A Raisin In The Sun And Fences Analysis

In the two plays, A Raisin in the Sun, and Fences, the plot is centered around an African American man living in the city with his family. In A Raisin in the Sun, that man is Walter Lee, who is middle aged, and works as a chauffeur for a rich white man. In Fences, it is Troy Maxson, who is in his fifties, and he works for the sanitation department lifting garbage into trucks. The two of them are fathers of boys, Walter Lee having one, and Troy having two (until the end in which he has a girl). Throughout the story, they are concerned with fathering their children, and being a fatherly figure in the household. This meant being the strong patriarch in both cases. So, throughout both plays, Walter Lee and Troy Maxson were often concerned over …show more content…
He does not exactly have the want to provide for his family, but as a man, he feels the obligation to, as shown when he says, “It’s my job. It’s my responsibility! You understand that? A man got to take care of his family” (Wilson 38). From this, Troy makes it clear that he believes that a man must provide for his family. Troy does everything at his job, which is not the greatest, in order to be able to give his family food, and shelter, and give his son a good life. Troy knows that he is a man, and he believes that he owes it to his family, and especially his son that he give them everything he can. It is obvious that the two men, Troy and Walter, both believe that it is essential to a man’s manhood that he do his best for his …show more content…
He feeds off of his pride, because he loves to feel like he is better than others are. An example of how Troy works for pride is when Bono says, “Your daddy got a promotion on the rubbish. He’s gonna be the first colored driver. Ain’t got to do nothing but sit up there and read the paper like them white fellows” (Wilson 45). Troy had worked as a sanitation worker, and he would pile the garbage into the trucks, and while he had that job, he maintained his pride. But, he had wanted the job of the white man, which was driving the truck. At this point of the novel, he becomes the first black man to drive the trucks, and that makes him even more prideful. Pride is essential to the being of Troy Maxson. It is pride that both Troy and Walter have, and yearn for more of. Also, it is ironic how they both search for more pride by trying to have the same job as white people, or be like white people. But, for Troy, and Walter, working and money are essential to their pride. The last way that money affects manhood in Troy and Walter’s terms is control. Both Troy and Walter are hungry for control, and they both want to use money or use money to take it. Throughout the play A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee wants control of the household so that he can be the patriarch, and feel like a man. When Mama gives him the money, he feels this control, and he