The experiences that people go through in life help shape their characters and actions. The behaviors that people exhibit cannot be looked at exclusively from an idealistic moral perspective. It is therefore important to look at an individual’s past situations before throwing a blanket judgment on them. This is the case with Troy Maxson in the play “Fences” written by August Wilson. An abstract look at his behavior would suggest that he is a selfish and egoistic man, yet a closer look at his life experiences suggests that more often than not, there was an underlying justification for his actions. Therefore, Troy’s role in the downward spiral of his family was informed by the experiences that he had had in life rather than him being an outrightly bad person.
However, there are those of a contrasting opinion who hold that the complexities of Troy’s life cannot be reason enough to justify his actions towards his family. From the play, it is evident that Troy presents two contrasting characters: that of an illusionist and that of a realist. For those that view his actions as inherently immoral, they are of the view that the two contrasting characters depict his pretense. As an illusionist, an example is given in which he purports to have death hence deserving of being a hero (Wilson, 7).
Nevertheless, his wife Rose had a simple explanation to which she attributes the perceived battle with Death as Troy recovering from pneumonia (Kurnia, 9). When the situation suited him, he would become a realist. Once when his son Cory asks him to purchase a television for the family, Troy replies that repairing the roof was more urgent than buying a television set. While in such a situation he was being a realist, in more important times such as accepting his situation in life, he chose to live an illusion and as a result, the decisions he made could not in any way be blamed on anyone or anything else. The decisions he made could be looked at as controversial from one hand, but they might have been motivated by a real desire in him.
However, as mentioned earlier, an individual’s life and the decisions they make therein cannot be looked at independently of their experiences. In the play’s first act, Troy’s son Cory reveals that he has quit his job in a grocery shop in order to pursue his passion as a baseball player. This followed an impending visit from a North Carolina baseball coach who was to travel to Pittsburg to watch Troy play. However, Cory refuses to allow and instead demands that Cory gets back his job. While it might appear selfish of Troy, he had a good reason for denying his son the opportunity to play baseball.
While he was young, Troy was denied the opportunity of joining the baseball league as a result of being black (Wilson, 6). By the time the ban on black players in the league was being lifted, he was already too old to participate. Troy might have reasoned that despite Cory having qualified to join the league, he would endure rampant discrimination which was still rife during that period (Baity, 11). The continued discrimination against blacks is illustrated by Troy’s inability to become a garbage truck driver merely because of his color (he eventually wins a case challenging the treatment). Therefore, his action towards Cory might have been meant to protect him from even harm as a result of discrimination at least from Troy’s perspective. Though a controversial decision, it could have been influenced the desire to protect his son more than anything else.
After engaging in a fight with his son Cory, Troy orders him to leave the house and fend for himself. The situation between the father and the son mirrors that of Troy and his father. Following repeated abuse and conflicts with his father, Troy chose to leave his home in order to become an independent man. To Troy, leaving the house was symbolic of the growth process that a man ought to endure. Indeed, the theme of growth has been widely explored in the play as August Wilson made use of the various characters to explore the societal growth from the period from the period of slavery to that following the abolition of slavery (Kurnia, 13). As a result, Troy’s action of chasing his son away might appear heartless to many but from his perspective, he was assisting his son to come of age just like Troy did while he was young.
Troy’s behavior can also be justified by the generational gap that existed between him and that of his sons Lyon and Cory. In Troy’s conversations with his friend Bono, they recalled their fathers who immediately after their emancipation from slavery became failed sharecroppers, which led them to have a difficult time. According to the two, their fathers and their contemporaries were forced to seek out and explore the “new world,” which involved being with one woman after another and absconding family duty (Wilson, 24). It was therefore inherent that Troy would most probably exhibit behaviors similar to his father’s yet he did not. He became a better version of his father in terms of being responsible with regard to his family. Therefore, the difficulties he endured in terms of relating to members of his family can be attributed to his attempt to discover his position as the intermediary between two distinct generations: that of his father and that of his sons.
Despite the troubles that Troy’s family underwent as a result of his behavior, he was not inherently a bad person. This is illustrated by his responsibility towards his family. He is the sole provider of the family. He also takes the responsibility of taking care of his daughter Raynell whose mother Alberta passes away while giving birth (Troy was having an affair with Alberta) (Baity, 4). Troy is also responsible for his brother Gabriel who is constantly arrested by the police, therefore forcing Troy to bail him out all the time. Despite Troy spending the checks he receives on Gabriel’s behalf (Gabriel receives checks from the government following an injury during the First World War), he more than compensates for that due to the cost he incurs as a result of Gabriel’s misdemeanors and commitment to asylum. He also listens to his wife Rose when she asks him to repair the homestead’s fence. His actions were therefore a byproduct of the difficulties he underwent in his life. He chose to deal with his problems by having an affair with Alberta (Kurnia, 7). Therefore, the affair was might have been intended by Troy to cause harm to his family but rather he used it as a way to escape from his troubles.
In conclusion, it is evident that the actions that Troy undertakes end up affecting his family. However, it would not be right to judge his actions by simply having an abstract look at his behavior. It would be important to evaluate his actions from the perspective of his upbringing and the experiences he underwent in life. Most of the actions that he undertook were well meant especially with regard to his son Cory. Despite the justification, Troy cannot escape blame for the way he chose to deal with his problems especially by having an affair. However, despite the deficiency, Troy’s role in the downward spiral of his family was informed by the experiences that he had had in life rather than him being an inherently bad person.
Works Cited
Baity, Linda, S. Playgoer’s Guide to Fences. South Coast repository, 2010. Web. 5 July.
2016. <http://www.scr.org/docs/default-source/media/09-10guides/fencesguide.pdf>
Kurnia, Nandy, I. August Wilson’s Fences: The African-American Women’s Pursuit of Dreams
Seen from the Perspective of Rose Maxson. Uny.ac.id, 2007. Web. 5 July. <http://staff.uny.ac.id/sites/default/files/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20August%20Wilson's%20Fences%20_Nandy-Uny_.pdf>
Wilson, August. Fences Script. Sonomavalleyhigh.org, 1983.Web. 5 July. 2016
<http://sonomavalleyhigh.org/home/CA49709534937256/.blogs/post15259/Fences%20script.pdf%20.pdf>
