Troy Maxson’s Life, a Timeline
A) In chronological order, 1904-1965 = pp. 1-3
B) As revealed sequentially within the scenes of Fences = pp. 4-6
1900
p. 1
It is 1957…Troy is 53
= b. 1904
1910
p. 24 Gabriel is seven years younger than Troy
= 46, b. 1911
p. 51 T. re his father daddy ain’t had them walkin’ blues…[mama] run off when I was about 8. (= 1912)
p. 5 [Rose] is ten years younger than Troy.
= 43, b. 1914
p. 51 T. When my turn come to head out, I was fourteen…
Troy left home in 1918, and walked the 200 miles to Mobile, AL.
1920
p. 18 L. to T. You can’t change me, Pop. I’m thirty-four years old.
Lyons b. 1923 when Troy was 19.
p. 55 T. to L. (re incident shortly after L’s birth) When he shot me I jumped at him with my knife. They
told me I killed him and they put me in the penitentiary and locked me up for 15 years. That’s where I met
Bono. That’s where I learned to play baseball.
Troy incarcerated approx. 1923-1938, aged 19-34.
p. 1
re Troy & Bono …friendship of 30-odd years…
T. first met Bono ~ 1923-26
1930
1935
p. 62 B. to T. I remember when you met Rose. When you was hitting them baseball out the park. (~1938)
2-Troy Maxson’s Life, developing the timeline, cont’d
p. 94 L. to C. I seen him strike out three times in a row…and the next time up, he hit the ball over the
grandstand… After the game he had two hundred people waiting to shake his hand.
Lyons had seen Troy play ball = probably in 1938 or later, but probably not after 1944.
Lyons would have been at least 15, Troy over 34.
p. 62 T. to B. I know she a good woman. I been married to her for eighteen years.
Troy and Rose married in 1939 (T at 35; R at 25)
*one anomaly: p. 97 R. to C.: …when I first seen him. I was thirty years old and had done
seen my share of men. Does not follow the p. 5 intro of Rose as 10 yrs. T’s junior.
1940 p. 39 T. to R. I decided 17 yrs. ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports. Cory, 17, b. 1940.
p. 9
-“-“-
R. Times have changed since you was playing baseball, Troy. That was before the war.
B. …You just come along too early (? Did T. stop playing in 1941, or before end of WWII?)
T. There ought not never have been no time called too early!
p. 93 (It is likely that Troy began working for the city in 1941, as L reports that T. had retired in 1961.)
p. 28 T. re G. …messin’ around with them Japs, get half his head blown off
Gabriel served in the Pacific Theatre during WWII; would have been 30 at the time of
Pearl Harbor, Troy already 37. Unlikely that Troy served in WWII (Selective Service
Act of 1940 conscripted 21-36 yr. olds; later expanded to 18-45, but system
concentrated on those under 38.)
p. 84 T. to C. in 1958 This is my house. Bought and paid for. In full. Took me fifteen years. (~ 1943-58)
Seems likely that Gabriel was discharged in 1943 (invalided out) = $$ for down payment.
(note: It’s conceivable that G. might have served with the black 24th Infantry Regiment
who fought at Guadalcanal, 1942-43; the US Army was not integrated until 1948 by
executive order of President Truman.)
p. 39 T: Don’t come telling me I was too old. I just wasn’t the right color.
R: How was you gonna play ball when you were over forty?
Troy would have turned 40 in 1944.
3-Troy Maxson’s Life, developing the timeline, cont’d
1945
p. 9
R: Jackie Robinson was the first. Folks had to wait for Jackie Robinson.
JRR (1919-1972) entered MLB on 4/15/47 when Robinson was 28 & Troy was 43.
US Army was integrated in 1948 by executive order of President Truman.
1950
1955
p. 76 ~ April, 1958 Raynell is born in the year that Troy turns 54.
p. 81 L. to C. I’m sorry I missed your graduation. Cory graduated in 1958; II.iv = late May or early June
p. 94 L. you gonna stay in…put in your twenty years?
C. I don’t know. I got six already.
Cory had joined the Marines, perhaps immediately after leaving home in summer of ‘58,
but no later than 1959/age 18-19 (when Troy was 54-55), and is now a Corporal.
1960
p. 93 L. Me and Bonnie been split up about four years now. About the time Papa retired.
Lyons’ marriage broke up in 1961 when he was ~38, the same year that Troy retired at
57 - probably after 20 years of working for the city, 1941-61.
p. 94 L. They give me three years…ain’t got but nine more months.
Lyons was sent to the workhouse for check fraud, probably in 1962 at ~age 39 (shortlywithin a year after his divorce) when Troy was ~58.
1965
p. 90 The time is 1965…morning of Troy’s funeral
Troy Maxson (1904-1965) died at age 60-61.
When Troy dies, Rose is 50-51; Lyons, 42; Cory, 25 and engaged; and Raynell, 7.
