By Reason of Racism An Essay on "Fences" by August Wilson
...other human being. It is ironic how Troy did not want to be like his father, but inherited his most dominant quality, a sense of obligation. Such a strong desire to be the exact opposite eventually brought him close to the traits of his father. Troy would learn to love his own son in the same way- Mayfield 2 because he had to. After years of abuse, he became desensitized to how he was abusing others. He may have argued that he hated his father, but on the other hand of course he would react the same way as him because that is all that Troy knew. Troy used racism as an excuse for almost everything in his life. Racism is the reason why he could not be a pro-baseball player. It is the reason why his father was abusive. The last name “Maxson” is symbolically referring to the Mason-Dixon line, an invisible line that separated the free states from the slave states. “Troy’s name symbolically demonstrates Troy’s character as one who lives on a line between two opposing ideas. Troy’s history is equal parts southern and northern, half-full of hope and half-filled with disappointment (Spark Notes, 1).” Troy has no motivation to take responsibility for his own life or own actions. It is always the fault of someone else. He was once at the top of his game but “nose-dived” into a “dead-end job” as a sanitarian worker. (Spark Notes, 1) Troy’s reference to the devil as a man in a white hood eludes to a man of the Ku Klux Klan. The devil is another name for death in this play. Troy constantly invites death to a man-to-man fight and boasts that he would win. This is saying that he would win against the devil, which is saying he will win against the white man- the white man that he blames for holding him back from all of his dreams. Troy’s overwhelming family responsibility and financial loyalty is the only thing that keeps him committed to them. His love is largely out of obligation due to the strong work ethic he learned from his abusive father .He didn’t want to be alone in life but that is what ended up happening due to the choices and sacrifices he made concerning the well-being of his family, emotionally. He had a certain hypocrisy that kept his family from being able to love him fully and vise-versa. He expected the utmost and the highest from his family and friends. He expected Mayfield 3 them to live responsible, dignified lives while he had the freedom to have an extramarital affair with Alberta and bring the physical evidence of his sin home to his family. He expected his wife, Rose, to care for this child after Alberta died in labor. Troy wanted it all. He wanted his freedom and to see Alberta when convenient, but he knew that Rose was the best woman he would ever find and he did not want to leave her. Cory said to Rose, “Papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere.” That is exactly what he was, a shadow. He was in their life, but only superficially. Rose had extreme family loyalty and refused to leave Troy even after his affair. She willingly accepted his child as her own just to keep her family together. She did not forgive nor forget what had happened and their love and family ...