August Wilson Pride

722 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character analysis fences august wilson

In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character Troy causes numerous problems for himself because of his stubborn pride, his natural dissatisfaction in life, and his selfishness. Troy is a baseball player who missed his chance at the big leagues, and that spite has stayed with him his whole life. He feels bitter towards anyone more successful towards himself, and neglects his family because of that. Troy’s problems with pride shows the theme of the story, and the outline of what hundreds of families all over the world are really like.
Troy, the father of 2 (for most of the play), was an amazing baseball player . He could play better than most of the white men on the professional teams. But when Troy was in his prime, racial boundaries prevented him from taking his chance and joining a major league team. Even though that was years ago, Troy still carries enough spite in himself that he refuses to let his youngest son Cory play football in college. In a conversation between Troy, his wife, and a good friend, this point comes up:
Rose: "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football." …show more content…

But when the child is born and Alberta dies in the process, they are forced to come to an agreement that Rose will take care of the child. Another two months go by and Troy has finally finished building the fence. Almost immediately after, all hell breaks loose. Troy and Cory get in a fight resulting in Cory being kicked out of the house. This fight is the eventuality of years and years of pent up anger and fear all coming out, as soon as this fence is built. This supports the theory that the fence was a metaphor for Troy’s family duties, and as soon as it was complete he lost it all. But also it could be saying in a more literal sense, that this fence is restricting to his family and when it was finished the world seemed a lot smaller to the family, and they felt

Show More
Related

  • August Wilson's Fences

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep things inside or outside Troy used the fence he was building to keep out death, his family, and his disappointments in life while Rose used the fence to keep those she cared about inside and help them bond.

    Read More

  • Troy's Jealousy In Fences

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Fences And The Great Gatsby

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    "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

    Read More

  • Fences: Day-to-Day Obstacles of the Average African American

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Fences, August Wilson strives to accurately depict the social and economic situations of the time period the play is set in. He uses the plots, characters, and the characters’ relationships with each other to show the day-to-day obstacles the average African American faces in the mid 1900s; and to show the various types of relationships between people during the time, from the black/white racial relationship to the relationship between man and woman. In particular, he uses Rose and Troy as examples of the typical relationship between a man and woman of the period – more specifically, he uses them to show the relationship and power structure between men and women. This relationship and power structure – the woman playing a subservient role to the strong, alpha male type – is definitely illustrated in Fences. Rose and Troy’s relationship depicts the conventional gender roles of the late 1950s-60s by displaying an unequal relationship between man and woman – one that was usual of the time period – with Rose often forced to concede her desires and wishes for Troy in her role as a dutiful housewife. Troy, a dominating man both in an out of his home life, plays a masculine, controlling, and often – though unintentional – selfish role in their relationship.

    Read More

  • Fences, by August Wilson

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Gender Roles In Fences By August Wilson

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme is gender roles in the 1950s in Fences by August Wilson. Gender roles are social and cultural standards that determine how males and female should think, speak, dress, and interact in the society. To know if a play is accurate or not we need to look up its historical context or background, research the author in order to know if he or she is speaking from experience, and analyze a character to show how well we understand what went on in the play. Understanding the historical context gives us better insight into the background. In this play fences are a metaphor that represents keeping people in figuratively for Rose by being motherly and sympathetic, and keeping people out for Troy

    Read More

  • An Overview of 'Fences' by August Wilson

    367 Words  | 1 Pages

    The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him, and he never gave anyone a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish.

