The spine of August Wilson's Fences is in attempting to fence in and protect those you care most about, you are in fact injuring them. This theme is represented through Rose, Cory, and Gabriel, and Troy's treatment of these characters.
Rose, Troy's wife of 18 years, has been a faithful and caring woman for Troy. She has always done her best to keep Troy content, which is no easy task. Near the end of the play, we discover that Troy has cheated on his wife, and in the process, impregnated another woman. After this, Rose can't bear to realize that she has spent 18 years of her life living with a man that would eventually have an affair. Troy has fenced this woman in, to protect her from the surrounding world, while he has run off with another woman.
Cory, Troy's son, is succeeding in playing football in high school. He is of interest to a recruiter for a college, and his big break in this racist world may be near. Troy, in his best interest of Cory's protection from "the man," does all he can to prevent Cory from reaching his goal. He goes so far as to have the recruiter told not to come see Cory, and to remove Cory from the team. Troy has put a fence between Cory and his dream, which Troy believes will never come true.
Finally, Gabriel, Troy's younger brother, has mental difficulties caused by a head wound in World War II. Troy, feeling he is protecting Gabriel, uses his brother's government checks to pay for his own needs, including the house he lives in. He believes that Gabriel will just throw the money away because he is not in the right state of being. Near the end of the play, Troy has Gabriel committed to a mental hospital, although he denies it. His brother must spend the remainder of his life imprisoned when he probably could do very well out on his own.
Although his choices were done with the best intentions, the protection of the one's he loved, Troy has crippled these members of his family.
