Family and Troy

In Fences, by August Wilson, a father's struggle to maintain a prosperous relationship with his family and friends is influenced by the conflicts and hardships that he has endured throughout his life. Troy Maxson, the protagonist of the play, changes from a responsible character who is loyal to his family and friends, to a character that makes wrong decisions, which eventually lead to the break up between he and those who love him. The numerous obstacles Troy has faced in his life have shown to have a psychological impact on the way he carries out some of his unjust decisions. Events that have motivated his actions throughout the play are his difficult childhood, unfulfilled baseball career, as well as a life of crime followed by time spent in jail. Troy Maxson's relationship with his best friend, Bono, serves as one of Troy's stronger relationships in his life. In the beginning of the play, Bono has a conversation with Troy concerning his loyalty to his marriage with his wife, Rose. In this conversation, Bono says to Troy, "I see you be walking up around Alberta's house. You supposed to be at Taylors' and you be walking up around there" (Wilson 1917). Further along in their conversation, Troy says, "Legs don't mean nothing. You don't do nothing but push them out of the way. But them hips cushion the ride" (Wilson 1918). Looking out for the well being of his friend, Bono tells Troy, "Troy, you ain't got no sense" (Wilson 1918). Bono's relentless effort throughout the rest of the play to keep Troy loyal to his wife, Rose, proves not to be enough. Troy's disloyalty to his wife not only weakens his marriage, but also destroys the strong relationship that he once had with Bono (Breaking Barriers). The difficult relationship between Troy and his son, Cory, is similarly related to the type of relationship that Troy had with his father when he was growing up. A major conflict between Troy and Cory deals with Cory's opportunity to play football in college.