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The grapes of wrath the struggles
The grapes of wrath the struggles
The grapes of wrath the struggles
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Troy Maxson is the symbol of the African American time, growing up in the World War Two, Post war lifestyle, which means they are one of the first in a long time to experience the American ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Rather survival, prohibition, and gloom. Troy has evolved into a more successful person than his father, who was always an underprivileged agriculturist, who never had his own land or property in hand. rather, paid all his earnings and his very own zest to a below the belt land owner. Troy happened to acquire his own house in hand. though he is damned about the style of settlement. “Troy used that money to buy his house and seems to feel guilty about it.” (wilson act 1, scene 2) And in his intimate
In a simple fictional world, characters are either good or bad, heroes or villains. The heroes almost always win and defeat the villains. In August Wilson’s Fences, Troy Maxson is more complex than that. He has both good and bad qualities. He is both a hero and a villain. Because of this, Troy can be considered an antihero.
Should a neglected, discriminated, and misplaced black man living in the mid 1900s possessing a spectacular, yet unfulfilled talent for baseball be satisfied or miserable? The play Fences, written by August Wilson, answers this question by depicting the challenging journey of the main character, Troy Maxon. Troy, an exceptional baseball player during his youth, cannot break the color barrier and is kept from playing in the big leagues. That being his major life setback, Troy has a pessimistic view of the world. His attitude is unpleasant, but not without justification.
...; he was an emotionally and psychologically abusive father to Cory, and possibly to Rose as well; plus he betrayed Rose by sleeping with another woman, and not only did he show no signs of remorse or regret, but he continued to see Alberta even after he confessed to Rose about having an affair and cheating on her. Is it true that Troy had a rough life, yes, but that’s no excuse for what he did. He didn’t learn from his past experiences. He didn’t try to change or fix his mistakes. A three-dimensional villain he may be, but he is still a villain in the end.
The protagonist of Fences, Troy Maxson is a hard working garbage man who believes in working hard to support his family. He ultimately wants his wife Rose and his son Cory to live a happy and blissful life. Troy also cares for his best friend Bono who works alongside with Troy. At first glance, readers might get the sense that Troy is an average working man with an ordinary American dream. However, Troy is more than that. He is in fact a complicated character with an array of emotions and thoughts.
During the play, Troy speaks about how his father never set a good example, showing why Troy isn’t a very good father to Cory. When talking about his father and himself, Troy states, “... I could feel him kicking in my blood and knew that the only thing that separated us was the matter of a few years” (Wilson 172-173). This shows that Troy is starting to become the person that he hated so much in his past. In society, an expectation from men is that they be strong, independent, and emotionless. But sometimes, people take it too far.
The book fences is based in many themes that represent many families and the daily life of a person and communities themes such as race, betrayal and family are just couple of examples found in the play fences. Troy Maxson is a fifty-three years old that is able to accomplish the “American dream” liberty and ideal life. Troy Maxon through his life has accomplished more than his father. One theme that is very important in this play is Betrayal, thought the play Troy Maxon betray many characters his brother , wife and son the symbol that divided Troy and his Family in the play is the fence that is being built.
Troy Maxson is portrayed as a big man with a very big personality and a lot of dignity. He is a bitter guy who believes that he owes his family absolutely everything, from his money down to even his own soul. He is the type of man who wants more than what he can get and that is what drives him but it is also that very “want” that leads him into a very tragic life. Writing on the idea of Troy being a tragic hero, Martin says “Troy’s strengths are found in his willingness to fulfill his duty at all times. He also speaks directly to his dignity regarding his position of work and his career in baseball) Martin, 2) “Fences” Troy has many
case it reminds Troy racism that had him felt lower class. Troy is a bitter had became a bully
... does tell the truth. He talks truthfully about his father and how he is a lot like him. He also admits that the only difference with him and his father is that he does not beat his children. Troy provided for his family. Additionally, even though he was very tough on Cory, he admitted that he was responsible for taking care of him and the rest of the family. In Act One, scene three, Troy explains to Cory why he treats him the way he does. Cory asks, “How come you ain’t never liked me?” (1346). Troy can’t admit to like his own son, so points out that he doesn’t have to like him in order to provide for him. “[…] ‘Cause it’s my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you! […] I ain’t got to like you” (1347). Deep down, somewhere in the dark abyss that is Troy’s heart, he sincerely cares about his family. He just has a very different way of articulating it.
There are many causes that molded Troy Maxson into the dishonest, cantankerous, hypocritical person that he is in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” (1985). Troy had an exceptionally unpleasant childhood. He grew up with a very abusive father that beat him on a daily basis. His mother even abandoned him when he was eight years old. In this play, Troy lies habitually and tries to cover himself up by accusing others of lying. He is a very astringent person in general. His dream of becoming a major league baseball player was crushed as a result of his time spent in jail. By the time he was released from jail, he was too old to play baseball efficiently.
In conclusion, I believe Shannon makes her points strongly about Troy's aversion to Christianity. She sums up her assertions by stating, "When African American men like Troy did fall into the pits of depression, they did not reach for the Bible. They created their own convenient laws of behavior," (384). This is indicative of Troy in every way he deals with work, family, and death. I agree with Shannon in that Christianity knocks at Troy's door just like death, and he rearranges it to fit into his philosophies.
Troy, without the use of force, wishes Lyons, would change his ways to match his new ideology; on the contrary, Troy attempts to force Cory, his youngest son, to adopt these beliefs. In fact, Troy wants Cory to exemplify a more developed and enriched ideology than he himself has. Telling Lyons his point of view, Troy says the following:
Troy Maxon’s last name is a subtle combination of Mason and Dixon, referencing to the Mason-Dixon Line. The allusion to history helps to prepare a reader for the predominant themes in the play. The combination prepares one to understand about the divide between opposing sides, just as the line divided slave states from free states. Troy’s life is based off of having a sort of half and half life. He is conflicted between hope and disappointment in his life. The allusion prepares one to read about the difficulties and effects slavery has had and continues on for generations afterwards. The Line that divided north and south, demonstrates Troy’s divide with his sons and his apprehension towards them achieving their
In comparing Willy and Troy, as fathers, one could feel more sympathy in Willy for his everlasting struggle to maintain a home. Furthermore Willy is alone when it comes to making necessary payments, because Willy’s two sons, Happy and Biff, cannot hold a job. “How can he find himself? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But its’ more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!” (Gioia, 2010) It is evident that Biff cannot hold a job, and has not produced money well; therefore, Willy’s struggle to make payments for the house has been difficult. On the other hand, Troy, the protagonist in the narrative, “Fences” also has the responsibility of maintaining a home. However, unlike Willy, Troy received help in paying his home when he received a check from the government. Troy received the check when his brother Gabriel, was injured at war. “…and they gave him a lousy three-th...
Troy and his father’s relationship was not a very healthy one. Troy’s father was a horrible one, Troy states “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t known my daddy. He ain’t care nothing about no kids.” (Wilson 991), this exemplifies how Troy will be affected as his father never truly cared for his existence. According to Troy his father only wanted kids to work, “All he wanted was for you to learn how to walk so he could start you working.” Troy also tells us that his father was a selfish and evil person even going as far as to call him “the devil himself” (Wilson 992). On page 991 Troy depicts his father as an individual who is solely driven by his job and debt, “…getting those bales of cotton in to Mr. Luben… and find out he owe him money…” (Wilson). This father-son relationship does manage to get worse, Troy explains it as the day he became a man, to paraphrase Wilson: Troy skipped out on his work to go down by the river to lose his