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August wilson fences racism theme essay
August wilson fences racism theme essay
August wilson fences racism theme essay
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In the tradition of tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex, Willie Loman, and Marcus Brutus, Troy Maxson from August Wilson's Fences is a noble man with a tragic flaw that leads him down a path ending in ruin. Troy's hamartia is his stubborn, self-centeredness. He lives in his own little world and views the people in his life as revolving around him. When he ruins Cory's chance of gaining a football scholarship, he did it because he believed whites wouldn't let his son play, but the world had changed and Troy stubbornly refused to believe it. It has to be noted that Troy Maxson isn't a bad man. His actions and speech may come off as cruel and callous but he also has admirable and likeable qualities. He is firmly responsible in his duty towards his …show more content…
Troy's wife Rose tries to explain that, "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football." Even Bono tries to convey the same thing to him, "Times have changed, Troy, you just come along too early." Cory names some current black baseball players to his father, like Hank Aaron. Troy ignores this and says to Cory, "The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway." Cory blames his father of doing this out of resentment, saying, "You just scared I'm gonna be better than you, that's all." But Troy says to Rose, "I got sense enough not to let my boy get hurt playing no sports." It seems that Troy puts an end to Cory's football dream out of both his own disappointment and his desire to protect his boy. It's these wrestling of movies inside Troy that make him a complex and tragic …show more content…
Throughout the play it's easy to feel anger, pity, and respect towards him. Even though Troy pursues the wrong course in trying to help Cory, it's still apparent that he cares for his son in his fractured way. Troy's bad relationship with his son can be traced back to his own relationship with his father. Troy despised his father, who was mean and didn't show any love to him, but kept by his family due to a sense of responsibility, which is molded into Troy's character. He goes to work everyday to provide for his family even though, but he can't express the love to them that they crave. Without his good qualities to counterbalance against his bad ones, Troy would just be an evil antagonists intentionally ruining his families lives. But because Troy is made as a tragic hero we can learn more about the experience of living life as a black man, faced with lost opportunities due to discrimination and we can learn a lesson from his failure instead of paint him as a
In the play Fences by August Wilson, Troy is shown as a man who has hurt the people who are closest to him without even realizing it. He has acted insensitive and uncaring to his wife, Rose, his brother, Gabriel and his son, Cory. At the beginning of the story, Troy feels he has done right by them. For example in act 2 scene 1, “I give them fifty dollars and they let him go.” Troy meant that he paid the coach to have Cory off the team. He thought he did a good thing but Cory could’ve gone far if he kept playing football. He feels this throughout the story. He doesn’t realize how much he has hurt them.
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.
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.
It is scientifically proven that people are affected by how they are treated in their childhood, mainly in the relationship with their parents. Children who have experienced abuse in their childhood tend to reflect that in their lives as adults. Troy Maxson grew up with an abusive father. He did not have a relationship with his mother because she left him and never came back. He basically lived the life of a slave and had to look out for himself. In the story, Troy did not mention going to school He only knew how to work the fields just like his father, which is why the audience can feel sympathy for Troy. His lack of love from his parents plays a major role in his life and in turn, it affects how he treats his family.
Troy does not accept other people’s ideas and as a consequence, he makes a lot of problematic judgements. His denial to Cory’s dream of becoming a Major League football player was his first step to assert his dominance. In Troy’s younger days, he was superb at baseball, hitting tons of home runs. However, because of his skin color, he was never recruited into the Major Leagues. Scarred by his past experience, Troy doesn’t want Corey to tryout for
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.
Everyone around Troy tries to make him see that times have changed, and that Cory will have a better chance. His wife Rose tells him, "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football". Troy's best friend, Bono, says, "Times have changed, Troy, you just come along too early". Cory points out to his father several current black baseball players, like the famous Hank Aaron. Troy dismisses all of this and tells his son,
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
... 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.
They prepare to go out of the “yard freed of the burdens of a past that unacknowledged, severely limited their ability to live fully,” (Bloom, Bloom and Bloom, 84). Rose has come to understand the “dogged persistence of the past and all its irony” (Bryer and Hartig, 20), Cory says, “…Papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere…I’ve got to find a way to get rid of that shadow…,” (Wilson, 96-97). Rose tells Cory, “your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn’t…and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was.” (Wilson, 97). Cory does not admit until the end of the play that his strength to move in rank to a Marine Corporal, while in the Military was Troy’s foreshadowing. Troy loved his son and did not want him to experience the pain of rejection as he did. Troy explained to Cory the best way he knew how, by not signing the papers for him to play football. He did not know how to have a conversation with Cory about his true feelings of him not wanting Troy to play football. Ironically, the fence that Troy tries to provide for Cory is not strong enough to strikeout Mr. Death. However, Wilson is subtly and powerfully transforming the problematic protagonist to be both victim and victimizer, intellectually astute yet spiritually or emotionally crippled, (Bryer and Hartig,
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
Throughout the play Fences, by August Wilson, we are introduced to several of the Troy Maxson's family members. We soon learn that because of Troy's personality traits, he is unable to sustain a healthy relationship. Troy is a father, a husband, and a brother, and unfortunately, he makes it impossible for any of those numerous relationships to thrive.
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...
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