Fences Conflict and How it Affects the Work Fences, by August Wilson, is a drama that focuses on the characteristics of black life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father,Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of thisconflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to themeaning of the work.The first conflict in this play develops between Troy and his 34-year old sonLyons. This conflict is introduced when Lyons appears at the house on Troy’s payday toborrow 10 dollars, an occurrence that is common at the Maxson household. AlthoughTroy knows that he will let Lyons have the money, he harasses Lyons over the issuesaying, “...The only time I see this nigger is when he wants something. That’s the onlytime I see him.” The source of this conflict lies in Troy’s experiences and attitudetoward the black cause. Troy is the victim of a generation with limited opportunities inthe industrial world and toils everyday to support his family and stay on top of hisstruggle for survival. Troy has come to believe, from his experiences, that blacks cannotget something for nothing and that life does not owe blacks anything. Due to this, Toy“fences in” everything that he loves to protect his possessions from the monster ofsociety. Thus there is a symbolization of Troy building a physical fence in the yard butbuilding an emotional fence of protection around his family and friends. He believes thatblacks owe it to themselves to make an honest, hard-earned living and that is the onlyway to survive. Troy states sarcastically that Lyans is blowing his money while living onthe streets trying to live the “fast life” of a musician. In his pride, Troy states: “...Youain’t gonna find me...
