the play Fences, by August Wilson, the protagonist Troy is falsely misled by his beliefs that he is always right. This misconception lead to his downfall because it pins his wife and kids against him, but especially his son Cory and wife Rose. Troy betrays his wife and his son through methods of deception by having an affair during his marriage and talking to Cory’s coach to keep him from playing football. Betrayal is a central theme of the play because since Troy believes he knows it all, he ends up destroying his life by ruining the lives of his family.
The illusion Troy has is that he believes that he is never in the wrong. His beliefs differentiate themselves from the reality from reality because Troy makes a lot of bad decisions…show more content… “A man’s got to do what’s right for him. I ain’t sorry for nothing I done. It felt right in my heart” (Wilson 79). The continuation of Troy’s false sense of reality leads to the destruction of his relationship with his family as a result of his actions. Relating to the theme of betrayal, Troy’s opinion that he is always right, causes Cory to turn his back against his own father. Troy’s disillusion of what the he thought his future would hold, resulted from betraying his wife. “I’m trying to find a way to tell you… I’m gonna be a daddy. I’m gonna be somebody’s daddy” (Wilson 66). Troy’s affair is what ultimately led to the loss of his relationship with his…show more content… I’ve got to say no to him. One time in my life I’ve got to say no” (Wilson 96). In the end, Cory despises his father so much that, at first, he refuses to go to his funeral when he dies. The theme of betrayal is also prevalent when Troy sends away his own brother, Gabe. “You did Gabe just like you did Cory. You wouldn’t sign the paper for Cory...but you signed for Gabe” (Wilson 75). In the play, Troy says that he would never allow his brother Gabe to be taken to a mental institution, but he signs the paper for Gabe to go there so that he gets a portion of Gabe’s check. Rose compares what Troy did to Cory, to what he did to Gabe because, in both instances, Troy made bad decisions that weren’t made in the best interest of his family and he betrayed them. Overall, Troy’s illusion that he is always right, even in the disagreements he had with his family, caused the rift between Troy and his family.
Therefore, in the play Fences, Troy’s opinion that he is never wrong is what ultimately leads to his downfall. Overall, it led to the destruction of his relationship between himself and Cory, Gabe, and his wife Rose. After he lost the woman he had the affair with, Alberta, it was not until then until he realized how bad he messed up with his family. Tying into the theme of betrayal, Troy’s illusion about himself led to lack of communication between himself and his family which caused everything to go
