How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
Troy: "Yeah, what?"
Cory: "Yessir." (1.3.25-1.3.26)
Troy is constantly asserting his authority over Cory. It seems like he never wants his son to forget that he's the one in charge. Perhaps Troy feels so powerless in the other areas of his life that he's desperate to maintain his alpha-male status at home.
Quote #5
Cory: "The Pirates won today. That makes five in a row."
Troy: "I ain't thinking about the Pirates." (1.3.58)
Cory constantly tries to connect with his father, but Troy almost always finds a way to reject him. Here we see Cory try to start a conversation about baseball, but his father instantly shoots him down. This troubled father-son relationship forms the spine of the play.
Quote #6
Troy: "That boy walking around here smelling his piss...thinking he's grown. Thinking he's gonna do what he want, irrespective of what I say." (1.4.101)
Everybody's seen a male dog mark its territory by peeing on a fire hydrant or some unlucky bush. That's the image that Wilson draws on here to describe the growing father-son tension in the play. It seems like this very typical battle for male dominance may very soon explode.