Characters
This character in Fences is a young girl who speaks about the struggles of being an immigrant and the beauty of her culture.
Who is the narrator or the girl.
Significance: This quote represents the narrator's internal struggle and the division between her cultural heritage and the American society she lives in. The "fence" symbolizes the barriers—both personal and cultural—that the narrator experiences. It reflects the tension between belonging and alienation in her life.
"I am the fence."
This event marks the beginning of the narrator's reflection on the role of fences in her life.
What is the narrator's observation of the fence being built?
The fence in the poem serves as a symbol for this, as it represents the narrator's cultural identity and her relationship with her family.
What is the theme of identity?
This person, who helps build the fence, can be seen as a symbol of the narrator's connection to her past and heritage.
Who is the narrator's father?
This character in Fences is a young girl who speaks about the struggles of being an immigrant and the beauty of her culture.
Who is the mother?
"The bird is my heart in flight."
Who is the speaker in "Sonnet, the Bird?"
In "Sonnet, with Bird," the bird symbolizes this important aspect of the speaker's emotional state.
What is freedom or longing?
In "Sonnet, with Bird," this theme explores the relationship between fathers and sons.
What is family and conflict?
In "Elliptical" this represents the emotional barriers between the speakers and others.
What is the elliptical narrative or distance?
The character in "Sonnet, with Bird" is the speaker who reflects on the bird's symbolic role in their life.
Who is the speaker?
"The fence is keeping me in, or keeping the world out."
Significance: This line highlights the narrator’s sense of confinement. It suggests that the fence not only separates her from the outside world but also traps her in a way that prevents her from fully participating in or understanding the world around her. This can be seen as a metaphor for her sense of isolation.
This key event in "Elliptical" shows the speaker's struggle with reconciling their past with their present.
What is the speaker's recollection of a significant life moment or loss?
This theme is explored in "Elliptical," where the speaker reflects on the emotional distance and alienation from others.
What is isolation?
In "Sonnet, with BIrd" the bird represents this emotional concept.
What is freedom or escape?
This character in "Elliptical" often contemplates the distance between themselves and others, struggling with identity.
Who is the speaker or narrator?
"I am the sum of my memories, but they don't all belong to me."
Who is the speaker in "Elliptical?"
This key event occurs when the narrator’s father tells her a story about the past, revealing the deeper emotional divide between them and their different perspectives on family and cultural heritage.
What is the narrator's father telling her about his experiences with fences and his own life struggles?
In all three texts, characters struggle with this issue, often related to personal choices and external pressures.
What is identity?
The fence's role in the poem also symbolizes this, showing how the narrator feels about boundaries in her life, both cultural and personal.
What is protection?
This character in Fences is a symbol of the divide between the generations, struggling with the conflict of living in two cultures.
Who is the narrator's younger self?
"Fences hold things in. They keep things from coming out."
This line suggests that fences, both literal and metaphorical, can suppress emotions, thoughts, or ideas. It reflects the narrator’s struggle to express herself or connect with others, possibly due to cultural or familial expectations.
IN "Sonnet, with Bird" the bird eaves, symbolizing the end of the emotional journey for the speaker.
WHat is the speaker's release from grief or restriction?
The narrator struggles with the idea of this, as the fence both protects and keeps her confined, symbolizing her inner emotional state.
What is the theme of family conflict or being an outsider?
In all three texts, this concept is a recurring symbol of conflict or change.
What is the transition from youth to adulthood?