ipl-logo

Betrayal In The Play Fences

825 Words4 Pages

Sydney Deal
Amy Farrar
English 312
March 28 2023

Complexities of Relationships
Every relationship in life has different fences built around it and each person has their own boundaries, which make relationships very intricate and complex to navigate. The play Fences By August Wilson shows the relationships of a black family in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, during the 1950’s and revolves around the character of Troy Maxson, former baseball player turned garbage collector. Troy has a larger than life personality that August Wilson displays through Troy's relationships with his family and friends. The play shows Troy and his family's struggles in a time where they are not equally accepted in society and throughout the play there are several themes …show more content…

The first of many betrayals portrayed in the play is how Troy feels betrayed by the world. He believes that his dreams of playing major league baseball were thwarted because of his race, and he resents the fact that he has to settle for a life of manual labor. This betrayal starts the division of the Maxson family, especially between Troy and Cory. Troy's feeling of betrayal also leads him to deeply betray Cory and not allow him to play baseball just because he did not want Cory to do what he never got the chance to. There are other betrayals throughout the play as well but the biggest betrayal is Troy's betrayal of his wife. He is unfaithful to Rose which is made clear early on in the story but later Troy reveals to Rose, “I’m trying to find a way to tell you…I'm gonna be a daddy. I’m gonna be somebody's daddy” (Wilson 66). This information came as a shock to everyone, from then on Troy and Roses marriage is hanging on by a thread. Rose cannot believe what Troy did to her. Rose was always there for him and she gave up herself and the things she loved so she could be the best wife for Troy. Troy never respected that and gave nothing in return. His affair was the last straw for Rose, she will never look at him the same again though she does still look after Troy's baby because she feels it is her responsibility as a mother, but she can never forgive Troy for how he betrayed

Show More
Related

Troy Maxion Quotes From Fences

546 Words | 3 Pages

Despite the challenges she faces as Troy's wife and the strains in their relationship, Rose draws strength from her own past experiences. Reflecting on her difficult upbringing, Rose reveals her resilience and the wisdom she gained from her past. She states, "I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom. And it didn’t take me no eighteen years to find out the soil was hard and rocky and it wasn’t never gonna bloom". Rose's past struggles inform her decision to find strength within herself and create a better life for herself and her family.

Read More

An Analysis Of August Wilson's Play Fences

353 Words | 2 Pages

August Wilson’s play Fences was written in 1983. Fences is the sixth play in Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle. Pittsburgh is important because it represents a better life for blacks; it provides them with jobs and helped them to escape the poverty and racism of the south after the civil war. It represents promises and promises that were broken. I feel like Fences represents the struggles Troy and his family faced because of their complexion and their constant disappointments as black people.

Read More

How Troy Maxson Character Changes

912 Words | 4 Pages

Troy had already spent fifteen years in prison for killing a guy before he met Rose. The man shot Troy as Troy sought to rob him. Troy killed him with a knife as a form of retaliation. “They told me I killed him and they put me in the penitentiary and locked me up for fifteen years. That’s where I met Bono.

Read More

Troy Maxson Flaws In Fences

811 Words | 4 Pages

The Faults of Troy Maxson August Wilson brings out the struggle of Troy Maxson in his play, Fences. All that matter to him end up feeling this struggle, for it remains constantly inside of him. Ultimately it proves to overcome Troy and make many lose the respect and love that was once felt. Troy’s actions and failure to fix them makes his true character known. By giving way to his own desires, becoming a continuation of his father and failing those he loves Troy Maxson proves to be a man flawed at his core.

Read More

Troy's Unsympathetic Character In Fences By August Wilson

970 Words | 4 Pages

In the play Fences by August Wilson, Troy Maxson presents as the protagonist. He is an unsympathetic character who seems to hurt all those around him with his aggressive persona. Troy is a selfish man, with a one sided perception on life which made him unable to accept the choices others made. Due to his upbringing, Troy is unable to show love in a normal fashion. Instead, he blocks his family out by using a harsh exterior, emotionally excluding himself from his underlying love.

