Conflict In August Wilson's Fences

In August Wilson’s Fences, Troy, the black father figure lives in a dilapidated house, and throughout the play is always attempting to build a fence. The fence is a metaphor for his family, in that he wants to keep his family behind the fence to prevent them from the society that he views as racist. At first glance, the fence seems synonymous for complication within the family. However, the racial and class status of Troy becomes the source point of conflict between Troy and Cory, leading to a lack of love in the family.

On the surface, Troy is originally angry at Cory because Cory is lazy and doesn’t want to find a job, but a deeper analysis into Troy’s background as an ex-baseball player and a garbage man suggests that the anger is sourced by Troy’s status in society as a relatively poor black man. Troy complains about how on his job, he never gets to drive the garbage truck, and is always sent to do the hot, sweaty,

When his mother cajoles Cory to attend the funeral, Cory states that he doesn’t want to be Troy Maxson, and that he only wants to be himself. Cory is now part of the Navy, an organized institution where race and class no longer exist, only military merit. He attempts to escape Troy’s unloving model, but at the same time, when Cory resents his father, he is inherently becoming more like his own father, who resented his father. Perhaps this rotation of resentment underscores a deeper problem within the black society- and Wilson is attempting to create models that offer a better route to forgiveness and conflict resolution. When Cory sings Troy’s song with Raynell, he forgives Troy, as Cory realizes that Troy ultimately was simply trying to make the most out of his societal status and provide for his