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The Daily Insight

What happened to Lyons in fences

Author

Andrew Campbell

Published Feb 22, 2026

After being away in the marines for several years, Cory reunites with his family for his father’s funeral. Here Lyons catches Cory up on his own life: Lyons is currently in prison for passing bad checks.

What happens to Lyons?

Too narrowly focused on becoming a musician, Lyons has to resort to crime (cashing other peoples’ checks) in order to make ends meet. Following in his father’s footsteps, Lyons ends up in jail.

Why does Gabriel push Lyons away?

August Wilson describes “a weight of impossible description” befalling Gabriel—“a trauma that a sane and normal mind would be unable to withstand”—a painful realization of some kind, likely that Troy failed to enter heaven. Gabriel then begins to dance hysterically, and when Lyons attempts to embrace him, he pushes him …

What happened between Troy and Lyons?

Lyons is Troy’s son from a previous relationship. Troy had Lyons when he was still homeless and squatting in a shack by the river. Lyons’s mother moved on to another man while Troy was in prison, so Troy has never been much of a father to Lyons.

What did Lyons do in fences?

Lyons is an ambitious and talented jazz musician. He grew up without Troy for much of his childhood because Troy was in prison. Lyons, like most musicians, has a hard time making a living. For income, Lyons mostly depends on his girlfriend, Bonnie whom we never see on stage.

Who is Lyons and why does he show up what does he do what else do we know about him?

Lyons, a son Troy had before he met Rose, shows up at the house as he has tended to do on many Fridays in the past because Lyons knows it is Troy’s payday. Lyons is a jazz musician. He asks Troy if he can borrow ten dollars.

How old is Lyons at the start of the play?

Lyons. Lyons Maxson is Troy’s thirty-four-year-old son from a previous marriage before Rose.

Is Troy a good father in fences?

Answer and Explanation: In August Wilson’s play Fences, Troy is both a good and bad father. Troy is a good father because he takes care of his family financially. He has a steady job, which allows him to feed and clothe his children.

How is Lyons different from Troy?

Lyons spent his entire childhood growing up with only one parent, his mother, while Troy was in jail. Lyons feels he has the right to make his own life decisions and pursue his own dreams in music because he had more familial support and fewer hardships than Troy.

What has become of Lyons over the past eight years what does this reveal about his character?

What has become of Lyons over the past eight years? What does this reveal about his character? Lyons is still playing music and reveals that he hasn’t changed and still loves doing what he is doing.

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Why does no sound come from the trumpet in fences?

When Gabriel’s trumpet fails to make a sound, you could interpret it as Christianity itself failing him. When Gabriel begins his dance, he reaches within himself and finds a dance hidden inside him, a dance buried by centuries of white oppression. … Gabriel caps off his tribal dance with a wild and howling song.

Why does Lyons Miss Cory's graduation?

Lyons and Cory chat. Cory has graduated from high school and Lyons missed the ceremony because he had a jazz gig. Cory is trying to find a job, indicating that Troy did not allow him to go to college to play football.

How does Lyons offend his father?

How does Lyons offend his father? He downgrades his job of a garbage collector. What advice does Troy offer Lyons? He says Life don’t owe you nothing, you owe it to yourself.

Is Jim Bono black?

Jim Bono was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a working-class African-American family, and the 1950s saw him work as a garbageman alongside his best friend Troy Maxson, whom he had known since they were both in a federal penitentiary.

Why did Troy cheat on Rose Fences?

Troy Maxson cheats on Rose in the play ‘Fences’. He fathers a baby with his mistress, Alberta, and has to tell Rose about the affair. The reason behind him cheating Rose was that he was a father to the baby with Alberta.

Why is Cory the antagonist in Fences?

Cory. It might be hard to think of Cory as an antagonist, since he’s pretty much the nicest guy ever. For most of the play, he puts up with his grouchy father, Troy, without too much of a fuss. Chances are the audience is really rooting for him to get to go to college on the football scholarship.

Why does Lyons come to visit what is Troy's reaction?

13) Lyons comes to visit so that he can pay back the $20 he borrowed from Troy. Troy has to give all of his money to Rose, so he is disgruntled.

Why does Lyons want Troy to go see him play at the club?

Lyons enters the scene, and Troy is surprised to see him, since he thought Lyons had been jailed after reading that one of the clubs he frequents was raided for gambling. Lyons defends himself, saying that he doesn’t gamble, and that he only attends that club to play music with his band.

What is Wilson's message in fences?

In “Fences”, by August Wilson, theme topics of faithfulness, racism, responsibilities, and the decision of doing the right thing come into play in forms that are very real and that could happen to anyone. “Fences” brings readers to the intense and not always perfect sides of life.

What sport does Cory want to play in fences?

Cory Maxson plays football for his high school team. Cory works hard in school and is talented enough at football to attract the attention of college…

Where do Bono and Troy meet Alberta?

Bono and Troy met in jail, where Troy learned to play baseball.

What do we find out about Lyons and what he is currently doing with his life in Act 2 Scene 5?

Lyons and Bono come by and reunite with Cory, whom they are pleased to see is doing so well. Lyons admits that he and his wife split up four years ago, about the time that Troy retired. Lyons is apparently serving three years in prison for cashing fake checks; he has nine months left to go.

Why doesn't troy want to take back the ten dollars Lyons owes him?

Why doesn’t Troy accept the $10 Lyons promised to return? He thinks Lyon shouldn’t get the gratification of keeping his promise (paying back Troy), and also he thinks Lyon will come back again to borrow it.

Where has Lyons been for the last couple of years?

Up until today, Lyons had been a “marketing fellow” at HubSpot, a software company where he spent the last couple years.

Did Cory attend troys funeral?

Bono and Rose knew Troy in his prime as a ballplayer and witnessed his demise. Cory refuses to go to Troy’s funeral even though he made the journey to visit home for the first time in almost eight years. Cory’s last memories of the Maxson household were bitter and oppressive.

Why does Gabriel carry a trumpet?

He carries a trumpet in order to be prepared to open the gates of heaven when necessary. Gabriel is clearly deluded, but his delusions are generally benign, and his family goes along with his fantasies.

Why does Cory join the Marines?

Cory Maxson (born 1940) was a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1950s. The son of former Negro Leagues baseball player Troy Maxson, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps after being kicked out of his house for wanting to play football instead of getting a real job, and he was estranged from his father.

Why does Lyons cling to his music even though it makes him very little money?

Why does Lyons cling to his music despite it making him very little money? To stop trying to live the “fast life”, but Lyons prefers his music career as he doesn’t want to deal with trash.

What is the relationship between Troy and Cory in Fences?

This scene functions to show that Cory and Troy share a turbulent relationship in which they both dislike each other. While Troy dislikes Cory, he still loves him and displays his responsibility toward him. Likewise, Cory may dislike his dad but he still respects him and deep down he loves him.

How does Troy feel about lending Lyons money?

Troy resents Lyons’s requests for money, since they result from Lyons’s refusal to get a “real” job. But perhaps because Troy missed Lyons’s childhood, Troy begrudgingly feels he must support Lyons now.

How does Rose sing to herself how does this reveal her character?

What is revealed about Rose’s character as she sings to herself? She believes in Jesus and this reveals that she is big on religion and that she worries about her family.