Read More

August Wilson Selfish Quotes

549 Words | 3 Pages

Troy puts himself above his family, as he was well aware that having an affair like he had would most certainly break up his family. Despite trying to defend his actions with the hardship he’s gone through, his whole family has gone through the same difficulties aswell– but he only looks out for himself. Troy’s selfish decision to make a baby with Alberta causes harm on his entire family because of the loyalty shown to him by Rose, despite not being happy at all

Read More

Theme Of Loyalty In The Crucible

2053 Words | 9 Pages

78-79). Rose stayed with Troy after the cheating because she had no better options. She was not scared of Troy compared to the girls in the Crucible, however, she did know that she needed to depend on Troy to survive and live a proper life, so she stuck with him. She knew that Troy need to figure his life out, but she also needed someone to provide her with the necessities of life due to factors in that time period. This happens in The Crucible as well when Abigail speaks to the girls about not telling on themselves, Abigail lays down a vicious plan, and the girls can do nothing but agree.

Read More

August Wilson Fences Symbolism

1516 Words | 7 Pages

Troy’s inability to commit to building his fences despite his repetitive speaking of how he is going to finish his fence shows how his isolation from his wife stems from his inability to truly commit to his wife even though he always told her he loved her. He wanted to protect his wife from the truth that he cheated on her and has a baby on the way with her but the fence prevented true communication with his own wife. Troy's inability to see the change in civil rights during his time period because of the fence led to the isolation of his mindset towards African American rights and the straining of his relationship with his son. His struggle to be accepted into playing professional sports alongside white men lead to preventing his son from playing professional football despite the changing times in civil rights. Without isolation from change, his relationship with his son could possibly be a happy one.

Read More

Gender Roles In The Play Fences

2195 Words | 9 Pages

Troy responds by saying: “You gonna say, ‘thanks Rose’ and ain’t going to look to see where she got those ten dollars from?” (Wilson 19). This demonstrates that Troy feels a sense of disrespect because his son was thanking Rose for the money instead of him. Even though Rose gave the money to Lyons, she did not have a job and she solely depends on Troy. He is well aware of this and feels like he should be thanked for the money and not her.

Read More

August Wilson Fences Literary Analysis

883 Words | 4 Pages

August Wilson's play Fences addresses a great content of interpreting and inheriting history. Throughout Fences, much of the conflict emerge because the characters are at disparity with the way they see their foregoing and what they want to do with their forthcoming. Fences explores how the damaged aspirations of one generation can taint the dreams of the next generation on how they deal with the creation of their own identity when their role model is a full of dishonesty. Wilson illustrates his qualities primarily through his use of symbolism in the play Fences.  

Read More

Racism In The Play Fences

702 Words | 3 Pages

The play describes the life of Troy Maxson a middle age Africa-American man who was raising his family in time of racism. Troy is married to Rose and the father of three children. Troy has two sons Lyons and Cory, and a daughter named Raynell. August Wilson describes the life of Troy as someone who feels he is being oppressed and how different the culture was when his was a child growing up compared to his children’s lives.

Read More

Essay On Obama Care

674 Words | 3 Pages

The United States has multiple health care options such as Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance through employers or on their own. Most of the people living in the United States, around 70% of individuals, get health insurance through their work or union. Other individuals get insurance on their own or a family plan. Some averages of individual and family premiums and deductibles are around a $280/month premium and $4,120 deductible for an individual, while for a family plan it is around $930/month premium and $7,760 deductible.

Read More

The Theme Of Love In 'Fences' By August Wilson

985 Words | 4 Pages

From the readers point of view, it is obvious that Rose is too good for Troy, but Rose constantly is faithful to Troy. This shows a special aspect of marriage and the relationship between Troy and Rose. It shows the level of commitment it takes to be in a marriage, but it also show the lack of commitment and gratitude that could be in a marriage. Troy ends up cheating on Rose, because he began to take what he had for granted.

Read More

The Importance Of The Father In August Wilson's Fences

1457 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the play, the characters look at faith, race, opportunities, fatherhood and

Read More

Theme Of Racism In Fences

1501 Words | 7 Pages

In August Wilson’s playwright Fences, the narrator portrays racism in a social system, in the workplace, and in sports, which ultimately affects Troy’s aspirations. Troy Maxson is constantly facing the racism that is engraved into the rules of racial hierarchy –– fair and unfair, spoken and unspoken. Troy suffers many years of racism when he plays in the Negro major Baseball League; therefore he decides to protect Cory from ever experiencing those blockades in his drive for success. In the end, although Troy is always driving to obtain agency, Troy always succumbs to the rules of racism because those racist ideologies are too hard to overcome. Throughout the play, Troy is perpetually confronting the racist social system that displays unspoken

Read More

More about Betrayal In The Play Fences

Related Topics

Open Document