August Wilson Research Paper

Maxon V.S Wilson August Wilson born April 27, 1945, in Pittsburg Pennsylvania. Given the name Frederick August Kittel at birth by his mother; Daisy Wilson, and father; Fredrick Kittle. As a child Wilson faced many hardships. He had transferred high schools three times before the age of fifteen. But that didn’t stop him from becoming aa successful poet. “Widely regarded as one of the most notable playwrights of the twentieth century” (Hunter 247) Winning multiple awards for his work, such as a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987 for his play “fences”, Wilson became well know globally. And so did his work. Being that Wilson’s mother came from an African American back ground we tend to see her influence and his culture in his work. “Most of Wilson’s plays take place in a tightly knit black neighborhood in Pittsburgh.” (Little 312) Wilson went through a lot in his life. In his play “fences” we see many similarities between Wilson’s life and the life of main character Troy Maxon, not only that, but we also see similarities between Troy’s wife, Rose, and Wilsons mother, Daisy. As well as Cory and Wilson. Although the similarities are undeniable we also many differences between Troy’s life and the life of August. Troy Maxon is the main character in the play “Fences” by August Wilson. Troy much like August had a rough life growing up. Having had an abusive father Troy ran away at age fourteen. And ended up in jail, where he learned how to play baseball and become quite good at the sport. “Prison also taught him baseball, when he came out, he became a temperamental star of the Negro Leagues” (Barnes 1020). Like Troy, August Wilson made a dramatic change in his life around the age of fifteen. After being accused of plagiarism, August Wilson dropped out of school. Although running away and dropping out of school at first seems to have no correlation with one another we see that both August, and Troy did not let their circumstances define their future. Troy fell into a life of crime and ended up in jail. Becoming a great ball player and if not for his color would have been in the majors. August did not let the fact that he dropped out of school hold him back from learning. He became a basically self thought successful poet because he dropped out of school. “Troy Maxon, the middle-aged Pittsburgh sanitation worker,” (Rich) is much like august in the fact that they both went through a struggle in their early life with labor intensive jobs. August Wilson was a porter, a cook, a gardener, and even a dish washer at one point in his life. Both August and Wilson went through the hardships of being a African American in the 1950’s. Rose Maxon was a typical women of the 1950’s. She cleaned the house and cooked, and kept troy grounded by not allowing him to over exaggerate his stories. Rose Maxon like August Wilson’s mother Daisy is named after a flower. Wilson uses the name Rose to signify love, nurturing, and kindness. Which is shown by her ability to forgive for having an affair and accept his son as her own, and raise him. we also see a comparison between Troy Maxon and Bedford, August’s …show more content…
Troy became criminal after running away from his family at age fourteen. As where August became educated and a successful poet. This is where we see the difference in choices made by both Troy and August. Troy let his circumstances define his life as where August decided to to take his Circumstance and provide a foundation that lead to his success. As said by August Wilson “That’s the core of black aesthetics, the ability to improvise.” (Lewis 1028) Despite having names similar name the fact that they both are names of flowers, Rose and Daisy lived two very different lives. Unlike Daisy, Rose went through many hardships that Daisy did not encounter through her life. The biggest one being having to raise the child of the women her husband had an affair with. “Troy’s adultery provides the catalyst that propels his wife, Rose.” (Elam