1.Fences, Act I Scene III: Watch these two versions of the part of Act I Scene III in which Cory asks Troy why he never liked him (video attached below). What differences do you notice between the two versions, including staging, casting, acting, costumes, set, lighting, and sound? What interpretation of Troy and Cory and their relationship does each version reflect? Which do you find the most effective and why?

2.Fences, Act II Scene V: Troy isn’t physically present in the last scene, but because his family gathers for his funeral, it’s arguably a commentary on the meaning and value of his life. By Wednesday, choose two or three specific elements of Act II, Scene 5 (such as Cory and Raynell singing “Old Blue” together or Gabriel trying and failing to blow his horn but then moving into the “slow, strange . . . , eerie and life-giving” dance) and analyze what they mean for our final understanding of Troy’s life.

3.As the play’s protagonist, Troy Maxson presents the reader with a number of interpretive challenges. Please write a description of Troy that addresses the following:

oTroy’s perspective on the ways race has influenced his life versus the opinions other characters have about this influence. What do you think about the role race has played in Troy’s life?

oTroy’s conflict with Cory: How do you explain his opposition to Cory’s interest in sports? Is it simply a reaction to his own disappointing experience with baseball? What about his history with his own father? What does it mean to him to be a father? (Notice his relationship with his other son, Lyons, as well.)

oTroy’s betrayals of other characters (Rose and Gabriel are the most obviously betrayed, but he arguable betrays Cory and Bono as well). What motivates those betrayals? What does Troy win and lose with each?

oThe ways we might see Troy as a sympathetic or even admirable character despite his flaws. What might one admire about him? What might help explain some of his less admirable qualities?

oWhether or not Troy changes and develops as a character.

4.What role does baseball play in Fences? Go beyond Troy’s disappointing experience with the Negro leagues to aspects such as the use of the baseball bat in his fight with Cory, the baseball hanging from the tree that he’s swinging at when he dies, and the fact that the play has nine scenes (just as a baseball game has nine innings).

5.How do you interpret Rose’s statement near the end of the play to Cory that “I’m gonna do [Raynell] just like your daddy did you”?

6.What is the significance of the play’s title?

7.Write a 3-4 page (750-1000) literary argument paper on a theme or issue you find important in Fences.

Cited section using MLA style.

Come up with a tentative thesis or, even better, a guiding question. Remember that a really productive question will have more than one possible answer, thus providing you with the chance to say something interesting and to develop a strong interpretation of the play.

8.Research the three authors John Milton (1608-1674), Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) and Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Describe each monkey’s character.

How does each monkey reflect characteristics of the author for which he or she is named?

Specifically, what attitude does each have towards Rosenbaum? What does Rosenbaum seem to represent to the monkeys, individually and/or as a group?

9.Watch this production of Words, Words, Words (attached video below)

• How do the actors convey their monkey-ness? Give specific examples.
• What other aspects of their characters do the actors emphasize? How?
• What difference does it make that the characters aren’t using actual typewriters (as they do in some other productions)?
• What impact does it have that the actors are performing in between the audience and the stage rather than on the stage?
• What other production choices seem unusual or significant to you? (You may want to review the aspects of staging covered in Chapter 39 in your textbook. Watching some of the other productions of this play available on Youtube could give a helpful perspective as well.) Why?

10.Think about the moments you find funniest in this play (or overall aspects of the play that are humorous). Write a discussion post in which you identify one or two funny moments/aspects and explain why they’re funny. It may be helpful to read this article (“A Quest to Understand what makes things funny” attached below) on various theories about what makes things funny, but one simple rule of thumb is that violations of our expectations often make us laugh.

11.Rosenbaum’s Experiment

The play’s premise is the infinite monkey theorem: the idea that given enough time, monkeys randomly banging on typewriters would eventually produce a copy of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The ending of the play suggests that the theorem is correct. By Sunday, post a response to the following: Given everything that the monkeys say and do, what does it mean that Rosenbaum’s experiment “works”?