Essay on August Wilson's: "Fences"

Troy does not want to accept the changes in the world because that would cause him to accept the death of his own dreams.

educated boy that he was, Troy would have no one to be jealous of, not evens Lyons, and

He is the center of both small and large conflicts. His ability to believe in self-created illusions and his inability to accept the choices of others in life that differ from his own philosophy is what causes him to instigate conflicts. His philosophy is mainly based on experience, this experiences stem from his rough childhood, prison life, his baseball career and the discriminative hiring practices employed by his employers at the sanitation department. During this time frame, the segregation between blacks and whites was at its peak and this influence was the major governing factor to which Troy’s life was built upon. Throughout the play Troy is mostly seen as an average African American bowing down to racism and segregation. In the beginning of the play though (Act 1 Scene 1) Troy stands up to his white employers and questions them on why only white people are driving trucks and not the black people too. This is the first time Troy is seen standing up against racism and eventually becomes the first black truck driver.

Troy is seen as an unforgivable character because of his actions, but it is his actions that reveal that he is in a perpetual cycle of longing. Troy’s ongoing dissatisfaction with life, as a result of being a black everyman in the 1950s only adds to the anger and bitterness at life disappointments. The black everyman mirrors the pain and unrequited respect that Troy feels. Which is why it is important to note that in the

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.

The boundaries of each men break when there is no exit or meaning of existence. This lead Troy to feel a profound resentment for the world in general, thus marking a defining characteristic in Troy’s personality. For instance, he started questioning the impose duties on his demeaning job, exposing the difference between black and white men. Bravely, he made a complaint to his superiors to let the colored workers drive the garbage trucks as well. Even when he won the matter of his objection and made a great step for the African-Americans, he still didn’t appreciate what he has done, and what he has been given. It was simply not enough. Whenever he had the chance, he will show his discontent and the profound of his soreness. As soon as he was confronted by his wife Rose, interceding for Cory to let him play football, he always refuted. When Rose mentioned that the white baseball leagues accepted black players such as Jackie Robison he replied: “I done seen a hundred niggers play baseball better that Jackie Robison…Jackie Robison wasn’t nobody”. Troy spoke blinded by his resentment, ignoring that Jackie Robison was awarded the Rookie of the year for his phenomenal performance.

Beside stuffs about football, Cory is also angry about Troy cheating on Rose. He even starts a fight with Troy because of that, a fight between

Where Cory has aspirations of playing football, Troy says that he must continue with his more practical job at the A&P.

Troy is the son of an abusive father. His father was hardly around to raise him. When he was around, he made him do chores and if he didn’t do them he would beat him. One time, after Troy tied up the mule, just as his father told him to, he went off to the creek with a girl to “enjoy himself.” The mule got loose, and his father found out. His

Troy is entirely stubborn in his ways that he cannot see that times has changed. Since Troy was fenced out from playing professional baseball, he fences Cory out of playing college football. Troy and Cory’s relationship resembles the fence by its purpose and physical attribution. When it comes to sports, they are separated by the different generations, but they come together because of their love of sports. Like a fence that is meant to separate outsiders, but connected to bring together the fence. Troy and Cory’s relationship continues to get pushed apart throughout the play. In Act 2, Scene 4 Troy and Cory get into a fight which leads Troy to state to Cory that his things will “be on the other side of that fence.” When Troy kicks Cory out onto the streets, the fence becomes an actual division between both of them. The two spend a lot of time building the fence, only for it to create a literal and emotional barrier.

This situation makes me wonder if he is actually scared that Cory will be an amazing athlete and will be better than him. Troy maybe jealous that his son has opportunities to succeed that he never had, no matter how great of an athlete he was, he could have never made it to the pros because of his skin color. Now his son is being recruited by professional teams to play for them. Troy may be against this because he doesn't want his son to be able to live the dream that he was never able to live. This makes their father son relationship very interesting. It is said that fathers typically want their sons to be better off then they are, especially not very wealthy people. You would think in this situation Troy would support Cory in what he wants to do and be happy for him that he has such wonderful opportunities. Troy maybe be acting like this because Troy still lives in a dream world and still thinks he a great base ball player. He has trouble accepting that his

Troy’s personality is very conservative. He is an angry man who has been a victim of racial violence and allowed his bitterness to become a barrier to new opportunities that opened at this time. As a child Troy wanted out of his abusive father’s relationship. His father barely looked after his 11 children and had always puts himself first before anyone else. Instead, young Troy escapes north to Pittsburg ending himself in jail due to theft, which is where he meets his ace

Troy becomes so wrapped up in his own misfortunes and bitterness that he fails to realize what strength his family really has (Zirin). They are trying and willing to help him but he is unable to fathom the possibility of that because he is so far gone. Troy says “…Come on! It’s between you and me now!

It is obvious to the audience that Troy and Cory simply do not get along. The two are constantly bickering, mostly about Cory's dream to play football at the college level. Since playing baseball did not get Troy anywhere, he feels that football will not benefit Cory and that Cory should "get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living" (8). Troy constantly denounces Cory's dream and pressures his son to quit the highschool football team so that he can work at the local grocery store. The verbal abuse of Cory by Troy is enough to make Cory question whether or not his own father even likes him, but it is not until after Troy's affair with Alberta is out in the open that Troy and Cory's unhealthy relationship reaches a whole new level.

Troy fits a character who would have lived in the 1950’s, having experienced discrimination, an abusive father and a changing society towards African-Americans in that period.