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How much control do characters in Fences have over their lives?
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In August Wilson's play, characters have limited control over their lives due to external forces like racism and mortality. Troy Maxson, the protagonist, faces racial barriers that affect his career opportunities and influence his control over his family. While he makes personal choices, such as having an affair, other characters like Gabriel and Cory are more constrained. Gabriel's mental state and Cory's future are shaped by circumstances beyond their control, illustrating the play's theme of struggle against societal and personal limitations.
Fences shows us that some aspects of life are in our control, while others are not. Racism is not totally in our control—Troy could not control his life as a baseball player because racism prevented him from playing in the big leagues. Racism keeps Troy at the back of the garbage truck. Although racism holds these characters back, they attempt to overcome it to a certain extent, such as Troy working hard in order to prove to his boss that he can drive the garbage truck.
Troy is in control of his personal life, as he chooses to have an affair. This point is highlighted by the character of Jim Bono . Bono is Troy's best friend, and in many ways, Bono looks up to Troy. However, Bono knows that cheating is wrong. Bono expresses his worry about how the affair will affect his friend's marriage. By remaining loving...
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and faithful to his wife, Bono shows that this is an aspect of life that is under the characters' control.
Gabriel shows us how many things are out of our control. Gabriel was injured in war and now has diminished mental capacity. Gabriel is not in charge of his own life. At times he seems to be ruled by his delusions. We also see how Troy has a power over Gabriel, as Gabriel is not capable of making his own decisions about his care, and so Troy takes this control and determines that Gabriel should go to a mental hospital.
The characters in the play are not in total control over their lives or themselves. Troy tries to defeat the forces of death and mortality, and he regards death as something he can overcome. He builds fences around his property as a way to keep death out, but he dies by the end of the play.
The force of racism is also something that the characters can't control. Troy was not able to play baseball in the major leagues when he was young because he is black, and he fears that his son, Cory, will be unable to play football for the same reasons. Racism affects Troy at work, and he has to petition his boss to be able to drive a garbage truck rather than ride in the back (eventually, he is allowed to do so). Mortality and racism are forces that the characters in the play cannot control, and these forces prevent them from being in control of their own lives.
The characters in Fences are all struggling against forces beyond their control.
Troy arguably has the most control over his life; when the play begins, he is questioning why black employees at his job are not allowed to drive the garbage trucks, but in the next scene, he has been made the first black garbage truck driver in the city. Troy is also clearly the one in control in his home. When it comes to interacting with his son Cory and his wife Rose, Troy's word is law. But Troy struggles to reconcile the bright future he could have had as a baseball player, a future that was denied him because he was black, with the life he ended up living. His life is the result of being unable to control what happened to him.
Because they share his home and rely on him financially, Rose and Cory struggle against a force they cannot control: Troy. Rose must deal with Troy's infidelity and even raise the child that is born out of his affair with Alberta. Cory's desire to play football is crushed by Troy's insistence that he work instead; Troy says he has no future in sports. In addition, Gabriel, Troy's brother, was injured when he fought in World War II, a situation far beyond his control.
Lyons, Troy's oldest son, enjoys a freedom and sense of control that the other characters do not, because he is living out his dream of being a jazz musician. This often means, however, that he struggles to make money, and as a result, he relies on Troy financially. Apart from Lyons, the characters in Fences are forced (often by Troy) to prioritize security and survival over happiness, and in this way, they have limited control over their lives.