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Lyons Maxson is Troy’s oldest son, and Rose is his stepmother. Lyons’ biological mother was Troy’s first partner when he was a young man and had just arrived in Milwaukee. Building a life in Milwaukee was incredibly difficult for Troy, and he had to resort to stealing to survive. When Lyons was an infant, Troy was arrested for robbery and spent fifteen years in prison, meaning that he was not an active father throughout most of Lyons’ childhood. Troy’s relationship with Lyons is different than his relationship with his teenage son, Cory. While Troy exerts a lot of control over Cory’s life, Lyons was raised entirely by his mother, with little input from Troy. Thus, Lyons lives his life with relative freedom, although Troy doesn’t often approve of his choices. Lyons is passionate about music, and he spends most of his time attempting to make this passion into a career. Troy finds this pursuit foolish and pushes Lyons to take a more stable job. Although Troy’s lack of interest and support for Lyons’ music career echoes his lack of support for Cory’s athletic career, his skepticism is also warranted. Lyons gives all his time to his music, allowing his girlfriend Bonnie to finance both of their lives with a laborious job in a hospital laundry. Troy finds this distasteful, as he believes that Lyons should be providing for his family, and that the ability to provide is a pillar of masculinity. Both father and son fail to be good partners to the women in their lives in different ways. While Troy is emotionally unavailable and adulterous, Lyons is lazy and self-centered, allowing his girlfriend to carry the burden of providing for them both while he enjoys a life devoted to his artistic passions.
Despite their differences in opinion and somewhat distant relationship, Lyons doggedly attempts to welcome his father into his life. He stops by the house every Friday, sometimes to ask for money, but often to invite his father to see his band perform. While Troy always relents to lending his son money, he never once accepts one of these invitations. Troy believes that fatherhood entails providing financially for his children and family, but it’s clear that his sons and his wife crave emotional connection. This he cannot or will not give them. His refusal to acknowledge Lyons’ life passion results in a distant relationship that never progresses past the surface level.
