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Essay on “Fences” by August Wilson
Essay on “Fences” by August Wilson
Metaphorical Meaning of Fences by August Wilson
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Recommended: Essay on “Fences” by August Wilson
In comparing August Wilson's play "Fences" and James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," it can be seen that the main characters in each of these stories face a similar universal human conflict. Both Troy, of "Fences," and Walter Mitty live lives in which they, like most everyone, are limited to some extent by forces beyond their control as to how they live their life. These limitations, unfortunately, cannot be avoided throughout life and can be very stressful at times. When a person experiences stress, they're future reactions to stress tend to be magnified even more (Carpi). Therefore, it is best to find a way to cope with stress to prevent from falling apart. Some people, like Troy, are unable to deal with these limitations and eventually do indeed, fall apart. Others however, like Walter, create ways of overcoming these restraints that life throws at us and learn to become better people in the process.
In Troy's situation, the responsibility of providing for his family places great limitations on his life. Troy must give most of his money up to his family to provide for his wife Rose and son Cory. In one example, Troy hands Rose money he has just received from work while saying to his friend Bono, "There it is. Seventy-six dollars and forty-two cents. You see this, Bono? Now, I ain't gonna get but six of that back," and again later, Rose requests money from Troy saying, "You can hand yours over here too, Troy," in which Troy remarks, "You see this Bono. You see how they do me." Troy would obviously like much better to keep all of his hard earned money for himself so that he can do things that he wants to do.
In one argument with his son Cory, Troy says, "A man got to take care of his family. You live in my house
sleep you behind on my bedclothes
fill you belly up with my food
cause you my son. You my flesh and blood. Not cause I like you! Cause it's my duty to take care of you," clearly indicating that if it was not for the fact he were his son, he could care less about him and wouldn't be giving him anything.
As for Walter Mitty, he tends to be limited by the overpowering and demanding personalities of the people around him, the biggest of which is his wife.
In the short story, “ The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” written by James Thurber, it describes a man who while in the midst of everyday life, floats off into daydream that often cause him more trouble than it is worth. His wife, Mrs. Mitty, on the surface does not seem like a well-rounded character. It always seems her life’s mission is to demean Walter and to always use her overbearing nature to nag him. However, there may be more to this character than what meets the eye. I believe that Mrs. Mitty is actually a well-rounded character in the fact that she only acts the way she does only for her husband and his well-being.
The play wants the readers to judge Troy, as a bad husband, a bad brother, a bad father and a bad man. I feel this way, too. He cheated on Rose. Then he left her with the child he had with his mistress. He didn’t care at all about Gabriel. He stole money from him and he sent him to an institution. Troy never cared for Cory. He wouldn’t let him play football, the only thing Cory wanted to do. All of these examples show that Troy is an uncaring husband, a bad brother, a poor father and a generally an uncaring
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.
"Sometimes I wish I hadn't known my daddy. He ain't cared nothing about no kids.” (50). Troy and Cory have a misunderstanding on what to do for Cory’s next step in his life for college. Troy wants Cory to stop playing football so he can just have the job and be at school. Troy does not want Cory to have any other distraction from the two. Cory is being recruited by a college, everyone in the house is happy for him except his father. The relationship between Troy and Cory is bitter and stressed mostly because Troy is trying to treat Cory the same way he was treated by white people in sports and how he was treated by his father. Troy feels that Cory is disobeying his rules or what he tells him not to do which is to stop playing football. Which counted as strike one. Strikes were warning of disobeying rules told by Troy. If someone gets three strikes from Troy, they will be removed from the house. Life for Troy as a kid was a struggle, living on a farm with ten siblings and a father who barely cares for his kids. His father just wanted his kids to learn how to walk so they can get the working and help around the farmhouse. Before Troy even thinks about leaving his home as a fourteen-year-old, his mother already left because she did not feel comfortable around Troy’s father “evilness”. So, once she left that influence Troy to think about leaving his home which he did because his father kicked him out the
Though Troy's actions toward his children are harsh and unfair, but this is not all Troy's fault. He was raised in a time when jazz music and African-Americans playing on professional sports teams just didn't happen. He was a product of his era just as his father before him. Parents can only raise their children the best way they know how, and for Troy this was all he had. As Troy told Cory “Who the hell say I got to like you?”, parents aren't forced to like their children. Sadly, Cory resented his father even after his death. We are all children, and we must learn not to resent our parents because of their actions, but to accept them and understand why they are the way they are. (Wilson 1304).
...eless, he essentially lived his life in a constant low point. Troy’s anger is undoubtedly misguided, but entirely permissible considering his hardships. The story of Troy Maxon begs the question: is it ever justifiable to pass judgment on someone without understanding his or her life story? After analyzing Troy’s struggle and resulting attitude, it seems that passing judgment is exceptionally risky. Without recognizing the early hardships of Troy’s life, it is easy to dismiss him and his cynical outlook. What can be learned from his story is evident. Never judge someone for his or her seemingly unwarranted attitude because there is a good chance it is completely defensible.
