Troy as a Man

The main character in the play Fences is a man named Troy. He is a working man that supports his family. In Troy’s eyes, this is what a man is expected to do. A man is expected to work with his hands and make an earning to support his family. Troy is a good man in that he wants the best for his children. With his son Cory wanting to play football at a higher level, Troy is against it and stops it. “You a bigger fool than I thought…to let somebody take away your job so you can play some football” (Wilson 36). Troy believes that because Cory is African American, it’ll be hard to make it anywhere with football. Although this may not be the best thing to do with the situation in some eyes, Troy is doing what he thinks is best for Cory in the long run.

Currently our society’s expectations for men are just about the same as the play, to work and support the family. But today, it is common for the mother/wife to help support the family as well. Troy would have met up with the standard of providing for his family and to supply the things they need. Troy explains early in the book about when his children’s mother and he had their first child, he would steal in order to give his family what they needed. He was willing to take giant risks for his family. Troy may have had some difficulty with understanding women supporting the family as well. He often makes remarks to and about Rose following and listening to him.