Troy is a garbage man living in the 1950’s. He takes overly excessive pride in the fact that he is “the man of the house”, despite having an active affair with Alberta. Once upon a time he was this awesome baseball player but missed his shot because his peak was before the MLB was accepting African American people (and projects this failure onto his son hardcore.). He becomes the first Garbage Truck Driver in the city after bringing up the fact that all the African Americans only lifted the garbage while the Caucasian people got to drive the trucks. Troy is the protagonist of the play.
Jim is Troy’s best, having known each other for thirty some odd years after meeting in jail. Bono is a really good friend to Troy whether Troy wants to accept that or not.
Troy’s wife. She is a typical housewife for the 50’s. She is probably the most grounded character in the play. She is super damn compassionate, only wanting the best for her son and even willing to raise her husband’s daughter that was a result of his infidelity.
Cory is very athletically talented like his father. One of the first conflicts established in the play is that recruiters want Cory, but his father doesn’t want him to play, initially citing the game isn’t really accepting of African Americans yet. Troy keeps him on a strike system to leave the house, eventually kicking him out. Cory ends up joining the marines.
The most interesting character in the play in my opinion. Gabe is a WWII Vet who was injured during the war and had to have a metal plate put into his head. He likes to carry a basket and sing. He believes that he is the angel Gabriel from the bible.
Troy’s oldest son. He is a musician who struggles terribly with money (in part because his father was *ahem* IN JAIL while he growing (and therefore did not have a figure to teach him). He gambles…. A LOT, however, he is not a terrible dude in my opinion.
Troy’s daughter from his adulterous behavior(s) with Alberta. She is raised by Rose.
Summary: Troy and Jim are Garbage men (Sanitation engineer is the politically correct term), working in the 1950’s. Troy’s son Cory is a senior in high school being scouted for athletics in college. Troy, who was also athletically gifted (but lost his chance to play Major League Baseball due to racial restrictions of the time) in his youth, forbids his son from pursuing this path. Troy is having an affair with a woman named Alberta. Troy must bail Gabriel out from jail and later has him put in an asylum. Rose asks Troy to build her a fence, and he and Jim work on it. Jim eventually calls Troy out on his adultery, and Troy eventually reveals this to his wife, Rose. 6 Months pass, and Alberta gives birth to Raynell, dying in the process. Rose raises Raynell as her own with Troy. Troy and Cory get into this big freaking fight that ends with Troy kicking Cory out of the house for good. Troy dies eight years later and Cory does not want to attend the funeral until Rose convinces him otherwise.
Special Notes: Historical connections are the play’s bread and butter. Topics that were prevalent at the time such as wounded veterans, African Americans in sports, and the role of the individuals in a traditional marriage when faced with fidelity are topics that were being heavily discussed during the 1980’s when the play was published. We were seeing a lot of the aftermath of the veterans who suffered during Vietnam as we were about to see the start of yet-another war. This was not even two full decades after Martin King Jr. was assassinated, and society was still (and is still) heavily adjusting. In addition to this the 80’s was a time when that traditional nuclear family model started to step away from the spotlight.
Personal Notes and Reactions: Alright, I’m going to be honest. I struggled with this one. The language did not get easier for me as I read, and I was actively having to focus to understand what the dialogue was. I don’t know if hearing the dialogue would accentuate this problem or make it easier to understand. Overall, once I got past the dialogue, I really enjoyed this play. My favorite character by far was Gabriel (because I am a sucker for that disabled prophet role that is prevalent throughout all of literature). I really enjoyed looking at characters from a Psychological perspective as opposed to an actor’s perspective. Seeing Troy projecting inadequacies, to Lyons reflecting his mother’s behavior (as opposed to his father who wasn’t there) to Jim sucking it up and taking Troy’s bullsh## because he was trying to save his friend made the play very fascinating to me.
