son+and+father+relationships

**Father and Son Relationships**
The parallelism of actions, events, and tension among each of the son and father relationships introduced in the play Fences by August Wilson suggest that the father has an everlasting and empowering affect on their sons regardless of the son’s actions; the fathers’ actions are reflected from their own father and upon their own sons, creating a cycle of similar actions that the father and son both undergo.
 * Introduction**:


 * Presentation**:
 * 1) Troy and his father**
 * (referring to text reference--manipulative text)
 * relationship between Troy and his father reflects the relationships Troy has his children, Lyons and Cory.
 * "trapped"--parallels to what Troy is like now. Trapped because he feels the "responsibility" to take care of his children, but also trapped in the way that he cannot move on from the past and face reality.
 * when Troy's mother and Troy himself leave the home, it foreshadows a similar result with Troy and his own family.
 * Troy stands up to his father before he leaves home, just like Cory did to his own father (Troy).


 * 2) Troy and Cory (two texts)**

First text:
 * bitter and tense relationship, caused by Troy's incapability to forget the past
 * when Cory is given the opportunity to pursue his dreams, Troy becomes even more resentful since he was denied of such a chance.
 * Troy both jealous and protective of Cory--jealous: his son can achieve what he can't; protective: doesn't want Cory to face the racism he faced when he was younger.
 * Troy's stubborness to "listen to nobody" crushes Cory's "one chance" to play football.
 * Troy always trying to shape Cory in the way he wants him to be, refrains Cory from ever being his own individual.
 * the tension between Cory and Troy builds up to a point where Troy is faced with the truth that he is "so scared" to hear.
 * irony: their mutual interest in sports acts as a barrier between them.
 * Cory wants to break free from his father's constraints-- ends up on the same path his father was on: failing to pursue his sports dreams

Second text (funeral):
 * Cory begins as someone full of hope and opportunity, ends up just as disillusioned as Troy was (Marine Corps).
 * refuses to attend Troy's funeral by "saying no", trying to push his father out of his life. However, this refusal to face reality (that his father died), makes Troy seem more like his father.
 * simile: Troy = shadow. Shadow is something that is inseparable from a person.
 * "weighed", "sunk", "digging", "crawl", "live"--negative connation, implying that Troy has negative impact on Cory's life.
 * despite attempts to push his father away from his life, Cory is still much like him (never reaching his sport dreams, becoming just as disillusioned, and singing the Blue song


 * 3) Troy and Lyons**
 * grown-up adult (34 years old) but still depends on Troy to provide him with money.
 * Troy and Lyons hold a complex relationship
 * when Lyons was younger, Troy was in prison. Since Troy was not there with Lyons during his youth years, it seems as though Troy has built up some guilt inside him, and compensates for his long-term absence away from Lyons by giving him money.
 * Lyons seems to disapprove of the way Troy raised him not, but still accepts the money Troy gives him. Contradictory act by Lyons shows that Lyons is still affected by Troy although he was not there for a large part of his life.
 * Here, Lyons is giving back all the money he owes Troy as a sign of independence so that Troy will give him "nothing" more.
 * However, before Lyons gives back the money, Troy doesn't give him the "chance" to tell him what he is doing. This "chance" refers to the chance that Troy denies to both his sons.
 * although Lyons is trying to stop depending on Troy too much, he nevertheless turns out much like his father--instead of accomplishing his music dreams, he ends up in jail.

In conclusion, August Wilson’s //Fences// grasps the relationship between father and son in a clever way. The three relationships established between Troy and his father, Troy and Cory, and Troy and Lyons, are all similar in that the son tries to free himself from the father but nonetheless is still greatly impacted by the father’s undying presence in their lives. Hence, a cycle of actions is created, one in which both the father and son experience.
 * Conclusion**: