Troy's Jealousy In Fences

After reading Fences, it is clear that there is much conflict between Troy and his son Cory due to Troy’s failed aspirations and jealousy of Cory’s success, as well as a significant generational gap.

Throughout the play, pieces of Troy’s background are exposed to the reader. It quickly becomes clear that he was a talented baseball player who could have played professionally if not for the color of his skin. Instead of going on to a successful baseball career, Troy was forced to move on with his life and settle down as a garbage man. Although this is not what he truly wants in his life, it provides stability for him and his family. Similarly to his father, Troy’s son, Cory, is a talented football player who is being scouted for college. However, instead of encouraging him, Troy constantly scolds him, telling him he has to find a ‘real job;’ Troy even tells the scout to leave. This is ultimately because of his jealousy towards Cory’s success in sports, and the fact that Cory possesses the life Troy dreamed of. Many feuds and disagreements are born between the father and son because of their different views.

For example, when Cory quits his job at the market to pursue his football, his father basically kicks him out of the house because he thinks he is being irresponsible. However, Cory believes he is taking necessary measures to elevate his chances for a career in football.
To continue, there is a massive generational gap between Cory and Troy, which is a major source of conflict.

For starters, Troy grew up in a time of segregation: a time when a Black person had no opportunity. Because of this, he could never become a professional baseball player, despite his talent and success in the sport. So, when Cory says that he has the ability to become a professional football player, Troy immediately shoots him down because he feels the same issues will occur. Troy does not realize that in this newer age, people of color have more rights and opportunity than they did when he was growing up. Ultimately, the generational gap makes it so that Cory and Troy share completely different views on the world, and they can never see eye to eye. In the end, their polar opposite views drive a wedge between them, and they completely despise each

other.
All in all, the story is built upon these opposing viewpoints between father and son. One major motif of Fences is that Troy makes the same mistakes as his father did when raising him. Even though Troy despises his father for his abusive childhood, Troy ends up shooting down the same dreams his father once did. This is accredited to Troy’s jealousy of Cory’s success, which is a route of their ongoing conflicts.