August Wilson's Fences: Why Maxon Should Have Died

Lydia Price

Professor Carpenter

English 151L–

12

13 March 2023

Why Troy Maxson Should Have Died

In almost every story the characters grow and change. That growth and change is the plot for many stories, Including Fences by August Wilson. Fences follows the main character, Troy Maxson, through his character arc. Troy is a rather stagnant character, either incapable or unwilling to change. Eventually Troy is forced to change. He experiences the inevitable and ultimately final change, death. In August Wilson’s Fences, Troy Maxon’s death was the most logical progression of his character arc.

Troy Maxon’s death was heavily foreshadowed throughout the Play. One major theme of the story is Troy’s taunts toward death. Wilson makes obvious from

He tells stories of beating death in the beginning of the play when talking to Bono, and Rose. Troy shares his experience fighting off death saying that "Death ain't nothing. I done seen him. Done wrassled with him. You can't tell me nothing about death. Death ain't nothing but a fastball on the outside corner" (Wilson). It might seem like just one among many stories, Troy downplays the significance of death in the same way he exaggerates his talent in baseball. However, there is a very real reason Troy tells this story. Troy knows death is coming back for him. Troy’s death is an impending doom to him, he tells this story to cope with that. The Text describes that eventually “Troy assumes a batting posture and begins to taunt Death, the fastball in the outside corner” (Wilson). This quote describes an action, yet in Troy’s mind he’s been taunting death for years now, ready for his fight. Troy’s attitudes toward playing baseball are the same as his attitude toward death, he fully intends to go down swinging. There is a sad juxtaposition between Troy’s fight with death, and his understanding of his eventual death. Perhaps Troy knows that dying is the only impactful thing he has left to do in his

Troy had been holding back his son Cory from football because of his own experience in baseball. It’s obvious that Troy tries to put an end to Cory’s football dreams when Troy tells Cory “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 can’t nobody take away from you" (Wilson). Troy was unable to realize that the reason he wasn’t recruited solely because of his race. In fact Troy would be likely unable to handle that truth. In Walking Around the Fences: Troy Maxson and the Ideology of “Going Down Swinging,” David Letzler argues “the entire social, racial, and political world view Troy derives from baseball is misguided” (Letzler). Troy’s entire worldview is defined by his baseball career (or lack thereof). Troy relates almost everything in his life to baseball. At some points it seems that the only life experience that has been important to Troy thus far was his experience playing baseball. Troy views his life now as a lost opportunity, and believes that anyone who simply looks like him will be just as unsuccessful. Which unfortunately ends up being Cory. Furthermore, the author writes about hypothetical scouting for Troy and how “he seems concerned only with swinging the bat” (Letzler). Letzler further elaborates that “This