August Wilson's exploration of fatherhood in drama

¶ … Fences by August Wilson [...] his opinion and vision of fatherhood in the story. It will also incorporate what critics think about his vision of fatherhood. August Wilson's opinion of fatherhood in this play is quite cynical. His portrayal of Troy Maxson is at least partially based on his own strained relationship with his stepfather. His hope is to allow sons to learn from their fathers, while not committing the same mistakes their fathers make. However, his play illustrates just how difficult it is for fathers and sons to put the past behind them. Often, they never do until it is too late, and they never have the chance to make it right between them.

The play follows the lives of the Maxson family, Troy, the father, and Cory and Lyons, his sons. Like most fathers, Troy wants more for his sons than he has, but he often goes about influencing them the wrong way. Wilson based the quarrels between father and sons on his own relationship with his father and stepfather, which may explain why his portrayal of fatherhood is so difficult to read. Critic Sandra G. Shannon notes, "The playwright's own turbulent passage into manhood with neither financial nor emotional support from his father is reflected in the escalating battle royal between the antagonistic Troy and his defiant son Cory" (Shannon 92). This battle continues throughout the play, and ends much like Wilson's own relationship with his father ended. His stepfather died before he could reconcile with him, and afterward, he finally understood that no matter their differences, he still cared about his stepfather.

Troy is the main character in this play, and the one who influences his son's lives, whether they like it or not. Critic Shannon continues, "Troy Maxson, the tyrant of a father and the doting yet unfaithful husband, commands a full range of emotions from pity to disgust. His family and all other characters pale beside his boisterous elocutions and selfish codes of behavior" (Shannon 91). He is tyrannical, selfish, and extremely determined that his sons not follow in his own family's destructive footsteps, and yet, he meddles in their lives so much that he drives them away and alters their future completely. He thrives on conflict, especially with those who do not agree with him, and so he is constantly at odds with his sons, who have dreams and aspirations that do not include Troy's ideas for their future.

Cory is the son that is most affected by Troy's constant meddling. Troy tells the football recruiter not to look at his son, and tells the coach Cory cannot play. This is too much of a blow for Cory, and so he enlists in the Marines. He probably never would have considered such a thing if it were not for Tory's meddling in his life. He thinks he is doing it for the right reasons, to "protect" Cory from what happened to him and major league baseball. However, he is not protecting Cory; instead, he is driving a wedge between them that will last until Tory dies.

However, Lyons, the other brother, is also quite affected by Tory. Tory was in prison for much of Lyons' youth, and so they have a strained relationship at best. He usually comes around the Maxson house when he needs money, which is often, since he is a jazz musician who has difficulty making a decent living. He sums up his relationship with his father when he says, "You and me is two different people, Pop" (Wilson 18). That is Wilson's view of fatherhood in a nutshell. He understands that most sons become their fathers whether they want to or not, but the circle can be broken. He does not think all fathers are bad, but he does think they have trouble giving up the past and living for the future.

Sadly, Cory is a disappointment to Troy, which says a lot about his ability to parent effectively. Cory has dreams for the future, as critic Shannon notes. She says, "Faced with a father who has grown to regard him as 'just another nigger on the street' (Fences 87) and memories of a grandfather who sired children to be field hands, Cory is the hope of a new generation of black men" (Shannon 98). He knows he is the hope, which is why he must rebel against his father and leave home. He knows his father will try to manage everything he does if he does not leave. His father cannot see him as a new hope; because he is too busy trying to protect him from the past. However, he cannot protect him, and in fact, he lets the past influence his own decisions. Wilson seems to be saying that many black men cannot learn from their past, instead they keep perpetuating the same mistakes generation to generation.

Troy is a liar, which also gives a clue to Wilson's ideas on fatherhood. Throughout the play he says he loves Rose and does not run around on her, yet he has an affair with Alberta, sires a daughter with her, and Rose has to raise the daughter when Alberta dies. Thus, he shows that he is not trustworthy - instead, he is cunning and sly. His life is about self-gratification at any cost, and he does not consider the feelings of others in his decisions. Wilson's cynical view is of fathers who are not trustworthy, responsible, or able to grow away from the sins and mistakes of their own fathers, and Troy epitomizes that cynical view perfectly.

Troy is not a bad parent because he is selfish and self-centered, the worst thing between Troy and his sons is his inability to allow them to grow and pursue their dreams. He is so intent on controlling them and molding them to fit his own ideals that he cannot allow them to strike out on their own and become men. That is why he drives Cory away - he takes away his dream of playing football and making something important of his life. Consciously or not, he punishes Cory for his own failure to play in the major leagues. He did not reach his dream, and so, he cannot bear to see his sons attain their own dreams. Thus, he represents the very worst traits of fatherhood - the father who cannot give his children their freedom and their happiness.

Another clue to Wilson's thoughts on fatherhood in the play (and many of his plays), is the location. Another critic notes, "Wilson's African-American characters are, for the most part, working-class black men who live within the geographical location of the Hill District of Pittsburgh" (Perry). This is true with "Fences," and it represents the area where Wilson himself grew up. It could also represent the absence of his own father from that working-class neighborhood. He writes of dysfunctional fathers because his own experience was one of dealing with dysfunctional fathers, and he can relate to the pain it caused in his own life. Therefore, he can portray the pain of his characters much more effectively.