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
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
This is the reason why Troy fights against his family and himself, because he feels like he is the only one who can protect them. To Cory and Rose, Troy is destroying the family because of his stubborn thoughts but to Troy he is saving the family from falling apart and this distrust causes the family to eventually fall apart. Troy really does try his hardest to be a good father and is bothered by the fact that Rose and Cory do not see it as him trying to protect them but more of him destroying the family. This hurts Troy because his family is his everything they are what he “fights” for he works day end and day out to put food on the table and try to give them a life he thinks the deserve. August Wilson in “fences” Troy says, “ I love this woman, so much it hurts. I love her so much… I done run out of ways to love her.”(1.1) Wilson uses to show how much Troy actually cares for his wife, to Troy Rose is his everything, she is the light in his darkness, she try’s to guide him back to a sane man. Another Way Wilson shows how much Troy loves his family is when Troy is talking to his family and says that “ You all line up at the door, with your hands out. I give you the lint from my pockets. I give you my sweat and my blood…”(1.3) Troy is saying that he will give them everything until he has absolutely nothing but the lint from his pockets. He will go out of his way to make
As one reads the play, he or she starts to criticize Troy Maxson?s behavior as of a patronizing person. However, if a reader analyzes the situation he was in he or she wouldn?t be so stern in his judgements. In my view he is not a bad father, simply his life experiences have shaped his personality. Through his behavior and acts he wants to pass on to his family the right principles for living, which will guide them through their lives. Troy?s oldest son, Lyons who is thirty-four, fancies himself as a musician. Troy realizes that his son is becoming more and more caught up in the idea of being a musician and is in constant need of money. He is reluctant to loan his son money when he needs it because he wants him to be able to support himself by having a decent job. It is shown when he says, ?I don?t know why he don?t go and get him a decent job and take care of that woman he got.? Troy tries to be a good father but he uses an old-fashioned approach when he tries to explain to his sons how to make it in the real world. He doesn?t ...
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
Troy is the type of person that only cares about himself and will only do things that benefit him. He does not care about who hurts while doing it as long as he benefits he is satisfied. When Troy was telling Rose about getting Alberta pregnant his excuse was that he, “just might be able to steal second”(2.1.118). Troy was unsatisfied with still being on “first”. He was tired of Rose and the way his life was he just wanted something different. Troy just wanted to steal second. He did not care about how his actions may affect Rose and his family he just did what would make him happy. Troy has no sympathy for anyone in his life. He knows his actions affect everyone around him negativity but he does not care because it is beneficial to him. Being unsympathetic to the people he supposedly loves also proves why Troy is the villain of this
Troy is a mixture of two very different parenting styles, Authoritarian and uninvolved. A psychiatrist named Diana Baumrind describes Authoritarian parenting as parents that are “demanding, expect unquestioned obedience, are not responsive to their children’s desires, and communicate poorly with their children” and a uninvolved parent is a parent that “minimizes both the time they spend with their children and their emotional involvement with them and provide for their children’s basic needs, but little else” (Griggs 301). When it comes to his children’s everyday life and need for love and comfort Troy is not there. When Cory ask Troy why he doesn’t like him Troy responds with asking Cory, “Who the hell say I got to like you? What law is there say I got to like you?” Troy believes that all he has to do is provide food and a roof, and that is it when it comes to raising his sons. This is how Troy is an uninvolved parent, but on the other hand Troy can be an authoritarian parent when he is demanding of his son’s careers and life choices.
Troy tries to control everything because he is the man and puts food on the table for his family. Troy feels as if he provides for them he can also tell them to do whatever he wants to, but his family think otherwise. For example In act one scene one page five troy
Although it seems as though Cory is determined to escape from what his father wants, he still takes the same path his father went on. This ironic situation is shown when Troy says "I don’t want him to be like me! I want him to move as far away from my life as he can get” (Wilson 481). Throughout the play, Cory is also trying to pursue this individuality, but ends up trying to chase after his dreams in a sport just like Troy. Cory faces a battle inside him as he tries to form a unique identity separate from his father; however, Troy is resistant to Cory's attempts at individuality. Troy's efforts to restrain Cory from being an individual character makes Cory take on drastic measures, such as verbal and physical violence, in an effort to become the person he wants to be. Troy restrains Cory from pursuing his dreams so much that it builds up to a point where Cory points out the truth that Troy is so afraid to hear; “Just cause you didn't have a chance! You just scared I'm gonna be better than you, that's all" (Wilson 493). Sports acts as a barrier between them from ever becoming close, even though they are both interested in them. This confrontation results in Troy counting numbers until Cory