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p. 4
Troy Maxson’s Life; the timeline emerges slowly and out-of-sequence
throughout the play FENCES
ACT I Scene i
p. 1 It is 1957…Troy is 53
p. 1
re Troy & Bono …friendship of 30-odd years…
p. 5 [Rose] is ten years younger than Troy.
= b. 1904
T. first met Bono ~ 1923-26
= 43, b. 1914
p. 9
-“-“-
R. Times have changed since you was playing baseball, Troy. That was before the war.
B. …You just come along too early (? Did T. stop play baseball in 1941, or just before end of WWII?)
T. There ought not never have been no time called too early!
p. 9
R: Jackie Robinson was the first. Folks had to wait for Jackie Robinson.
JRR (1919-1972) entered MLB on 4/15/47 when Robinson was 28 & Troy was 43.
p. 18 L. to T. You can’t change me, Pop. I’m thirty-four years old.
ACT I Scene ii
p. 24 Gabriel is seven years younger than Troy
Lyons b. 1923 when Troy was 19.
= 46, b. 1911
p. 28 T. re G. …messin’ around with them Japs, get half his head blown off
Gabriel served in the Pacific Theatre during WWII; would have been 30 at the time of
Pearl Harbor, Troy already 37. Unlikely that Troy served in WWII (Selective Service
Act of 1940 conscripted 21-36 yr. olds; later expanded to 18-45, but system concentrated
on those under 38.)
ACT I Scene iii
p. 39 T. to R. I decided 17 yrs. ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports. Cory, 17, born in 1940.
p. 39 T: Don’t come telling me I was too old. I just wasn’t the right color.
R: How was you gonna play ball when you were over forty?
Troy would have turned 40 in 1944.
5-Troy Maxson’s Life, the timeline emerges, cont’d
ACT I Scene iv
p. 51 T. re his father My daddy ain’t had them walkin’ blues…[mama] run off when I was about 8. (= 1912)
p. 51 T. When my turn come to head out, I was fourteen…
Troy left home in 1918, and walked the 200 miles to Mobile, AL.
p. 55 T. to L. (re incident shortly after L’s birth) When he shot me I jumped at him with my knife. They
told me I killed him and they put me in the penitentiary and locked me up for 15 years. That’s where
I met Bono. That’s where I learned to play baseball.
Troy incarcerated ~1923-1938, aged 19-34.
ACT II Scene i
p. 62 B. to T. I remember when you met Rose. When you was hitting them baseball out the park. (1938?)
p. 62 T. to B. I know she a good woman. I been married to her for eighteen years.
Troy and Rose married in 1939 (T at 35; R at 25)
*one anomaly: p. 97 R. to C.: …when I first seen him. I was thirty years old and had done
seen my share of men. Does not follow the p. 5 intro of Rose as 10 yrs. T’s junior.
ACT II Scene ii
p. 76 ~ April, 1958 Raynell is born in the year that Troy turns 54.
(No new lifeline information in ACT II Scene iii)
ACT II Scene iv
p. 81 L. to C. I’m sorry I missed your graduation.
Cory graduated in 1958; II.iv = late May or early June
p. 84 T. to C. in 1958 This is my house. Bought and paid for. In full. Took me fifteen years. (i.e., 1943-58)
Seems likely that Gabriel was discharged in 1943 (invalided out) = $$ for down payment.
(note: It’s conceivable that G. might have served with the black 24th Infantry Regiment
who fought at Guadalcanal, 1942-43; the US Army was not integrated until 1948 by
executive order of President Truman.)
6-Troy Maxson’s Life, the timeline emerges, cont’d
ACT II Scene v
p. 90 The time is 1965…morning of Troy’s funeral
Troy Maxson (1904-1965) died at age 60-61.
When Troy dies, Rose is 50-51; Lyons, 42; Cory, 25 and engaged; and Raynell, 7.
p. 93 L. Me and Bonnie been split up about four years now. About the time Papa retired.
Lyons’ marriage broke up in 1961 when he was ~38, the same year that Troy retired at
57 - probably after 20 years of working for the city, 1941-61.
p. 94 L. you gonna stay in…put in your twenty years?
C. I don’t know. I got six already.
Cory had joined the Marines, perhaps immediately after leaving home in summer of ‘58,
but no later than 1959/age 18-19 (Troy was 54-55), and is now a Corporal.
p. 94 L. They give me three years…ain’t got but nine more months.
Lyons was sent to the workhouse for check fraud, probably in 1962 at ~age 39 (shortlywithin a year after his divorce) when Troy was ~58.
p. 94 L. to C. I seen him strike out three times in a row…and the next time up, he hit the ball over the
grandstand… After the game he had two hundred people waiting to shake his hand.
Lyons had seen Troy play ball = probably in 1938 or later, but probably not after 1944.
Lyons would have been at least 15, Troy over 34.