The Lost American Dream Creates Personal Fences in Wilson’s Fences August Wilson’s play, Fences, centers around the life of Troy Maxson, an African American who was never able to realize the American dream. He lived in the 1950s just prior to the Civil Rights movement and the emergence of the acceptance of black society. Troy’s point of view dominates the play, focusing on life’s consequences and decisions that create personal fences in all his relationships. He accepts no regard for the opinion of others in his life and passes judgement on their choices. Troy has many good things in life, but he harbors a life of misery and extends his defeat onto everyone around him. “Troy struggles for fairness in a society which seems to offer none. In his struggle, he builds fences between …show more content…
himself and his family” (Rani and Ghosh 49). His personal victimization causes him to build fences which alienate all of his family. His relationships are strained, and he is incapable of allowing himself to be close to anyone. Troy’s estrangement from family began early in life. He leaves home because of an abusive father and makes his way to Pittsburgh by stealing. He stabs a man to death while robbing him and is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. While in prison, he realizes his tremendous skill at baseball. His ability is compared often in the play to many great baseball players, including Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth who rose to fame in the two decades since Troy played. Troy was born too early at a time when blacks were discriminated against and not recognized as citizens in society. “There was simply an understanding among every major league club owner for more than 60 years that no blacks could play in so-called organized baseball” (Koprince 349). At the time Troy is released from prison, he is too old to even be considered for recruitment for league play even if it was possible. Troy refuses to realize his age limitation and focuses solely on the discrimination of black society. The defeat of his dream mentally defeats any hopes for a future for Troy, and he becomes an embittered man grudgingly accepting his responsibility in life as a provider, husband, and father with no further ambition. “In Fences, Wilson uses Troy’s experience in the Negro Leagues to demonstrate that the American dream remained out of reach for people of African descent” (Koprince 350). Troy believes that he has failed in life and that the world did not give him what he deserved. He knows that if he had been born white, his fate would have been different. His dream crushed, Troy pursues the ordinary life of husband, father, and provider. He has a son, Lyons, by his first failed marriage. His first wife left him and raised Lyons. Lyons comes to Troy when he needs money, and their relationship is strained. However, Troy is able to accept Lyons because he is a failure, too. Lyons’s dream is to be a musician. Troy sees this as a parallel to his squashed baseball dream. Lyons will never make it in a white man’s world. Troy refuses to hear Lyons play at a local nightclub, exhibiting the lack of support of his son’s dream. Troy has a second family. He is remarried to a woman named Rose, and together they have a son, Cory. Troy’s relationship with Cory is the most strained. Cory is actually making something of himself. He is doing well in school, holds a job, and is being sought after by a North Carolina college football recruiter. Although Cory represents a new generation and the emergence of blacks in society, Troy refuses to look to the future, only harboring the fences he has built as a victim of society’s injustice to him. From the beginning, Troy will not recognize any potential for Cory because it did not happen for him, and he believes this is the fate of the African American man. Even though Troy works hard to support his family, he holds within himself another great source of failure. He owns his home only because of the military monies granted to his brother Gabriele, who is mentally impaired because of a war injury. Troy does hold a decent job as a sanitation worker to provide for his family. Troy states over and over that this is his responsibility, not his desire or love in life; he knows he has settled for this. However, out of character, he does question why African Americans cannot drive the sanitation trucks just like the white workers. Despite the opposition from his co-workers who feel he will be fired, he does go to bat for himself before the commissioner to drive the truck and wins. Even with this success, Troy is never satisfied in life and is blinded by the possibility of changing times. In reality, Troy wants better for Cory than what he has. He cannot realize the American dream for Cory because he cannot release his own disappointment, so he tells Cory that he needs to take the standard course in life. With his good schooling and hard work, Cory will be able to maintain employment and take on the responsibility of caring for a family. He tells Cory that he took his obligation and responsibility in life to care for him and his mother, and that is what Cory is supposed to do. His tone is one of