The Responsibility Of Troy In August Wilson's Fences

August Wilson's play Fences presents relationships in accordance with the protagonist, Troy Maxson. Troy, who had a difficult upbringing, had a promising baseball career after serving time in prison, however as the color barrier disintegrated, he was too old for the major leagues. As his life commenced, he became a garbage collector and because of his struggles which ultimately affect his life, Troy is a very bitter person. Troy has a complicated family; in addition to his wife Rose and their son Cory, he also has other children from alternative relationships. His relationship with Cory is especially complex due to their differing opinions regarding independence, acknowledgment, and responsibilities. Rose shines light on Cory and Troy’s standpoints,

Troy grew up with an abusive father who instilled in him the idea that work and responsibilities are one's purpose. Troy is a very aggravated person, making Cory question if Troy even likes him. Troy responds to this question by saying “You my flesh and blood. Not ‘cause I like you! Cause it's my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you! Let's get this straight right here… before it go along any further…I ain't got to like you” (38). Troy leads through his father's example when explaining his role to Cory. Cory accepts his answer but has trouble understanding this lack of “like” Troy shows to Cory. Their relationship was always flawed, but after some time Cory starts to resent Troy once he betrays his family by having an affair. In turn, after he tragically passed, Cory doesn't want to attend his funeral. Rose shines a light on Troy's persona to try and persuade him to attend, she tells Cory “Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't… and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was. I don't know if he was right or wrong… but I do know he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm” (97). In addition to feeling responsible to provide for his family, Troy also felt obliged to push Cory to succeed so he could have the life Troy never had. Rose allows Cory to understand Troy's motives in their relationship, prompting him to attend his funeral. Cory's

Cory seeks independence and validation, however, due to his father's perspective that Cory is his responsibility, his success is undermined and controlled. Rose provides insight into both perspectives to one another which Cory accepts, since he finally understands Troy's motives, providing closure and essentially forgiveness in their relationship. Likewise, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman certifies the need to understand perspective as the protagonist Willy has a difficult relationship with his son Biff because of their regard for work. Willy's wife Linda tries to advocate for Biff's desire to find employment that is unlike his father's office work, however, she is undermined when he expresses that “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” (16). Although Willy was never able to see Biff's perspective since he continued to push him to work as a businessman, if he had listened to Linda to understand Biff's point of view, their relationship would have mended, but rather they continued to quarrel. Taking part in a relationship implies striving to understand another's perspective through listening and communicating with them. As expressed in Fences and Death of a Salesman, these are important to ensure a healthy