The yard is partially fenced in. There is the beginning of a fence on the edge of the property, but the fence is incomplete, unfinished. The supplies to finish it sit nearby, untouched: a sawhorse, pile of lumber, saw etc.
There is a tree in the yard with a ball made of rags hanging from it, a baseball bat leans against the tree. The space is built, constructed by man. Even though we are outdoors and there are natural elements, they are constructed by humans and not naturally occurring. It is forced nature in an urban setting.
The year we are told is 1957. Time moves slowly, linearly and logically in act 1, going from one evening to the next morning, passing over a few days or a week. The scenes are long and complicated, involving many characters. The scenes in the second act jump over weeks, months and years, filled with scenes much shorter than those in the first act. Between two scenes we leap eight years. The time of the play covers the time of Raynell’s conception, birth and early life, ending with the death of Troy, her father and her reunion with her brother.Each of Troy's three children have 17 years separating them.
The beginning of the play we assume takes place in the fall, as Cory is in football practice and football is played in the fall season. After this mention, there is no mention of what season it is, but it must be assumed that the seasons are warm, because the entire action of the play takes place outdoors in the yard of the house.
The mood of the world is tense and serious, broken up only by silliness between Rose and Troy, instigated by Troy’s flirtation. When Cory and Troy are alone onstage, the tension between them is palpable, there are many verbal fights and one physical fight which leads Cory to leave his home.
Many references are made to places we cannot see. We are never allowed into Troy and Rose’s house, only onto the back porch. Other places that are mentioned and are not seen include: Miss Pearl’s house where Gabe stays, The A&P when Cory works, the Chuch, the hospital, Alberta’s house, and Taylor’s bar.
The world of the play we are allowed to see is private. We are in a family’s back yard, only interrupted by Bono who Troy has known for over thirty years. In the first act, the power is controlled by Troy. He is a dictator, kind to Rose because she is his wife, not because he respects her as a human being. He is cruel to his son, because Cory is better than Troy ever was at athletics, even being offered a scholarship to play football in college. All of these characters have a great deal to say, no one could be called a person of few words, the audience is let in on their personal struggles. Troy especially likes to talk, speaking at great length at his former glory as a baseball player with Bono who serves as a willing sidekick in the first act.
In the second act a great deal changes. Troy no longer holds he power he once held. Rose has cast him out of her life, giving him over when he told her that he had fathered a child with another woman. Cory physically fights back to Troy, eventually leaving the house. Bono no longer idolizes and admires Troy, not coming around as often as he did before the news of Troy’s infidelity was broken. Raynell, Troy’s daughter with Alberta is born, Alberta, whom we never meet, dies after giving birth to Raynell. Rose takes over as the child’s mother. Troy dies after an afternoon of swinging around his baseball bat. The fence is finally completed, but it is not revealed who completed it or why. Gabe’s circumstances change, but at his center, he does not, despite the betrayal by his brother.
We have moved from threat to peaceful celebration in this play, traditional of tragicomedy. The threat being Troy’s harsh control over his family, and the celebration of peace that comes to everyone after he dies.