resentment rather than one of love and compassion for his family. Cory asks his father “How come you ain’t never liked me?” (Wilson 37). Troy does not answer Cory because it is not a matter of whether he likes him, it is a matter of what the African Americans’ role is in society. Troy, distrustful of his own experience, consequently fails to understand his son’s aspirations. Troy, a responsible man belittled by an irresponsible society and its racism, needs the strength beyond endurance to accommodate his wasted potential. Under pressure, he becomes irresponsible hurting family and friends. His personality conspires with his victimization in a horrific image of the self-inflicted wound of racism (Rani and Ghosh 50-51). According to Troy, Cory is to prepare himself for whatever success he can find within the black society, and he is not expected to pursue his American dream Troy will not sign the papers for Cory’s recruit because of his distrust of society. He tells him that the world of sports belongs to that of the white population. “I don’t care where he is coming from. The white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football no way” (Wilson 35). Rose begs on Cory’s behalf. She tells Troy that he was born twenty years too soon as a black athlete, but things are finally changing in society for Cory to have the opportunity. Troy builds another fence and refuses to see into the future and let Cory have a chance in life. Troy goes to the high school and pulls Cory off the team despite the objections of both Cory and Rose. Rose finds it impossible to discuss anything with Troy. During the eighteen years of their marriage she has stood by him with his ugly demeanor, drinking, and pessimistic view of life. He pushes her away, and she asks why he never makes serious conversation with her. He turns every conversation into a sexual playful moment and never gives Rose the respect she deserves. He creates another fence by having an affair as an escape route from the reality of his dismal life. He impregnates the woman. Cory finds out and fights his father, losing that battle and leaving home. When the baby is born, the mother dies, and Rose, the bigger person, raises the girl but tells Troy he will have a womanless relationship. For as rough as Troy’s treatment is of her, Rose accepts her place stoically and carries herself as the African American woman of the time, standing by the man who has failed her. Troy provides no comfort to Rose as to why he cheated, except to say that he needed a momentary escape from the responsibility of life. Rose questions him as to where her escape is from the fenced-in life that Troy has provided for her. She states that he has not given her the respect she deserves. For Troy, it is cut and dry as to the duties of the African American male in society. Troy does not know how to talk to anyone. He relates only to what he knows best: the game of baseball. All of his life’s affairs are compared to the game of baseball. The backyard where he is continually supposed to be working on the fence is where so much of the play takes place.
He has a baseball attached to a rope for practice hits. He uses the bat as a weapon in his fight with Cory. The backyard represents Troy’s area of control. It is his enclosed field of rule and domination. “Wilson indicates that the legendary field of dreams has been reduced to the small dirty yard, incompletely fenced” (Koprince 353). Troy avoids completion of the fence, which is another failure in his life. Although he wants his son to work on it every Saturday, Cory says “He been saying that the last four or five Saturdays, and then he do not never do nothing” (Wilson 29). The fence symbolizes Troy’s crushed dreams and his inability to move forward thereafter. He fails in every relationship and hurts those he loves. The unfortunate part is that because of what life dealt him, he actually thinks he is protecting everyone, taking responsibility for them. He believes by putting up fences, he is able to guard them from the perils of society. In reality, his own victimization from society is carried on, and he is the one who ruins the American dream for the upcoming
generation. Troy never realizes a better place for the African American in a white man’s society. Unfortunately, he dies before seeing the changes evolving in society. His son Cory is a Marine corporal. His illegitimate daughter that Rose raises, named Raynell, plants a garden in the field of dirt, symbolizing the acceptance of the African American society with new life. The emergence of field. On the day of Troy’s funeral, the dysfunctional family is reunited in the backyard. Everyone is there: Rose, Lyons, Cory, Raynell and Gabriele. Cory is angry with his father and refuses to go to the funeral. Rose, the stoic wife, and mother, tells Cory she will hear of no such thing. During all the brokenness, the fence is mended amongst the family members left behind. Cory and Raynell sing Troy’s song, “Old Blue,” in remembrance of him. Gabriele pretends to play his trumpet and they all look to the heavens as Troy’s final resting place. Despite the fences built by Troy, a family stands united at the conclusion of his life.
