works-cited list. Give it a title and write clearly and fully enough so that anyone can follow your ideas. Be sure to do the quoting Fences exercise in Course Documents before you write your paper.

1. What does the fence stand for in Fences?

2. What kind of father is Troy?

3. What is Rose’s role in the play?

4. What impact does racism have on the Maxson family?

In a short paper, you will not be able to make every point that occurs to you, but you will be able to make the most important ones and make them well. Back up your ideas with evidence from the play, but don’t retell the story. Interpret it. There should be a point or an idea to each paragraph, but be sure to bring in sufficient evidence from the play to explain and substantiate your ideas. Probably a quarter of your paper will be quotations.

You may also use secondary sources, but they are not required. Brent Staples’ review, which you have read, is useful, and there has been quite a bit of illuminating writing about Fences and Wilson. But you may not use Sparknotes, Schmoop, or any of the other general sites because the material at those sites is superficial and quoting it makes a poor impression. Please type, double space, use standard margins, and give your essay a title.

If you tend to have trouble getting started, brainstorm or freewrite before you draw up an outline or start writing. Begin with an introductory paragraph that catches the reader’s attention, introduces the topic of the paper and presents your thesis, that is, the paper’s driving, unifying idea. Now, write the rest of the paper, including a concluding paragraph, and put your draft aside for a little while.

Read your rough draft out loud, preferably to a listener whose opinion you respect, and mark anything that needs to be rephrased, explained or corrected. Now, look at the introduction. Does it introduce the key ideas of the paper? Is each point in the body of the paper well developed? Does the conclusion summarize and wrap the paper up? Does it possess enough clinch? Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation. Look up anything you’re not sure of in the dictionary or a handbook. Now, type it,. Double space, using Times New Roman 12. Proofread one last time, and give your paper a title page with a title that conveys your main point and contains your name. The MLA system always requires a works-cited page. Call it Works Cited.