The Will of Troy

            In the play Fences the main character Troy is a strong willed man but with kind intentions. Troy thinks that society expects a man to work for a living and to take care of his family. This is very clear when he says, “It’s my responsibility! You understand that? A man got to take care of his family” (Wilson 38). He also believes that a man must have integrity. Troy displays his integrity many times when telling his stories. He pays his bills on time, he makes his monthly payments if he has them and he takes care of things such as the roof before they are actually broken to prevent further destruction. I believe Troy is a good man. Throughout the play he may say things that don’t seem very nice but they are for the other person’s good. One example would be where he says, “You a bigger fool than I thought…to let somebody take away your job so you can play some football” (Wilson 36). He says this to his son after he quit his job because he was being recruited for college football. Troy did not say that to belittle his son Lyons, he said it because he wants Lyons to be able to make his own money so he can do what he wants with it. It is also clear that his intentions are truly nice after he has a conversation with his wife Rose. He says, “I do the best I can do” (Wilson 40). This shows that he is only trying to do the best he can to take care of his family. He doesn't use any other words that would come off as harmful to distract anyone from the fact that he is just trying to do the best he can do. This is the first time he does so and shows his true intentions without any harmful words surrounding it. Nowadays men still have the same standards as before but they are a little bit different. The men still should take care of their family but nowadays the standards for women make it easier for men to do so. Since women have become an important part of the workforce now the job to bring in money for the family is essentially split and sometimes it is just the woman working. So this brings in the standard for men who aren't working to take care of the daily needs of the children and take care of the house as women used to do in the times that Troy lived in. Because of these different standards I think Troy would have struggled with them but because of his strong will he would find a way to be successful anyways. Even if he was to stay at home and take care of Lyons.