Fences Act 1, Scenes 1 - 2
Troy Maxson returns to his home in the hill district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on a Friday evening with his colleague and best friend, Bono. The two garbage men discuss Troy’s conflict with the office administration. He is scheduled to meet with the commission because he had questioned his manager as well as the union about how only the white employees were assigned to drive the garbage truck while employees from the other races were always assigned to lift the garbage cans. Bono assures Troy of his support and that of the other workers in case the commission questions them. He also hates Troy for spending time with a girl, Alberta. Troy laughingly refutes whatever Bono is insinuating, just as his wife, Rose exits the porch to ask them about dinner. She worries about his drinking, even though Troy only ever drinks on Friday. Troy begins to tell the two of them about the time he wrestled with death, while they simply guffaw at his ridiculous tale. Rose informs Troy that a football recruiter is interested in Cory, who could end up in college with that scholarship. Troy dismisses the whole affair, as he believes that there is no future for an African-American man in sports. He draws this understanding from his own experience in baseball, as he had never been able to play in the Major leagues despite being a supremely skilled batter. Rose attempts to tell him that this is a changed world, but he does not agree with her.
Lyon, Troy’s 34-year-old son from another woman, arrives to borrow $10 since he knows that today is his father’s payday. Troy refuses outright, telling him that he does not have enough money to spare. He asks Lyon to get his own money and assures him of help in securing a job. Lyon refuses to get a job as music is his passion and the only thing that he wants to do with his life. Troy becomes more critical of Lyon’s lifestyle, and his upbringing, but Lyon shuts down the discussion by reminding Troy that he had been an absent father to him. Troy gives his money to Rose, and she hands Lyon $10. He leaves, promising Troy that he’ll return it soon, but Troy doesn’t believe him. Bono leaves just as Troy begins to flirt with Rose in an overtly sexual manner.
The following Saturday morning Troy wakes up to find Rose hanging the laundry in the yard. She immediately offers to make him breakfast, but Troy wants to work on the fence. He asks after Cory and learns that Cory had already gone out for his football practice. The two of them talk about the lottery, and Troy doesn’t understand why so many African-Americans can stand to throw so much money away knowing how unlikely they are to win. Rose plays the lottery sometimes and has won small amounts a couple of times which has been helpful to the family. Troy criticizes Cory for going to football practice before working on the fence since that is Cory’s primary chore during the weekends. Gabriel, Troy’s differently-abled brother comes into the yard, carrying a basket of fruits and vegetables. He addresses himself to Rose since he is worried that Troy is mad at him because he moved out of the house, and into Mrs. Pearl’s basement. Troy assures him that he isn’t angry at all, and so Gabe shows off the keys to his rooms. He is very happy to be responsible for himself, and Rose shares his enthusiasm.
Rose invites him to eat, and he asks her to make him some biscuits. He recalls eating biscuits with St. Peter when he had gone to heaven, and he tells Troy about he had read Troy’s name in St. Peter’s book. Troy tells him that he remembers, and tries to get him to come inside the house to eat but Gabe runs off hollering after the hellhounds. Rose returns from preparing the biscuits and finds Gabe gone. She worries about Gabe’s eating because his landlady has remarked about how little he eats at their house. Troy believes that Mrs. Pearl’s care for Gabe is limited to the rent money he gives her for the rooms. Rose suggests that they should consider having Gabe admitted to the hospital, where he could receive the kind of care he requires. Troy refuses outright, as he feels that no man should have his liberty taken away from him. He feels bitterness towards the system that used Gabe in its war, and then mercilessly expended him. He feels guilty because he had used the $3000 that the government gave to Gabe to buy a home for himself and his family. Rose believes Troy has done his best to help Gabe, but he doesn’t listen to her. He leaves for Taylor’s shop to listen to the game and tells her that he’ll finish the fence later.
Analysis
Fences like most of August Wilson’s other plays feature a black character who has suffered and made sacrifices so that other black characters don’t have to do the same. Troy is a middle-aged African American man, who feels deep resentment towards the government and society at large for their discrimination against black people. He works as a garbage man, and even in that humble position, he is exposed to racism. His employer only ever allows white employees to drive the garbage trucks, while African American garbage men have to ride back and haul the garbage into the trucks. However, Troy demonstrates that he isn’t afraid of standing against such treatment as he opposes the employer’s policy all alone, without ever seeking support from his fellow African American colleagues. He harbors resentment against the establishment for preventing him from playing in the major leagues, and for the fate of his brother. The conditions under which Troy can secure a house for his family convey the dire choices African Americans had to make to achieve the American dream.
Troy’s infidelity is heavily foreshadowed in these initial scenes through the conversations that he has with his best friend, Bono. Troy appears to be in a happy and contented marriage with Rose, but his behavior with Rose around Bono appears almost like an act. Perhaps, these outward displays of deep affection for Rose are his means of refuting whatever allegations Bono is attempting to make against him.
Readers can also begin to see the deeper rifts that exist between Troy and his sons. He supports Lyon, albeit reluctantly, and attempts to teach Cory the lessons he learned during his life, but he fails to connect with them. The play’s depiction of the tensions that exist between a father and son is certainly one of the reasons why the play has captivated audiences all over the world, and not just in the USA.
