Fences - Grade: A+ PDF

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Fences, by August Wilson 1101 Words 5 Pages Should a neglected, discriminated, and misplaced black man living in the mid 1900s possessing a spectacular, yet unfulfilled talent for baseball be satisfied or miserable? The play Fences, written by August Wilson, answers this question by depicting the challenging journey of the main character, Troy Maxon. Troy, an exceptional baseball player during his youth, cannot break the color barrier and is kept from playing in the big leagues. That being his major life setback, Troy has a pessimistic view on the world. His attitude is unpleasant, but not without justification. Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes out his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasures. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism in misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty. Troy Maxon experiences a tumultuous life, beginning with his departure from his parents’ home at the age of fourteen. Living on an impoverished farm in the Deep South, Troy describes his father, who beats him regularly and only cares about work, as the devil. In Troy’s dialogue with Bono and Lyons, Troy remarks, “My daddy turned to face me, I could see why the devil had never come to get him…cause he was the devil himself” (Wilson 52). The most influential person in Troy’s early life was, as Troy believes, the devil. His father, an extremely negative role model, lays the foundation for a difficult, grueling childhood. After his father beats him to the brink of extreme injury, Troy decides it is time to leave home. After walking two hundred miles to Mobile, he realizes he cannot get a job or a place to live. Describing his childhood to Bono and Lyons, Troy says, “…I was, a robber…Went to rob this fellow…pulled out my knife…and he pulled out a gun. Shot me in the chest…I jumped at him with my knife. They told me I killed him…they put me in the penitentiary for fifteen years” (Wilson 55). Troy, a black man in the Deep South, turns to robbery to feed himself and is eventually sent to jail for fifteen years after committing an act of self-defense. That alone could make someone bitter for an entire lifetime. On top of this, Troy cannot pursue his passion for baseball because African Americans were banned from the sport. Taking all the misfortunes of Troy’s life into consideration, Frank Rich writes a flawless evaluation of Troy’s chronic anger. Rich writes, “the father takes us along every step of his long, tortuous migration to the North - a road that stretched from an impoverished Southern farm through the slums of post-World War I Mobile and a jail cell” (Rich). Many who read Fences may think Troy, a former homeless robber, is a pessimistic old man who needs to get over himself and start treating people better. This viewpoint is flawed because the overall struggle of Troy’s life cannot be easily measured. Although Troy’s irritation is justified, it is simply misdirected. Frank Rich acknowledges Troy’s anger, stating, “Monstrous and misdirected as Troy’s anger is, it does not seem irrational” (Rich). The anguish and disrespect Troy faces through racism, homelessness, and jail would be enough to turn the most mentally tough men into a maniacs. Rich brings up a good point when he describes Troy’s anger as misdirected and monstrous. Troy has every right to be angry, but the way he expresses his anger is the real issue. The utter consistency and magnitude of Troy’s disregard for those around him makes him come off as

a bitter old man. The “monstrous” anger that Rich describes is seen through Troy’s unrelenting methods of berating those around him. Troy never fails to impose his views or his wants upon others. The real question is why Troy does these things. In the end, Troy is simply trying to protect his sons from the horrible realities of life. Because Troy had such a rough life, he believes a steady, generic job is the best bet for anyone who wants to realistically make it in America. Sports and music are not real occupations for a black man in Troy’s world. This narrow-minded approach is justified because of the tribulations Troy has already faced in his life. His resentment is best expressed in the fact that he is constantly terse with his friends and family. Troy consistently denounces Cory’s aspirations to play college football and Lyons’ musical ambitions. After Lyons asks Troy to come see him perform his music, Troy succinctly responds, “I don’t like that Chinese music. All that noise” (Wilson 48). Without giving the background of Troy’s life, it would be easy to label him as a discouraging father who doesn’t have the respect to see his son perform something he deeply loves. But, the complexity of Troy’s life story is his saving grace. Because Troy goes through more trying circumstances than one could imagine, he owns the right to be constantly agitated, but not to the point where he is taking it out on his loved ones. When Troy and Cory are conversing about Cory’s job situation, Troy says, “You go on down there to that A&P and see if you can get your job back. If you can’t do both…then you quit the football team. You’ve got to take the crookeds with the straights” (Wilson 36-37). Once again Troy directs his anger at a loved one in a damaging way. Cory realizes he has a special talent for football and knows he can make good on that talent by attending college and potentially playing professionally. Because Troy believes blacks will never be assimilated into professional sports, he denounces the thought of Cory even playing a sport. Cory responds to his father’s negative remarks about sports with the statistics of black major league baseball players. Troy pompously responds saying, “Hank Aaron ain’t nobody…Hell, I can hit forty-three home runs right now!” (Wilson 34). Troy is living in the past and selfishly denying his son the right to at least attempt to do what he could not. Even though Troy faced harsh segregation in his playing days, he has no right to deny his son of playing football even if there is a chance the color of his skin could halt his journey. Ultimately, Troy disregards the aspirations of his children because of the blind rage that he has succumbed to due to the frustrating circumstances that make up his life’s journey. Frank Rich aptly describes Troy’s anger and its root in his evaluation of Fences. Possessing a “monstrous and misdirected” anger, Troy consistently puts down others throughout the play. Passing judgment on him is especially difficult because of the complicated circumstances Troy found himself in. Jailed, discriminated against, and homeless, he essentially lived his life in a constant low point. Troy’s anger is undoubtedly misguided, but entirely permissible considering his hardships. The story of Troy Maxon begs the question: is it ever justifiable to pass judgment on someone without understanding his or her life story? After analyzing Troy’s struggle and resulting attitude, it seems that passing judgment is exceptionally risky. Without recognizing the early hardships of Troy’s life, it is easy to dismiss him and his cynical outlook. What can be learned from his story is evident. Never judge someone for his or her seemingly unwarranted attitude because there is a good chance it is completely defensible.

Works Cited: Rich, Frank. "Theater: Wilson's Fences." New York Times 7 May 1985: n. pag. Print. Wilson, August. Fences: A Play in Two Acts. New York, NY: New American Library, 1986. Print....