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Cultural Differences And Conflicts In Fences By August Wilson

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Throughout time there have always been conflicts of morality and injustice. August Wilson wrote this play about issues that were prevalent in the 1950’s but also still are sadly present today. In Fences, there is an abundance of evidence of cultural clashes. In this play these clashes span over racial, generational, and even gender lines and its effects on the characters. The first issue that is focused on throughout the play would be the racial inequality in America in the 1950’s. Although there were many Americans who were fighting to end segregation and discrimination, nothing was legally done about it until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Troy Maxson being an African American man in his early fifties, grew up with the white man suppressing him. Troy was a Negro League star but when black men were finally allowed to play in the Major Leagues of baseball in 1947, Troy was too old to play. This left him very bitter towards life and the way he went on to raise his sons, which also ties into the generational clashes that will be discussed later on.
However, that is not the last time that Troy’s race has been a hurdle in his life. He works for the sanitation department lifting the trash into the back of the truck, and he wants to drive the truck. The only problem is that they were not allowing any African American men in that position. He approached his boss and said, "I went to Mr. Rand and asked him, 'Why? Why you got white mens driving and the colored lifting?'" (Wilson 1.1.13). From this we can already tell that Troy is not afraid to stand up for what he believes is right or what he feels is his duty to do as a black man in America. Moving forward to another conflict in this play, there are the generational clashes between Troy and both of his sons. Troy holds onto the past and clearly lets that influence how he raises his sons, with Lyon for example. Troy being in jail for fifteen years of Lyon’s life meant that he was not there in the very influential time for a young boy. It is safe to assume that this is a contributing fact as to why their relationship is so rocky. We can also see the generational clash between the two of them with how Troy reacts to the career path that Lyon has chosen for himself.

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