Troy Billings is the main character and protagonist in Fat Kid Rules the World. He is a six-foot, one-inch, 296 pound, 17 year old teenage boy. Troy has no friends, mainly because of his thoughts, which are because of his weight. He is self conscious, intense, and humorous. Troy does have a hunger for power, he wants to be liked and respected. His main struggle, though, is that he has no power at all. Troy is self conscious because of his weight. Ever since his mom died when he was in elementary school, he turned to eating to cope with her death. Since then, he has lost all of his friends, his self esteem, and respect from his brother, Dale. Troy was once skinny, and when he was, his life was much easier. He had friends, a close relationship …show more content…
Everything he does, he does it intensely. When he has a thought, it is intense. Troy thinks his life is just a big joke because whatever he does, he gets laughed at. People laugh at him when he puts his jacket on, sits down, stands up, and pretty much, whenever he is present. He wonders if he would get the same response if he killed himself. He imagines himself jumping in front of a train and getting splattered, and thinks everyone would find it funny. As he is sitting at the train station thinking about jumping, a musician from school, Curt, gets him to stop. Curt plays the guitar and sings in a band that Troy loves. They become friends, and Curt wants Troy to be the drummer in a band with just the two of them. Troy doesn’t think he can do it, but puts in a lot of work. He drums intensely for hours every day trying to make progress. Also, Curt is a teenager, but roams around like a homeless person. There is no way to contact or track him. When Troy is waiting for him, he gets intense about whether or not Curt is coming. He starts with thinking maybe Curt is just late, then maybe he went to the wrong spot to meet, then he jumps to the thought of Curt not coming at all and instead is ending their friendship. Troy realizes that being in the band gives him a friend, Curt, and possibly girls and all sorts of other benefits. He sees it as how he can obtain more power in his life, which all revolves around Curt saving his life and …show more content…
Troy thinks about the worst in every situation. He always judges himself in his head thinking that that is what others are thinking. He uses the philosophy of “They can’t make fun of me if I’m already making fun of myself.” Most of the pre-judgments he makes of himself are pretty funny. He thinks of himself as “The Fat Kid” and starts every scene off with that. For example, “The Fat Kid pukes all over the stage.” This really is what he thinks people are thinking, but sometimes he laughs after he makes a new title. “The moment already makes the awkward Hall of Fame, but as per my life, it has to get worse”(Going 47). This shows one way he is humorous; how he sees himself: a big fat joke. He is definitely concerned with how people view him, in other words he is concerned with power. He feels less powerless when he makes fun of himself, because then others know that he isn’t clueless about his appearance. He would have more power and authority if he made fun of himself out loud so that people could laugh along with him, and maybe he could gain more friends. Then maybe, the fat kid could rule the
The new phases of life and social context is predicated through the sum of feats and experiences as crises and adversity are usually the greatest motivator which propel individuals to become better than they were before. J.C. Burke’s ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ (TSTB) is an example of the transitional process through entering a new, unknown area which acts as a catalyst for beneficial change. Obstructed by turmoil both mentally and physically, the protagonist Tom Brennan relieves his severe life in the town of Coghill achieving new standards in conjunction to Lisa Forrest’s article ‘Testing new waters after leaving the swimming pool’ (TNWALTS) is another type towards transitional change that explores the personal crisis and career changes over
Fat Kid Rules the World is her first novel. She has stated that the idea for the book came to her while riding on the subway in New York. The novel came together quickly which she feels was due to the fact that she began writing just prior to September 11, 2001. She has said that she may have used the writing as an escape from what was going on in the world around her. Part of the book was inspired by the life and music of Kurt Cobain.. Going had just gotten into vintage punk music and wanted to express her interests through the book. The character in her book that was modeled after Kurt Cobain was Curt. K.L Going struggles with self-doubt; this showed through the character Troy. Although she is very petite her feelings of self conscious ness showed her "fat kid" character, Troy.
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.
To begin to understand Troy, we must observe the tumultuous relationship between Troy and his father. Troy's father was most likely born into slavery, or at least slavery-like conditions. This means that his father probably never had a true family of his own, as his brothers, sisters, and parents would not have lived together. Troy's father had little experience in having and maintaining a family-like atmosphere in their home, and this reflects greatly upon Troy. Unfortunately, this was often the case in early African-American culture as the Reconstruction failed to help them from becoming homeless and impoverished.
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. Works Cited: Rich, Frank. Theater: Wilson's Fences.
Troy should be remembered as a person that was tough but sometimes could be nice person if you followed the rules under his house. This all follows of him being a resposible man, He did do things that might have not seen right but it was because he had to keep order in his house, other wise everyone would do things that they wanted to do and wouldn't care what Troy thought of it. My father always taught me to live a great life and to take care of my family and i, i will do this in remberance of him and all that he taught me growing up, that life isn't easy but its ok, because you can get through
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
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.
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.
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.
time I see him.? The source of this conflict lies in Troy?s experiences and attitude
I believe that Curt decided to be his friend because he knew what it felt like to be an outside just like Troy. If Curt had not made the decision to be Troy’s friend,, Troy would have committed suicide and never had gotten the chance to feel comfortable in his own skin. By the end of the book, Troy was still overweight but he had the most confidence in himself then he had ever had before and he was so much more comfortable around the people at his school. Troy could even be considered popular. Without the the beginning issues about Troy’s weight and his self-consciousness about it, Troy would have never been in Curt’s band and become this
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.