    Read More

  • Adversity In Fences

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Fences” is a play written by August Wilson about a family living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. Troy and Rose have been married for 18 years and have two grown children; Lyons and Corey. Troy is an uptight, prideful man who always claims that he does not fear death, the rest of his family is more laxed and more content with their lives than Troy is. As the play progresses the audience learns more about Troy’s checkered past with sharecropping, his lack of education and the time he spent in prison. The audience also learns more about Troy’s love for baseball and the dreams he lost due to racism and segregation. In the middle of the play the author outwardly confirms what the audience has been suspecting; Troy isn’t exactly satisfied with his life. He feels that he does not get to enjoy his life and that his family is nothing more than a responsibility. Getting caught up in this feelings, Troy cheats on Rose with a woman named Alberta and fathers a child with the mistress. By the end of the play Troy loses both of the women and in 1965, finally gets the meeting with death that he had been calling for throughout the play. Over the

    Read More

  • Wilson's "Fences"

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fences was published in 1983 but the setting was the 1950s in August Wilsons home town. Wilson’s main purpose of this play is to show how the separation of humans into racial groups can create social and finance instability and can have a huge effect on African Americans and whites. The 1950s was the middle of the civil rights era. The Maxsons Family is African American, In the 1950s there was not many jobs for African Americans; most people believed that this is what pushed Troy to steal things in order to provide for his family. Troy went to prison for murder and when he got out he was determined to do good deeds and to turn his life around; shortly after he got out of prison he got a job as a Garbage man. Troy is a tragic figure and a villain; he is a tragic figure because he made great effort to do good deeds for his family, but he allowed his imperfections to get in his way which led to a horrible death. Troy is a villain because of what he did to his wife Rose. (Shmoop; Editorial Team)

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of August Wilson's Fences

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character, Troy Maxson is involved in numerous relationships with family members throughout the entire eight years that the story takes place. Troy is a father, husband, and brother to other characters in the play. Unfortunately for Troy, a strong-minded and aggressive man, he constantly complicates the relationships with his family members. Troy's hurtful actions and words make it nearly impossible for him to sustain healthy relationships with not only his two sons, but also his wife and brother.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Fences In The Play

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play is a pessimist piece, though there are some elements of optimism. Troy does not want his son, Cory to realize his dream in football, thinking that it would not lead him to a better future. As much as Troy has something to appreciate in life, he does not see them as anything

    Read More

  • The Symbolic Importance of the Fence in August Wilson’s Fences

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...in character of “Fences,” fights to be a father with nothing to go on but the harsh example set by his own father, which resembles a symbolic fence separating the relationship between father and son. There is also Troy's son, Cory, a boy becoming a man, coming of age under Troy's sovereignty. The play shows that no matter how old you are, you're constantly measuring yourself against the example set by your parents. Even if the reader’s family is nothing like the Maxsons, one may possibly connect with this basic human struggle.

    Read More

  • Impact of Racism in Fences, by August Wilson

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    The trials of Troy’s life are filled with racial discrimination which mentally scars him. His attitude and behavior towards others are governed by experiences and in most cases he uses the symbol of death in his fictional stories to represent the oppression of the white man. The play Fences, which is largely about Troy, begins with Troy entertaining Bono and Rose with an epic tale of his struggle with death or in other word...

    Read More

  • Family Relationships In The Fences Story

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both cases, inferiority by race in family regarding parent and children is evident. According to the fences story which revolves around baseball, it is of importance to note that, the narrators portrays the fact that Toy is a good hitter, better than many white players. The blacks are inferior when they compare themselves with whites that are why despite the fact that Troy was a good player, his Negro league did not give him enough money as his white counter parts who p...

    Read More

  • Father Son Relationships In Fences

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    August Wilson created many themes throughout his famous play, Fences, but the most prominent one is the relationship between fathers and sons. The three father-son relationships introduced in this play seem to be complicated or difficult to understand. However, it is clear that the relationships built between Troy Maxson and his son Cory, Troy and his other son Lyons, and Troy and his own father are not love-driven. The parallelism of actions, events, and tension amongst each of the father-son relationships in the play illustrate how the sons try to break free from the constraints the father has set, yet in the end, these attempts seem to be pointless as the father leaves an everlasting effect on the sons, ultimately creating a cycle of actions

    Read More

More about August Wilson Pride

Open Document