Life and Death of Troy Maxson

Life and Death of Troy Maxson

In a relationship, people must trust one another and express appreciation towards the other person. However, it is a certainty that they will commit wrong doings that negatively affect their counterparts. In August Wilson's “Fences”, Troy is a father and husband who make’s the decision derived from human imperfection and outside variables, to commit adultery and become involved in another relationship with a woman. By examining the racial tension of the late nineteen fifties, in combination with Troy's past life experiences and the events that unfold in the play, one can understand Troy's choice to commit adultery. This situation is clearly emphasized in Fences with Troy’s dissatisfaction about life. However, Wilson’s Fences is also based on family values, and life issues such as importance against major powers such as time and death.

Troy Maxson is an African-American living the transitional decade of the '50s, whose main dream is to become a baseball player. A few years earlier, Jackie Robinson breaks through the segregation of major-league baseball, but the new opportunity for black ballplayers arrives too late for Troy Maxson. This situation causes a frustration in Troy’s life pushing him to live in an ordinary way as a dissatisfied employee. He is a former convict and once a baseball player, who is now a sanitation worker due to the lack of opportunities for his race. He is not being treated equal at his job. He wants everybody to have the same opportunity to drive a truck: “All I want them to do it change the job description. Give everybody a chance to drive the truck…” (822). In Fences, racist is the evident antagonist since Troy’s unhappiness or frustration is mainly influenced by the unfortunate situation of many African-American citizens of his time. This neglect towards the reality of the situation enhances how profound Troy's situation is.

Interestingly, Troy would often go to a bar to "watch baseball," and in actuality he was only there to meet his mistress. This is where he meets Alberta: “I see where you be eyeing her.” (822). This example sheds light onto Troy's frequent hypocrisies that he could never accept to be true. In analysis of the societal influence that the time period had on Troy, it is very evident how his developed victim mentality evolved and created a cushion for him to fall back on, whenever he had to explain a problem. Along with this trait, society provided Troy with a pessimistic view; he did not expect to advance far in life. Even with a steady job, supportive wife and son, Troy found ways to negatively view his situation. He wanted better for his family. Troy has a mindset that was all too common among people of both races; that of a deeply rooted mutual animosity. Derived from these experiences, Troy would always link his situation to how hard his life has been, and how hard of a worker he thought he was.

Life experiences often shape the way a person views their surroundings and manipulates their attitude towards everything. Troy had many difficult experiences, and each contributed to the sour attitude he seemed to exhibit daily. Troy was an abused child, and the beatings his father gave him definitely affected the way Troy treated his son. Troy was not abusive towards Cory, but he seemed to always address him with the attitude that his son had an easy life, and never worked hard enough: “The boy lied to me. I told the nigger if he wanted to play football…to keep up his chores and hold down that job at the A&P…” (847). Troy wished to harden Cory, but at the same time he wanted Cory to realize how hard of a life he experienced. Also, Troy's experience in jail made him view society purposely ruining his life. Because of his jail time, Troy aged past the ability to play sports as a career. His bitterness on this topic was very extreme, and every time baseball was mentioned he would describe how much better he would be at the game. Also, he does not want Cory to lack a college education, so he tries to force Cory away from athletics. But because Troy is blinded by his frustration due to his unfulfilled career in sports, he cannot even come to terms with the fact that Cory could attain a college education with a sports scholarship.

The examples of Troy's past experiences