Infidelity In Fences

Fences, by August Wilson, was written in 1985. This play was apart of Wilson’s ten-play cycle based on the African-American experience in the U.S. for that specific decade (Kirsner 1556; Mandell 1556). Fences is about Troy, an African-American man who is struggling with the pain of never becoming a professional baseball player due to the color barrier. Moreover, as Troy retreats behind literal and figurative barriers throughout the play, his relationship with his wife and son is being destroyed. In August Wilson’s Fences, some common perceptions (misconceptions) about marriage or infidelity or parenthood in the African-American community is that black couples are irresponsible parents, cannot stay married, and the men cheat on their wives.

Some factors contributing to this are marriage not being a prerequisite for sex as well as the inability to deal with frustrations in the relationship. According to___, “a lot of women withhold sex as a form of behavior modification or punishment when they are angry with their spouse.” In the play, Bono stated that his father moved from woman to woman (Wilson 1582). Additionally, Bono tells Troy that “if you try to juggle both of them…sooner or later you gonna drop one of them” (Wilson 1589). What Bono means by this is that if Troy continues to cheat, he is eventually going to get caught and lose Rose. Later on in the play, Troy admits to Rose that he is going to be a father. Moreover, he explains to Rose that Alberta, the woman he is seeing, gives him a different idea and understanding about himself. He also states that “I can step out of the house and get away from the pressures and problems…be a different man” and “I ain’t got to wonder how I’m gonna pay the bills or get the roof fixed” (Wilson 1591). Rose then goes on to tell Troy that he should have just talked to her beforehand and that he is not the only one who wanted other things. She then asks him multiple questions like, “don’t you think it ever crossed my mind to know other men? That I wanted to lay up somewhere and forget about my responsibilities?” (Wilson 1592). However, she ignored those feelings, realizing that she had the “finest man in the world” (Wilson 1593). She also states that “upstairs in that room…with the darkness falling in on me…I gave everything I had” (Wilson