Play Fences by August Wilson
In almost all societies there exist different social roles between men and women. This in most cases is justified by biological differences and this leads to a cultural difference between the two genders. For many years man has enjoyed a socially dominant position over his female counterpart and this is still experienced even in modern society.
This goes back to the Declaration of Independence. It was mentioned that all men are equal and unfortunately there was no mention of women. The document was prepared by a man and as it used to be, women were confined in their homes to take care of the domestic chores while the men did the rather superior tasks in the social community.
In the play Fences by August Wilson, we see Troy leaving his home though poor and young to start up his life in a different place. This is due to the fact that his father was acting in ways that he could not accept and him being a man that was enough reason for him to move out. This clearly shows that men have dominance and freedom, unlike women who can stay in a troubled environment.
Play Trifles by Susan Glaspell
The male dominance over women leads to ignorance since men perceive women as the weaker sex and in most cases, they overrule the female judgments and opinions. In Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles” we see the men less concerned about female issues. The men when they go to Mrs. Wright’s home they seem to look for hard forensic evidence that can be used in finding who had killed Mr. Wright. The female on the other hand is very meticulous in the details that men perceive as petty issues.
Mrs. Hale comments on Mrs. Wright being with less work since she had no children and from a man’s perspective, this comment can be easily dismissed. The main aim of Mrs. Hale saying this was to show that Mrs. Wright was a very desperate housewife who was not happy.
Furthermore, when they find the evidence of the dead bird they do not bother to tell their male counterparts since they would end up being dismissed for being concerned with little minute details that are of less importance. This shows that men do not appreciate women and the act of stealing the bird and not showing it to the men is seen as an act of loyalty to their gender and an act of defiance against a callous patriarchal society.
Women also have an opinion on men. They see men as the real causes of trouble and this is why Mrs. Hale before visiting Mrs.Wright home after the murder had stayed for more than one year without visiting her. This is because Mrs. Wright’s home had a cheerless atmosphere which Mrs. Hale seems to blame Mr. Wright the dead husband of Mrs. Wright. This can also be verified by the fact that before Mrs. Wright got married she was more cheerful during her youth and she was even more colorful. All these attributes diminished after her marriage.
Troy and Bono
Betrayal is evident from the case of Troy and Bono. Having spent fifteen years in prison they became very close friends and the last thing that was expected is betrayal. Troy Maxon hides his friend from knowing that he has a female partner and furthermore the female partner Alberta is pregnant. Men are seen to be deceitful and untrustworthy as compared to the female counterparts.
Women are seen to be kind. This is depicted when we see Rose Maxson who was Troy’s wife accepting to take care of Raynell who was the child of Troy and Alberta after her mother Alberta dies as she was giving birth to Raynell. This is a difficult decision to make since the child Raynell was the outcome of his husband’s unfaithful behavior. Women are also seen to be compassionate and tender.
Cory the son of Troy after coming back from war refuses to attend his father’s funeral. This is a character of men who are seen to be heartless and less compassionate as compared to women since Cory’s mother is the one who is seen to convince Cory to attend his father’s funeral. He also informs Cory that even though this father did not show affection to him he loved him.
Hypocrisy is well depicted in the play Fences as Troy demands his children and loved ones to lead practical and responsible lives while he had an affair and furthermore had a child with his mistress. This goes on and rebelliousness is seen in men when Troy rebels against racist practices of his fellow employers by their protest on the limitation of black workers as lifters and not drivers on the trash trucks.
Conflict is also seen in men as Troy being unable to accept other’s choices in life when they differ from his opinions and philosophy. Troy disagrees with Lyon’s decision aggressively to be a musician and Cory’s decision to be a footballer in college. Man is seen to be a source of conflict and not only does Troy disagree with his children he also disagrees with his wife and this is seen when he does not like the habit of Rose playing numbers.
Symbolism in Trifles
The differences that exist between men and women are great and there is no proper justification for their existence or continuity since they have been carried forth for many generations and the present modern society is no exception. Traditional men and women roles tend to be similar to those of the modern society with little change into the trends and as long there are two different genders the goal of reaching equality becomes a challenge since men are not only socially and morally different but also they are biologically different with each young male carrying forth the characteristics of their predecessors and this also remains true with their female counterparts.