Conflict in Fences by August Wilson- Troy vs. Family

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Conflict in Fences by August Wilson- Troy vs. Family

Fences is a 1957 play by August Wilson enmeshed with conflicts affecting an African American household living in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (Wilson, 2006). Troy Maxson, who appears as the principal character and head of household in the play, is centered on the battle. Troy experiences various conflicts with the society, family (his two sons- Lyons and Cory, and his wife Rose), his best friend Bono, and death. Every conflict arising in the play lends a hand to the Maxson family's dynamic structure, which enables other internal and external battles faced by the characters to play out appropriately (Menson-Furr, 2013). Through several encounters, Troy strongly believed that the society is structured unfairly since blacks struggle for survival in a white-dominated space, and the only way out is to remain practical and offer support to their families as much as they can. Most of these conflicts arise because Troy continually imposes his opinions onto family by pushing his people to perceive life through his lens. In the play, Fences, August Wilson uses the conflict of Troy vs. family to drive the other conflicts and elements of the story as evidenced by his continuous societally-induced fights with Cory, Lyons, and Rose.

On the surface, Fences' primary conflict is the progressive skirmish of Troy to understand and accept that Cory holds the capability of surpassing him in terms of life decisions and overall success (Jose & Raj, 2014). At the onset of this play, Cory appears as a young 17/18 years old vibrant boy passionate about football. The first encounter between Cory and Troy helps viewers get a glimpse of these two shares' relationship. Troy has a harsh parenting style that conflicts with Cory because he is very passive in his approaches. Troy was an exceptional baseball player who participates quite well (Wilson, 2006). Troy's dream was killed at the prime after the coaches restricted him from joining the major league due to his racial position. But, times have changed, and the world has evolved to embrace intercultural differences. In the play, Cory is slowly receiving attention for his outstanding skill in football (Menson-Furr, 2013). In his little ways, Tory tries to be a supportive, understanding, and accepting father to Cory.

However, he is not convinced Cory's football career is advancing. Such is an opportunity he could never be accorded at his time, regardless of the amount of effort he invested (Jose & Raj, 2014). The bitter fact pushes Troy into overcompensating and lashing out in a pedantic and petty manner, hence, alienating his son. Troy, the main character, appears as a victim of living in a generation with limited opportunities and resources for African Americans due to societal discrimination and prejudice based on color (Wilson, 2006). Wilson (2016) writes

“The white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway. You go on and get your book-learning so you can work yourself up in that A&P or learn how to fix cars or build houses or something, get you a trade. That way you have something ain’t nobody can take away from you. You go on and learn how to put your hands to some good use. Besides hauling people’s garbage.” (Act 2, Scene 5).

From the beginning of the play, Troy struggles to teach his son the significance of responsibility. However, his approach is entirely off, and he communicates so harshly that it annoys Cory. The two cannot reach a mutual understanding on so many aspects. Conflict develops when Cory hopes to advance his football game to earn a scholarship, thought the dream is shut down by the dad, who firmly believes Cory should use the platform as a hobby or not play at all (Wilson, 2006). Troy lets his previous encounters of not succeeding in baseball stunt his mean beliefs that his son would not grow as well. In his understanding, Troy believes he is protecting Cory from facing hurts and discriminations in society (Menson-Furr, 2013). Although this seems understandable, his approach to the issue is damaging and pushes the son away. Throughout the play, Troy belittles his boys even in their attempt to connect and resonate with him. Eventually, the efforts are disconnected and put Cory off to a point he is unwilling to participate in Troy's funeral. 

Troy and Lyons have a strained relationship following their differences in outlooks that they have both adopted (Menson-Furr, 2013). Troy is engulfed in reminiscences from a different era of life where African Americans were mishandled and discriminated against. In contrast, Lyons is growing up in a diverse society where black people are appreciated and embraced (Jose & Raj, 2014). The two lack a stable dad-son relationship, and this is the basis of their strained association. Troy is against Lyon's idea of becoming an artist, and he rejects his offers with negative responses. The father feels Lyons is materialistic and calls him broke as he feels Lyons only comes around for money. The battle reflects struggles between two different generations with totally different opportunities and experiences (Jose & Raj, 2014). According to Nicholas (1988), "the greater the emotional fusion between generations the greater the likelihood of cutoff, some people seek distance by moving far away from their parents others do so emotionally" (p. 148).

In conclusion, Wilson uses the conflict between Troy and Family to drive (bring forth, move forward) all the other elements of the story. Among the key components include discrimination against people of color, how racial inequality has evolved, marital issues, poor parenting, the position of a man in the society, and family rivalry. The existing battles between sons and their father is a form of insistent paternal care and rivalry. Nonetheless, Troy's failure to communicate is undying love, commitment, and kindness to Cory, and Lyons leads them into seeing rivalry and lack of care. These factors lead the family to cut off strings due to Troy's inability to yield affection and softness and understand society's changes from as generations pass by. Troy was unable to express his love for family by keeping much of his emotions to himself, establishing imaginary boundaries and fences between his family, friends, and himself. He failed to admit to his misunderstandings and failures and stubbornness as a father, friend, or husband to Rose. Just Troy did in the past, Cory also fought with the dad and opted to leave home and start a new and peaceful life.