To me, there is nothing admirable about Troy, he is very hypocritical and cunning throughout the whole play. However, others might respect Troy for his hard-working nature and dominance over his family. In addition, these attributes could also be frustrating and annoying to other readers. Troy carries a lot of flaws on his shoulders. Yet, he is very oblivious towards them. Troy can be seen with too much pride that he truly does not deserve. Let’s not forget the fact that he cheated on his wife and had a baby with the women he had an affair with. Lastly, Troy struggles with stubbornness that is described as his “fatal flaw.” Troy is definitely seen being very self-centered and stubborn throughout the whole story. Troy ultimately beliefs everyone and everything should be centered around him. Not to mention he fails to …show more content…
Even though it is clearly shown everyone close the Troy proves to be loyal towards him, Troy can not seem to grasp likewise manner. Troy chose to ignore all of Bono’s tips and advice, which ultimately caused waves and tears in their friendship. Troy’s behavior seems to rub off on his son Lyons. Lyons is as stubborn as Troy. Lyons is seen coming to Troy’s house often to ask for money. Lyons is also illustrated to be lazy. Always saying he is going to pursue a career in music, yet he does not even try. Cory is his very ambitious and talented son who is very skilled at football. However, Troy discourages and ruins his scholarship opportunity, using the excuse that sports do not accept black athletes. In my opinion, Troy mainly discourages him because Troy could never live out his dream of being a star athlete. He carries the “If I can’t have it, nobody can” attitude. In Fences, Troy cheats on his wife with another woman, ultimately having a child with the woman he had an affair with. However, Rose’s compassion towards children led to her taking care of the baby after Alberta dies during child
All of the characters are "fenced in," by various barriers. Troy is working in a job where African Americans can get the lowest and most difficult tasks. On the home front, he has responsibilities to his family. Rose has chosen life with Troy as an alternative to "a succession of abusive men and their babies, a life of partying, or the Church." Troy’s son, Lyons, is supposedly a musician but is going nowhere. Cory has potential but has his dream of playing college football extinguished by both protective and jealous Troy. The characters must deal with hardships of daily life, racial discrimination, straining relationships with each other, and the feeling that this is all their lives are: somewhat of a confined space with no escape; fenced in.
Throughout the play, pieces of Troy’s background are exposed to the reader. It quickly becomes clear that he was a talented baseball player who could have played professionally if not for the color of his skin. Instead of going on to a successful baseball career, Troy was forced to move on with his life and settle down as a garbage man. Although this is not what he truly wants in his life, it provides stability for him and his family. Similarly to his father, Troy’s son, Cory, is a talented football player who is being scouted for college. However, instead of encouraging him, Troy constantly scolds him, telling him he has to find a ‘real job;’ Troy even tells the scout to leave. This is ultimately because of his jealousy towards Cory’s success in sports, and the fact that Cory possesses the life Troy dreamed of. Many feuds and disagreements are born between the father and son because of their different views.
Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasure. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism is misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty.
His father could have treated his children better, Troy, “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t known my daddy. He ain’t cared nothing about no kids. A kid to him wasn’t nothing. All he wanted was for you to learn how to walk so he could start you to working. When it come time for eating. . . he ate first.” (Wilson Pg. 1213). Troy grew up with an abusive father, it made him have no feelings towards his own kids and it plays a huge role in why he acts the way he does. Joe Canewell’s daughter and Troy were about the same age when they were enjoying themselves. His father caught him a whupped him like a slave. That’s when Troy tries to fight his father because his father tries to mess with the young girl. He woke up battered and broken from being unconscious and that when left
This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shaped him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history. The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident.
As a result of Troy being unable to find a place to live or a job he started stealing to get by. Eventually the situation escalated and he murdered someone in a robbery gone wrong; this led to him being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prison is where he found his love for baseball. He became quite good with a bat and hoped that when he got out he could play professionally. Unfortunately due to the segregation of the MLB Troy was never able to pursue that career and he is resentful of the situation his whole life.This caused him to be a very bitter person for the remainder of his life and this also caused him to shoot down the hopes and dreams of his son Corey by telling him things like “...The white man ain’t gonna let you go nowhere with that football
... he cannot really escape Death. This closeness to death refines him. When Troy realizes that Death is getting closer to his home, he prepares for the fight. In the end, his weak barrier is broken down by Death and he perishes.
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
This reaction is a clear depiction of Troy’s tragic flaw because Troy is not able to deal with someone confronting him for his wrongdoing, rather he must protect his dignity thereby reacting with anger before thinking about the
In this conversation between father and son, Cory unearths Troy's deep seeded emotions towards his family. Though he does love his family, and his tenderness and concern are on display in other scenes, Troy has come to a point in his life where he finally becomes broken by the responsibility of caring for them. Responsibility, in Troy's world, is the most noble calling of a man. This responsibility, however, has caused Troy to become a bitter man. He cannot "like" his son because of his desire that Cory not become like him.
... 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.
time I see him.? The source of this conflict lies in Troy?s experiences and attitude
Perhaps the most important and fulfilling relationship a man can be involved in is one with his own flesh and blood. At the beginning of the play, we learn that Troy has two sons, Lyons and Cory. Lyons is Troy's son by a previous marriage and Cory is Troy's son by his current marriage. Neither Lyons nor Cory share a close relationship with their father and Troy is mostly to blame for that.
In the end Troy died living behind a trail of animosity between him and his family. In my opinion his story is that of a tragic hero. He began being loved and praised by his family but eventually and gradually, he began to succumb to the weight of racism. It can be said that the effects of racism finally took the better of Troy, and consequentially it ruled his life. Like his fictional stories, death finally took him.
Instead of owning up to his past and current mistakes and actually try to work through them, he instead let them influence his decisions. Although Troy was not able to be there for his oldest son Lyons when he was growing up, he still showed guilt in his relationship with his son. However, instead of Troy trying to make up for lost lessons and teach his son important values of what manhood actually stood for, he took the easiest way to show his guilt. He found it best to lecture to Lyons before he would eventually loan money to him. Troy also, let his past influence the relationship he had with his younger son Cory. Because of problems that he ran into when he was trying to become a professional athlete, he assumed that Cory would not be successful either. Troy never showed nor pretended that he had faith in Cory becoming pro. Instead Troy only told his son what he would not be able to do. Troy also let his current mistakes influence his marriage. When he cheated on his wife Rose, he was only concerned about himself and did not take into consideration what all she had sacrificed throughout their marriage. Troy could never find it within his self to accept situations that occurred in his past and learn from them, but instead he held on to them. In his article about ways a person can be unknowingly self-centered, Duska Ronald stated,“Self-interest is not selfishness. Selfishness is