“Fences” is a play written by August Wilson about a family living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. Troy and Rose have been married for 18 years and have two grown children; Lyons and Corey. Troy is an uptight, prideful man who always claims that he does not fear death, the rest of his family is more laxed and more content with their lives than Troy is. As the play progresses the audience learns more about Troy’s checkered past with sharecropping, his lack of education and the time he spent in prison. The audience also learns more about Troy’s love for baseball and the dreams he lost due to racism and segregation. In the middle of the play the author outwardly confirms what the audience has been suspecting; Troy isn’t exactly satisfied with his life. He feels that he does not get to enjoy his life and that his family is nothing more than a responsibility. Getting caught up in this feelings, Troy cheats on Rose with a woman named Alberta and fathers a child with the mistress. By the end of the play Troy loses both of the women and in 1965, finally gets the meeting with death that he had been calling for throughout the play. Over the
Fences was published in 1983 but the setting was the 1950s in August Wilsons home town. Wilson’s main purpose of this play is to show how the separation of humans into racial groups can create social and finance instability and can have a huge effect on African Americans and whites. The 1950s was the middle of the civil rights era. The Maxsons Family is African American, In the 1950s there was not many jobs for African Americans; most people believed that this is what pushed Troy to steal things in order to provide for his family. Troy went to prison for murder and when he got out he was determined to do good deeds and to turn his life around; shortly after he got out of prison he got a job as a Garbage man. Troy is a tragic figure and a villain; he is a tragic figure because he made great effort to do good deeds for his family, but he allowed his imperfections to get in his way which led to a horrible death. Troy is a villain because of what he did to his wife Rose. (Shmoop; Editorial Team)
Fences is a play that deals with boundaries that hold people back and the trials and tribulations of those who try or wish to cross them. The characters are African-Americans in a time before the civil rights movement, living in an industrial city. The main character, Troy Manxson, is a talented baseball player who never had the chance to let his talent shine, with restrictions on race and his time in jail as the main obstacles that held him back. He is now hard working and loves his family. However, he tends to exaggerate and has his faults, most prevalent a wandering eye when it comes to women. His wife, Rose, is younger than him and loyal, but she may not have known about all of his faults when she married him. At the beginning of the play, Troy has a son from a previous marriage, Lyons, and a son with Rose, Cory. Also appearing are Bono, Troy’s drinking buddy, and Gabriel, his brother.
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character, Troy Maxson is involved in numerous relationships with family members throughout the entire eight years that the story takes place. Troy is a father, husband, and brother to other characters in the play. Unfortunately for Troy, a strong-minded and aggressive man, he constantly complicates the relationships with his family members. Troy's hurtful actions and words make it nearly impossible for him to sustain healthy relationships with not only his two sons, but also his wife and brother.
There are many causes that molded Troy Maxson into the dishonest, cantankerous, hypocritical person that he is in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” (1985). Troy had an exceptionally unpleasant childhood. He grew up with a very abusive father that beat him on a daily basis. His mother even abandoned him when he was eight years old. In this play, Troy lies habitually and tries to cover himself up by accusing others of lying. He is a very astringent person in general. His dream of becoming a major league baseball player was crushed as a result of his time spent in jail. By the time he was released from jail, he was too old to play baseball efficiently.
...in character of “Fences,” fights to be a father with nothing to go on but the harsh example set by his own father, which resembles a symbolic fence separating the relationship between father and son. There is also Troy's son, Cory, a boy becoming a man, coming of age under Troy's sovereignty. The play shows that no matter how old you are, you're constantly measuring yourself against the example set by your parents. Even if the reader’s family is nothing like the Maxsons, one may possibly connect with this basic human struggle.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him, and he never gave anyone a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish.
struggle for survival. Troy has come to believe, from his experiences, that blacks cannot get something for nothing and that life does not owe blacks anything. Due to this, Toy ?fences in? everything that he loves to protect his possessions from the monster of society. Thus there is a symbolization of Troy building a physical fence in the yard but building an emotional fence of protection around his family and friends. He believes that blacks owe it to themselves to make an honest, hard-earned living and that is the only way to survive. Troy states sarcastically that Lyans is blowing his...
