Troy is 53 years old and works hauling other peoples garbage. He can't understand why Rose's son Lyons doesn't get a job and work like he does. Lyons keeps coming to Troy for money on payday, and Troy argues with him about his aspirations to be a musician. Lyon's girlfriend is working and he is not, and because Troy has always worked, he thinks Lyons simply doesn't want to work. The environment in the North was a little better in Fences .
Blacks work and have homes but they are nothing compared to what whites have.
Some blacks have their own business, and Troy and his friend Bono talk about why blacks don't support the black-owned business' in the neighborhod, even if the prices are higher than if they bought from the whites. Later on, the reader finds out that Troy's other son is working in the white grocery story, and this is probably why Troy defends buying from whites. Troy frequently refers back to how he grew up. I think he expects everybody else to have had a similar experience so they can understand him better. His mother left when he was eight, saying she'd be back for him, but he never saw her again.