Rose Maxon Oppression In Fences

Oppression is unjust treatment of someone or a group of people for an extended period of time. It causes people to become submissive to their oppressors, who can be their family, community, or society. Oppression has long lasting, and sometimes detrimental, consequences to those affected. Rose Maxon, one of the characters in August Wilson’s play Fences, was oppressed by her husband, Troy. This play takes place in the mid 1950’s in Pennsylvania. The African American family struggles to make ends meet, and Troy works as a garbage mad to provide for his wife and son, Cory. By no means did the Maxons live an easy life. Troy, whose own oppression transferred into how he was in his adult life, oppressed her by mistreating her and restraining her

First off, she was submissive to Troy because she felt he gave her opportunities to live a better life. He gave her the chance to have a husband and a son: the family she always wanted. Rose feels a sense of responsibility towards Troy because of this. What Troy does not do, however, is give her the chance to her raise her child. Cory was mostly raised and influenced by his father. It is clear that Troy controlled Cory’s life, responsibilities, and punishments, while Rose’s thoughts and ideas were overshadowed by Troy’s wishes. For example, while Rose pushed for Troy to let his son play football, Troy had the final say. As hard as Rose pushed for Troy to allow their son to do what made him happiest, Tory is relentless and refuses to listen to Rose at all. She is silenced by his dominance. As the marriage progressed, Rose tries harder and harder to make their relationship work; she even had Troy build a fence around their yard as a metaphorical attempt to keep their family together. This is Rose’s final attempt of having a perfect family and love. She is afraid of losing what matters most to her, her family, and this is her way of keeping them close. This dynamic lasted for eighteen years, until Troy cheated on Rose and got another woman pregnant. His true character shows through in this scene, because instead of trying to apologize for what he did, he tries to justify his actions. He is even close to getting physically violent with her. Rose will not accept his excuse. For the first time in eighteen years Rose stands up for herself and does not back down until her voice is heard. Rose finally realizes that Troy only has power over her because she lets him. From this moment, she refuses to be a part of his life anymore. She does, however, agree to raise his child, Raynell, after her mother dies in childbirth. Troy, on the other hand, will no longer be a part of her