Fences Act 2, Scene 1 - 3

The following morning, Cory practices his swing in the yard when his mother comes out to ask him for help with the housework. Cory tells her that he will not be quitting the football team, irrespective of what Troy wants him to do. She promises to speak to Troy on his behalf when he returns from the police station. Gabe had been picked up by the police for causing a ruckus, and Troy has gone to sort the matter out. Cory enters the house, and Troy soon returns with Bono. He curses the police for harassing Gabe, and he understands that their only purpose in arresting him was to get a bribe from Troy. Bono sympathizes with Troy and then begins to question him about the time he’s been spending with Alberta. Troy dismisses the accusation that Bono is attempting to make, assures him that he laughs and talks to a lot of people, and Alberta just happens to be one such person. They begin to work on the fence together, and Bono criticizes Troy for making use of such hardwood for the fence since using softer wood would make the job so much easier. Troy retorts that softwood is for the inside, while hardwood is for outside the house, and he calls Cory to help them with the work. Cory arrives, and all three of them begin working on the fence together. Cory and Troy wonder why Rose wants the fence, and Bono believes that fences are not just about keeping people outside, but also about keeping what’s inside contained.

Troy sends Cory into the house to look for the fence and turns to confront Bono about what he is trying to say. Bono tells him that Rose loves him and that he would be a fool to let her go. Troy attempts to dismiss Bono’s concerns as always, but Bono does not relent. Troy finally admits that he has made a mistake, and gotten into an inescapable situation with Alberta. Bono counsels him to come clean to Rose because it would be better if she were to learn the truth from him than anyone else. Troy heeds his counsel and agrees to do what is right for Rose. They agree that if Troy finishes the fence for Rose then Bono would get his wife, Lucille, the refrigerator she has been asking for. Bono departs, and Troy goes to find Rose to tell her the truth. He gathers his courage and confesses that he is going to be a father again soon. Rose is shattered by the betrayal, and she wonders how he could have been unfaithful to her after 18 years of marriage. Troy attempts to explain the situation with a baseball analogy, as he tells her that Alberta made him forget about his pressures and worries. Rose doesn’t accept his argument and asks him whether he intends to continue seeing Alberta. He tells her that he cannot shirk his responsibility towards Alberta, and so he must continue to see her. Rose triggers Troy by telling him that he takes more than he gives, and as she attempts to turn away from him, Troy grabs her arm. Rose protests at his touch, and Cory hears the commotion. He jumps to defend his mother, and bodily pushes Troy away from her. Troy’s violent reaction to the push is stymied by Rose, and Troy tells Cory that he just got his second strike.

Six months later, Rose accosts Troy just as he is leaving the house. She wants him to come straight home after work on Friday, and Troy reacts rather aggressively since she hasn’t spoken to him for so many months. He tells her that he always comes home after work, but Rose does not heed his words. She tells him again that she wants him to come home right after work. Troy promises Rose that he doesn’t play any games with his salary, and hands all of it to Rose without ever giving any part of it to anyone else. She then questions him about the lie that he had told her about Gabe. She had gone over to Ms. Pearl’s and learned that Troy had Gabe admitted into the hospital even though he had told her that he would never do so. Troy tells her that it’s a lie, but Rose continues to add that he had worked an arrangement with the administration that would give him half of Gabe’s pension while the other half would be sent to the hospital. She says she’s seen the signed papers that Ms. Pearl had and they indicated exactly what Troy had done. However, Troy refuses to admit that he has done any such thing, and their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from the hospital. Rose picks it up and comes out to inform Troy that Alberta has had a daughter, but that Alberta herself had died after the birth. Troy is horrified by the news and refuses the comfort that Rose offers him. As she returns to the inside of the house, Troy has a conversation with death. He promises to build a sturdy fence around his loved ones, and that if Death wanted to take any of them he would have to face him first. He warns death to stay away from his family until he has to come for him.

The following day, Troy returns with an infant in his arms and asks Rose to be the child’s mother. Rose refuses at first, but as Troy talks to the child on the porch, she relents. She promises to care for the child like her own because the child is innocent. However, she tells Troy that he is now a womanless man.

Analysis

In this section of the second act, Troy takes on the role of the antagonist, as readers uncover the unsavory things that Troy is capable of committing without any outward display of remorse. First of all, Troy’s infidelity comes out into the open as Bono finally confronts Troy about his interactions with Alberta. Troy confesses that he has been unfaithful to Rose, and although he is apologetic for the pain that it causes Rose, he does not truly repent for his actions. Instead, he goes about defending his betrayal of their marriage. He tells her that he has found solace in Alberta, as he can forget about the pressures of being responsible for the family when he is with her. He refuses to part ways with Alberta, but he does not wish for Rose to leave him either. He seems to expect her to make peace with his continued betrayal of their marital bond and to remain with him even as he continues to be with Alberta and his expected child. Furthermore, readers uncover that Troy has also gone back on his word to Rose about Gabe. He had refused to have Gabe admitted into the hospital because he wanted his brother to remain free. Yet, he goes behind her back and secretly has his brother committed to the hospital because he requires the extra money to care for the new extension of his family.

Troy’s hardness is represented in the wood that he chooses to use for the construction of his fence. He could have used soft wood to create the fence, but he makes the project more difficult for himself by using wood that resonates with his demeanor. Despite the horrid things that Troy does, he is not without redeeming qualities. The primary redeeming quality is his sense of responsibility towards his family. Troy cares for Rose, Cory, Gabe, Bono, Alberta, and his newborn child very deeply. He does not shirk the responsibility that accompanies his role in his inner circle’s life. He continually provides monetary support for his dependents even though he no longer receives their love and care.