Tragic Past Depicted in August

¶ … Tragic Past Depicted in August Wilson's Fences

The past is an important player in the present and the future - even when we cannot see it. In fact, when we refuse to accept our past and deal with it constructively, it haunts us in ways that we cannot imagine because we have buried it. A play that illustrates this point is August Wilson's Fences. Troy Maxson is a man torn to pieces by his past but he refuses to deal with that fact and, as a result, it ruins any chances he has for a peaceful, happy present and future. Furthermore, Troy's inability to deal with his past creates conflict with his family. Troy destroys the relationship with his wife because he thinks there is more to life than marriage and he destroys his relationship with Cory because he refuses to believe that his son could be a success when he was a failure. Through a series of painful and complicated series of events, Wilson demonstrates how Troy is a victim and a victimizer. The title of the play becomes a metaphor for the chasm that exists between Troy and the people he loves. Troy's life is a tragic example of how we should not live. Wilson brings the past into perspective with Fences and demonstrates how the it plays an important part in the present and the future.

Troy is a victim and his past shapes his opinion, relationships, and future. He is a victim of circumstance in that he comes from a dysfunctional family. We know that his father did not care for his family in the least and Troy is still bitter about this. He tells Lyons and Bono that his father did not care for Troy and his siblings and all he wanted was for them to "learn how to walk so he could stat you to working. When it come time for eating...he ate first. If there was anything left over, that's what you got" (Wilson 1626). His father was the "devil himself" (1627) and this thought frightened Troy. To make maters worse, Troy did not have a mother figure in his life and, whether he realized it or not, this scarred him greatly. He had no positive role model from which he could learn. We see this destructive pattern in Troy's relationship with his wife, Rose. The broken family of Troy's past is an influence on his present life and attitudes.

Troy's disruptive past is seen immediately with Rose. While he stays married to her, he has no respect for her in a way that she deserves. He often chides her for her behavior but his greatest act of disrespect is his affair with Alberta. What makes this affair more reprehensible is how Troy justifies it. He Bono tells that he loves Rose and he knows that she is a "good woman" (1632) but despite that fact, Troy cannot "shake" (1632) Alberta loose. Even when he tells Rose that he is going to father another woman's child, he is cavalier about it, comparing it to a forest. He tells his wife that Alberta gives him a "different idea, a different understanding about problems" (1635). His nonchalant attitude toward an affair after being married for 18 years illustrates his inability to deal with his parents' broken relationship and how it affected him.

Cory becomes Troy's victim because Troy refuses to believe that things in the world have changed. The interaction between father and son allow Wilson to introduce the bonding aspect of sports. Troy is so hurt from what has happened to him in prison and afterward, that he cannot believe that things could be any different for anyone else. When it is pointed out to him that there are successful African-American sportsmen, such as Wes Covington and Hank Aaron, Troy scoffs and says, "Aaron ain't nobody... Hell, I could hit forty-three home runs right now!" (1619). His clouded perception of the world refuses to let him see a future for any African-American male in football. It is important to realize that part of this refusal to accept that the world has changed would also mean Troy admitting his defeat. Furthermore, if Troy accepted the fact that Cory could be successful, it would mean that he was a failure. Troy's need for control does not allow Cory to compete with him and, in a sense, Cory does not stand a chance when it comes to success in his father's eyes.

The complexity of Troy's relationship with Cory emerges through Troy's efforts to control his son. They cannot agree and neither of them feel the need to give in. Cory has his dream of playing ball and Troy is being selfish when he does encourage him to do so. In fact, he not only discourages him, he talks top Cory's coach and seems to do all he can to destroy Cory's dreams. He forces his son to go back to work at the a&P and refuses to discuss things any further. Even though Troy hated his father for being so abusive, Troy has no idea that he is just like his father in that he will not let his son life his own life and pursue his own dreams. While it can be said that Troy only wants his son to have a decent, stable future, he is killing Cory because he will not let him make his own decisions. He is letting his past get in the way of his son's future and this is a shame.