Troy's Struggle In Fences By August Wilson

“Fences” by August Wilson is a play that takes place in the 1950s and focuses on the life of Troy Maxson. Troy was a former Negro League baseball player but never was able to play in the Major Leagues. He worked as a garbage collector because he could not play in the Major League. The play shows Troy’s struggles with unfulfilled dreams and racial discrimination that came with him not being able to play in Major League Baseball. The play also shows Troy’s family conflicts, including his son Cory and his wife Rose. Throughout the play, Troy is building a fence in the backyard of their home, which is a constant throughout the plot. At first, the fence seems as though it has no significance, but as the story continues, the readers understand that it is just more than a barrier in

Troy’s refusal to support and understand Cory’s dreams of pursuing his football career drives Cory to dislike his father, which causes resentment from both of them toward each other. On Troy’s side, he does not want his son to be disappointed in a sport like he was when he was not able to play in the Major Leagues. On the other hand, Cory believes that football is his future, and he should pursue this opportunity to play in college. In addition to Troy not accepting Cory’s dreams, he also tells Cory that he takes care of him because he has to, not because he wants to, which causes Cory to believe that his father does not like him. According to the same article, “Troy loses virtually every sense of affection and bond between himself and his son, causing Cory to conclude that his father does not even like him” (Bogumil). This shows that the bond between them got so distant that Cory came to the extreme conclusion that his father did not like him. Because of Troy’s actions, it caused barriers between him and his family. While Troy was building a fence in the backyard, he was also building a fence between him and his