Racism is everywhere; it is all around us and at most times it resides within us. Racism basically refers to the characterization of people (ethnicity based) with certain distinct traits. It is a tool with which people use to distinguish themselves between each other, where some use it to purposely inflict verbal, physical or mental attacks on others while some use it to simply distinguish or differentiate from one another. It all depends on the context in which it is used. The play Fences by August Wilson, takes place during the late 1950’s through to 1965, a period of time when the fights against segregation are barely blossoming results. The main protagonist, Troy Maxson is an African American who works in the sanitation department; he is also a responsible man whose thwarted dreams make him prone to believing in self-created illusions. Wilson's most apparent intention in the play ‘Fences’, is to show how racial segregation creates social and economic gaps between African Americans and whites. Racism play a very influential role in Troy’s but more importantly it has been the force behind his actions that has seen him make biased and judgmental decisions for himself and his family. Lessons from the play intend to shed light on how racism can affect the mental and physical lives of Troy Maxson and his family.
Troy was met with many hardships in his life that left him feeling like he needed to protect himself from the things that have hurt him and could hurt him. The fence that Rose told Troy to build symbolized the barrier that he puts up to protect himself from the things that have hurt him and could hurt him in the future. Troy uses the fence to symbolize the emotional separation and neglect he has towards his family; Rose and Cory in particular. The main reason why the fence took the whole play to complete is because Troy neglected it and spent his time with his mistress which symbolized his neglect towards his family. Cory brings this to attention when he tells Troy that he "don't never do nothing, but go down to Taylors'", which is obviously his mistress’s home (Henderson). This was Troy’s f...
As time passes, one generation ends and another one begins. Yet there are people stuck in the past that refuse to adapt to the changes. Not adapting to the new way has shown to sometimes cause problems to others especially those who the person is close to. The idea of conflict between generations is more prevalent in the play Fences by August Wilson. The play tell the tale of Troy Maxson an energetic garbage man attempting to build a fences and how he deals with conflict between his family and himself. One conflict being the stained relationship between Troy and his son Cory Maxson. Troy and his family live during an unstable time when tension between colored and white people was starting to peak. Troy suffered from a traumatic past and had
August Wilson uses the symbol of a 'fence' in his play, Fences, in numerous occasions. Three of the most important occasions fences are symbolized are by protection, Rose Maxson and Troy Maxson's relationship, and Troy against Mr. Death. Throughout the play, characters create 'fences' symbolically and physically to be protected or to protect. Examples such as Rose protecting herself from Troy and Troy protecting himself form Death. This play focuses on the symbol of a fence which helps readers receive a better understanding of these events. The characters' lives mentioned change around the fence building project which serves as both a literal and a figurative symbol, representing the relationships that bond and break in the backyard.
In Fences, Troy is a man who has faced many hardships. He takes on many different roles that impacts the decisions he makes throughout the play. Troy’s conflict is because of the roles he plays and decisions he makes which interconnect to tell the story of Troy’s life. In the play there is an overall theme of fences, “Some people build fences to keep people out and other people build fences to keep people in.”(2.1.61). Troy lives in his own reality behind this fence that keeps him in with his family. In his roles he tries to stay on the inside though he strays outside the fence everyone else must keep firmly inside it being who he expects them to be, this makes him hypocritical.
...tween Troy and his youngest son, Cory. August Wilson’s play, Fences, is ultimately about the conflict between a father and his son because they come for two totally different generations. Troy refuses to see life from the perspective of his son in a world that has changed since he was younger. . Cory cannot easily embrace his father’s views on the society they live in either. Another conflict arises between the two of them when Troy tells Cory’s coach that he can no longer play football. He did not get a chance to continue his career in sports, so he feels that his son cannot do that as well. Troy is afraid that his son will be better than he was, and Cory knows this. In fact, he states it in the play saying “You just afraid I’m gonna be better than you, that’s all” (1. 4. 372). These two characters have a deep rooted conflict that has no sign of ever being solved.