Fences Theme Essay

When it comes to comparing and contrasting two different cultures and morals the differences can be night and day. In Death Of A Salesman and Fences, these stories follow two middle-class families around the same time period (late 1940-1950’s), who are both facing problems within their own household’s. From marital issues to failing father/son relationships, both of these stories paint a picture to the audience of what life in an urban family living in that time setting was like through the author’s eyes. And even yet with all the things between these two plays that make them alike, there are also many things that make them very different.

    In Act I and some of Act II the audience sees many disagreements  between Cory and Troy about Cory playing sports. In Troy's past after he was released from jail he went to play baseball, but as Troy claims, he was not allowed to play due to skin color. Troy is then placing this stipulation onto Cory when he wants to play football. Troy made the statement, “I told that boy about that football stuff. The white man ain’t gonna let him get nowhere with that football. I told him when he first come to me with it. Now you come telling me he done went and got more tied up in it. He ought to go and get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living.” (Act I  scene I ). Troy makes this statement to his wife, Rose, after she tells him of Cory getting recruited college football. In this Troy is thinking of his past when he went to play baseball and he was not accepted to play. In

Rose wants Troy and Cory to finish build the fence around the house but, Cory is hardly ever home and this aggravates his father. Troy takes action and goes down to talk to Cory’s football coach stating that Cory will no longer be on the team. Of course, Cory learns of what his own father has done and his reaction is undoubtedly in rage and frustration. The main reason why Troy does this to his own son is because he doesn’t want Cory to relive the horrible things of becoming an uprising athlete and all the hardships he went

Troy does not want to accept the changes in the world because that would cause him to accept the death of his own dreams.

Troy’s relationship with his youngest son, Cory, was a prime example or his controlling nature. One major conflict between them was Troy Forbidding Cory from playing football. As said in the quote, “ If you go on down there to that A&P and see if you can get your job back. if you can’t do both...then you quit the football team you’ve got to take the crookeds with the straights ”(Act 1, Scene 3, Line 192) Troy is not happy with the fact that Croy quit his quit because of football practice. Troy is so against it because he was denied acceptance into a baseball team because of his race in his past. In a way troy thinks he his looking out for cory but deep down, as rose brings out in the next scene, he is haunted by his own

“You ain’t never gave me nothing! You ain’t never done nothing but hold me back. Afraid I was gunna be better than you…” (2.4). Years of fearing his father had led him to turn against troy after he saw his mother hurting, and after arguing cory left home. Later in the play he comes back to be with his mother so that he could mend his fence with her back together; although she accepts him back with loving arms it still shows Cory’s resentment to troy when he refuses to go to his funeral. This shows that Cory has kept the people he loves in his fence and the ones who hurt him were left on the other

He made mistakes and so does everyone, because no one is perfect. Though he seemed angry, Troy cared for his wife and sons. His first son, Lyons, always came by and ask for $10. He begs and begs and in the end, he always find that money in his pocket. Troy knows that when he gets paid, Lyons will stop by and ask for money.

Growing up, most parents want what is best for their children with the hope that they will lead a better life than the one they had. On the surface, this does not seem to be the case in the relationship between Troy and Cory in August Wilson’s Fences. Troy was a hardworking man who did all he can to provide for his family. Cory worked equally as hard in his athletic career. Troy made a decision to end Cory’s football career out of protection but Cory viewed it as his father’s jealousy. Troy’s rough attitude and relationship towards Cory stems from multiple sources: Troy’s relationship with his own father, his jail time, the fact that he did not make the Major Leagues in baseball due to discrimination, and his reluctance to accept the idea that the times have changed. Each of these plays a distinct role in their relationship, ultimately cultivating in Troy losing Cory for good.

Cory is very aware that his father is envious of his athletic accomplishments. Troy also has no respect for Lyons and he does not support his dream to be a musician.

Cory pleads with his father to allow him to quit his job at the grocery store to be fully involved in football. Nevertheless, his father does not accept which bars Cory from joining the high school team. This shows that Troy is not sensitive to Cory’s wish, but on the contrary, he has the will to fight for his rights which sees him rise to become a garbage truck driver in the city. It is sad that he denies his son the opportunity of becoming a sportsperson. To make matters worse, Troy cheats on his wife Rose but show compassion to his brother Gabriel who is mentally disturbed. Gabriel got a head wound when he took part in the World War II, and his friendship with Bono is firm.

This situation makes me wonder if he is actually scared that Cory will be an amazing athlete and will be better than him. Troy maybe jealous that his son has opportunities to succeed that he never had, no matter how great of an athlete he was, he could have never made it to the pros because of his skin color. Now his son is being recruited by professional teams to play for them. Troy may be against this because he doesn't want his son to be able to live the dream that he was never able to live. This makes their father son relationship very interesting. It is said that fathers typically want their sons to be better off then they are, especially not very wealthy people. You would think in this situation Troy would support Cory in what he wants to do and be happy for him that he has such wonderful opportunities. Troy maybe be acting like this because Troy still lives in a dream world and still thinks he a great base ball player. He has trouble accepting that his

After understanding the protagonist’s heroic side, it is necessary to understand that he also had a tragic downfall and that he has certain weaknesses. Troy made sure to provide for his family materialistically, but unfortunately did not expose too much of his love to his children. He was able to reluctantly give Lyons ten dollars a week but that was not enough to help him make a living. Lyons states "I just stay with my music because that's the only way I can find to live in the world" (1.1.153). His dream is to be a musician. But maybe he needed more than ten dollars a week to conquer his dream? Maybe he needed some father to son affection?

He was always thinking of what could’ve been of him rather than what he can make of himself in the moment. He’s always worried about bills, his job, his brother Gabriel, and house duties. Troy’s life is a routine and that’s why he cheated on Rose. Alberta, his mistress, gave him something he didn’t get at home, “She gives me a different idea…a different understanding about myself.” (Wilson 1750).

It is obvious to the audience that Troy and Cory simply do not get along. The two are constantly bickering, mostly about Cory's dream to play football at the college level. Since playing baseball did not get Troy anywhere, he feels that football will not benefit Cory and that Cory should "get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living" (8). Troy constantly denounces Cory's dream and pressures his son to quit the highschool football team so that he can work at the local grocery store. The verbal abuse of Cory by Troy is enough to make Cory question whether or not his own father even likes him, but it is not until after Troy's affair with Alberta is out in the open that Troy and Cory's unhealthy relationship reaches a whole new level.

Everyone has unique talents and interests. It is because of these interests that people develop their own dreams and aspirations for their future. These dreams may be about career or finding happiness or even about family. There are many hurdles in the path to achieving dreams. In the play, Fences, August Wilson centralizes many conflicts in the plot around each individual character’s pursuit of their dreams and aspirations and the difficulties they face. Although there are many different themes in this play, the main theme concerns the pain and suffering that individuals go through to get a chance to fulfill their dreams and how the characters cope with the failure to achieve their dreams due to various reasons like, racial