Analysis of Troy and Cory's Relationship in "Fences"

Father-Son Relationship in Fences

“Fences” by August Wilson is one of the plays that can be used as a good example to display the theme of father and son relationship. The play is a masterpiece work of August Wilson. There exist three father and son relationships that are apparently complex and perplexing. One can observe that the relationships that exist between Troy and Cory, Troy and his father and Troy and Lyon do not flourish by love. In all these relationships, the sons try to escape from the restraints that their dads have put across. At the end of the play, the sons find themselves amidst a rock and a hard place since their fathers seem to be having an unbreakable tie with their sons which makes it hard for them to escape a similar fate to that of their father. To analyze Troy and Cory’s relationship in Fences, this essay essay will evaluate the relationship between fathers and sons in the play, as well as the effects of this relationship in the characters’ life. It will also evaluate literary elements like characters, theme and conflict.

“Fences” has various characters. Troy Maxson is the main character in the novel. He is the father to Cory Maxison and Lyons Maxison. Rose Maxison is Troy’s wife and the mother to Cory and Lyons. Troy has a best and longtime friend known as Bono. The two met a long time ago in prison when they were young men. Gabriel is the brother to Troy. He is his the only other sibling. He was wounded in world war II thus he has a metal plate in the head. Troy’s father has also been featured in the play. He is said to be very evil. He ended up treating his family so ruthlessly that the family had to run away from him.

Characters like Troy, Cory and Lyons are always chasing the dream of breaking ties with their fathers. However, the fathers seem to cling on the tie so tightly that the sons are unable to break it. This results to conflict and poor relationship between the parties. Troy, once escaped from his father due to his evil nature. However, the way troy was treated seems to have affected him so much that he results in treating his sons and the family the same way. Just like the father, Cory and Lyons were unable to achieve their dreams thus they ended up being failures just like their father.

Troy and his father’s relationship

One of the most prominent themes in the play Fences is the father and son relationship. The bond between Troy and his dad was far more complex than anyone would ever have envisioned. Troy was heavily influenced by his relationship with his father, that the way he behaves towards his sons is a perfect mirror of the way in which he related to his father. Troy says that “sometimes I wish I hadn’t known my daddy. He ain’t cared nothing about no kids. (…) But I’ll say this for him…he felt a responsibility towards us.” Troy was fourteen years old when he was forced to become a man and leave the confines of his father’s home. However, Troy is hypocritical because he tries to act on his kids, like Cory, the same way his father used to act towards him, despite talking so negatively about his father. Troy narrates how he and his mother left their father because they ‘couldn’t stand the evil that their father possessed’. Troy’s recognition of his father’s faults but his failed acknowledgement of the similarities between the two, foreshadows similar consequences. Eventually, with Cory and Rose leaving him. Troy and his father’s relationship is influenced by the times, because Troy’s father grew up in the 1800s after slavery was abolished, and for him to be raised in that environment ultimatley influenced how he painted his children and how he showed affection to them. The relationship between Troy and Cory is more bitter and tense than with Troy and his father. Troy’s combative attitude stems from his past. He blames discrimination for stopping him from fulfilling his dream of playing baseball in the major leagues, and he can’t let go of that bitterness. Cory resembles the change that is happening in the late 50s, to which Troy begrudges in believing in. Cory is offered opportunities that his father was denied which is primarily the root cause of Troy’s resentment towards Cory. Cory breaks the cycle of the broken father and son relationship, by returning home to his father’s funeral. Troy never returned to his father after he had left.

The relationship between Troy and his father was far more complicated than anyone would ever imagine. Troy is however so much affected by this relationship such that the way he acts upon his sons is a perfect reflection of the way he related with this father when he was young. Troy says that “sometimes is wish I had not known my daddy. He ain’t care nothing about no kids. (…) But I will say this to him…he felt a responsibility towards us.” (Wilson, I, IV, p50). As Troy narrates his life with his father, he talks of a time when he tried to escape from home when he was young. However, Troy is hypocritical since he tries to act on his kids like his father tried to act on him despite speaking of his father degradingly. It is evident that Troy and his mother left their father because they “couldn’t stand that evilness” that possessed their father (Wilson, I, IV, p51). The similarity of Troy’s actions to those of his father foreshadows similar consequences. As a result of Cory and Rose ultimately leave him.

Troy and Cory’s relationship in Fences

The dream that Cory had in his life is shattered by his father Troy since he forbids it. This makes the relationship between the two to be very edgy. Cory tries to escape from the intent his father had, but this does not bear fruits since his father’s presence in his life seems permanent. As Troy tries to refer to his son, he states that “I don’t want him to be like me! I want him to move as far away from my life as he can get.” (Wilson, I, ii, p39). Troy is always bitter which creates a tensed relationship between himself and his son. This, however, is as a result of the life Troy had lived in the past. Troy is always bitter because racism could not allow him to reach his dream. When his son Cory falls in his footsteps in sports, Troy does not allow his son to chase this dream since he fears that whatever happened to him would also happen to his son. He wants his son not to face the racism he faced during his time, but at the same time, he acts jealously and in an overprotective manner. According to Lochman, John and Karen, just like any other parent, his intentions were rather genuine, but his methods were extreme. He wants to dictate over the life of his son by shaping him rather than letting him explore the possibilities. Troy does not want to accept the possibilities that racism was scrubbed off and fears that his son would face the same. Cory wants to escape the path so much that his father followed but it is ironical that he ends up falling in the footsteps of his father. At some time, Cory tells his father that “just because you didn’t have a chance, you just scared I’m gonna be better than you, that’s all.” (Wilson, I, IV, p58). This strained relationship went on until Cory could not chase his dream of being a baseball player further. He ends up being a marine Corp which makes him as disillusioned as his father.

Lyons and his father (Troy)

Lyons was also unable to escape from the influence of his father such that he finds himself falling in his father’s footsteps. The strained relationship between Lyon and his father is shown when Lyons goes to ask for money from his father during his payday. Lyons says that “I come by to see you…ask for ten dollars and you want to talk about how I was raised. You don’t know nothing about how I was raised.” (Wison, I, I, p18). Lyons was raised by a single mother in the absence of the father since most of the time when Lyons was young; Troy was in prison. This seems to make Troy guilty, and he seems to compensate his grown-up son for being raised in his absence. Lyons does not, however, approve the way he was raised in the absence of his father but he still seems to go for money from his father which is a contradiction since his father seems to have an unending impact on his life. However, Lyons tries to return to his father all the money that he had borrowed from him. “(Lyons: (Going into his pocket.)) Says, look here, Pop…” (Wilson, I, IV, p46). This was an act of freedom and independence. It is as if Lyons was doing away with all the reliance and dependence he had on his father. It is rather ironical that despite Lyons efforts to do away with his father, he turns out to be more like him since instead of achieving his dream of being a musician, he ends up in jail just like his father.

Conclusion

The relationship between the father and the son in Fences is more of a cyclical phenomenon where ultimately, one will still have an impact on the other. Troy tries to escape from his father, but the effects the father had in his life could not be scrubbed off since Troy takes over his father’s actions and similarly treats his family. His create a complicated relationship with his sons; Lyons and Cory who ultimately push him away from their lives. However, their sons end up being like him by not reaching the dreams they envisioned. Cory ended up as a marine Corp rather than reaching his dream of being a baseball player while Lyons ended up in prison just like his father instead of reaching his dream of being a musician.

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