Troy Maxon Quotes From Fences

Separation hurts, by choice or by force. The detachment from something that is obtainable to others is deleterious to one's outlook on life. Because they come to find a sense of becoming claustrophobic in the idea of a life that will always be shadowed by a glass ceiling. This context is depicted in the play “Fences” as the characters experience there own barriers, and the fires kindled as they attempt to cope with them.

Some people use fences to keep worlds divided, and live two different lives. Troy Maxson is a prime example of a person who wanted a life that was adaptable to his situation. Troy's character is the centerpiece that all of the other relationships in “Fences” gather around (SparkNotes). His home was his foundation, and something sturdy that he could come back no matter what, but when he was in the outside world he felt that he could have an immoral lifestyle without any repercussions. Troy's fence was only illusory; there was nothing

concrete about it. Troy told Rose that “It’s just she gives me a different idea a different understanding about myself. I can step out of this house and get away from the pressures and problems be a different man. “I ain't got to wonder how I'm gonna pay the bills or get the roof fixed. I can just be a part of myself that I ain't never been.” (Act 2 scene 1). What Troy failed to understand was that one world can not be reasonably be separated into two. Troy expected everyone around him to adhere to the alternative reality that he had created, and in turn created true barriers for his family.

There are also people who want fences for solidity of a stable life, but can never fully get what they want due to the others around them. Rose Maxson did not see a fence as a barrier but instead a safeguard for her family. As a child, she came from a broken home where, “Everybody got different fathers and mothers… my two sisters and my brother. Can't hardly tell who’s who.” ( Act 2 scene 2). Because of the experience Rose went through she did not want her children to have to go through the same ordeal, so to combat this worry Rose attempted to build a literal and metaphorical fence around them. What Rose did not realize was that just like her physical fence her mental fence was never really complete because a structure can not be solid without every piece in its place. Troy's absence caused Rose’s fence to be unstable and his scandals made her dreams of having a unified family come collapsing down. When Troy brings home Raynell, his child with Alberta, Rose agrees to care for her; but she will no longer be a wife to Troy (Inc). In the end Rose seemed to give up her notions what a family should be in exchange for helping to raise Troy's child because a broken family is better than no family at all. She tore down the reminisce of the fence that she did have and used what was left to build a shelter over Raynell.

The hardest fences that can be experienced are the ones that people are forced to build themselves even when they’re unwanted.

Because Troy’s friend Bono admires Troy and Rose, he is especially concerned about his friend’s dalliance. In the years after Rose rejects her husband, he appears to have lost some faith in him as well (Rose Nadler). While it is never said directly said once Bono figured out that Troy was having an affair on Rose he felt obligated to build a barrier to separate himself from the negative influence of his friend. This is seen throughout the novel as Bono slowly distances himself from Troy, for example when asked to have a drink with Troy Bono responded saying “Naw, thanks. I just stopped by to say hello” (Act 2 Scene 2). Unlike in the opening of the play where that seemed to be their favorite recreation. Bono’s fence was the most grueling of the all because while everyone else’s barriers were pre built or disirefully there he was made to build his own by detaching himself from his best

friend.

Fences can also be living in the shadow of someone else’s broken dreams, and although a shadow is not a solid barrier is it something that one can become so lost in that what’s on the other side seems unattainable. Cory Maxis felt as if others saw him as a reflection of his father and wanted to escape the mirror of discontentment. In the play, Troy had once been a promising young baseball player, but due to the racial barriers of his time he was never able to achieve anything more than a small town legend. Because of this Troy pushed his failures onto Cory saying “I don't care where he coming from. The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football.” (Act 1 Scene 2). This causes Cory to become disconnected from his dreams and in turn caused a disconnect from his father who was stopping them. Ultimately, Cory needs to leave the house in order to make his own way in the world and escape his father's shadow (Inc). By the end of the play, Bono makes mention of the resemblance Cory had to Troy saying “yeah, he remind me of Troy when I first met him.” Even in after years of trying to become his own person and his father's death Cory could never escape the shadow of Troy’s animosity for the injustices of his youth.

Just as a wall built by man can be used as a barrier, a cannon formed by nature can do the same. Likewise, a fence does not necessarily have to be an intentional structure, but can also be a gap formed from the circumstances of life. Lyons was Troy’s first born son and because Troy was in prison Lyons grew up without a father for much of his adolescence. Lyons, like most musicians, had a hard time making a living, and because of this, he constantly asked Troy for money. Pretty much all Troy contributes to Lyons's life is the occasional ten dollars that Lyons comes to bum on Troy's payday (Shmoop). Throughout the play, there is a clear disconnect between Troy and Lyons; however, Lyons never seems to mind. All he asked of his father is to come see him playing his music, and in response Troy said “I don't like that Chinese music. All that noise.” (Act 1 Scene 2). Just like he didn’t have his father in his childhood, Lyons father never showed up to watch him pursue his dreams.

Fences that may seem like nothing to some might feel like the weight of the world to others. Gabriel Maxson was Troy’s mentally challenged brother who felt that he was an angel that guarded the gates of heaven, and because of this in his mind he was tasked responsibility of helping people enter into the kingdom of God, even going as far as to say, “Troy . . . St. Peter got your name in the book. I seen it.” (Act 1 pg 28). Gabe was a man whose heart was engulfed with love for his brother and a desire to see his name in the book of life. At the end of the play, Gabriel tries to usher Troy into heaven, blowing his trumpet and performing an eerie dance (eNotes). He felt that he had fulfilled his duty by initiating his brother into heaven through by blowing his trumpet to “open the gates.” He told rose that “It's time. It's time to tell St. Peter to open the gates. Troy, you ready? You ready, Troy. I'm gonna tell St. Peter to open the gates. You get ready now.” (Act 2 Scene 5). In the end Gabe was the only one who truly overcame his fences by symbolically helping Troy into paradise.

When one person attempts to create separation where separation can not exist it causes ripple of barriers that the others around them must break through. These dominoes of emotions are the reason that the characters in “Fences” were forced into their obstacles, and to compromise their lives to encompass Troy’s.

Works Cited

“Fences Characters.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/topics/fences/characters.
“Fences.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/drama/fences/characters/.
Inc. “Fences Character Analysis.” Course Hero
www.coursehero.com/lit/Fences/character-analysis/.
“Rose Nadler.” Lostpedia | FANDOM Powered by Wikia, lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rose_Nadler.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Lyons in Fences.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008,
www.shmoop.com/fences-august-wilson/lyons.html.