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Character analysis fences by august wilson
Character analysis fences by august wilson
August wilson's fences character analysis
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Fences In the play Fences by August Wilson, we are introduced to the Maxsons. An African American family struggling to live in Pittsburgh during the 1950’s pre civil rights movement. This play was the sixth out of ten plays in Wilson's Pittsburgh cycle. Fences was also a pulitzer prize winner. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to Troy. He is the patriarch of the family and his problems and mistakes are what lead the Maxson family to be torn apart. Troy treats his wife, Rose, and his sons, Cory and Lyons, poorly. Troy, can be seen as a villain. Troy proves himself to be more of a villain than a hero thought the play. He takes advantage of his wife Rose, treats his sons, Cory and Lyons, poorly, was once a criminal, and is unsympathetic …show more content…
to everyone he hurts due to his actions. Throughout the play Troy is seen as a villain because he constantly takes advantage of his wife and treats her poorly. As the play starts the reader can immediately see that he does not treat his wife correctly. Troy and Bono, Troy's best friend, talk about many different things on their way home from work. During one conversation Bono brings up how Troy has been talking to other women behind Roses back. Bono calls Troy out saying, “I see where you be eyeing her”(1.1.20). The reader can see that Troy is unfaithful to Rose. A married man is not supposed to be looking at other women throughout the day. Even though Bono had warned Troy about cheating on Rose Troy did not listen to him. This leads to Troy getting another woman pregnant and having to tell Rose about his unfaithfulness. Troy proves himself to be a villain within the first scene of the play because of how poorly he treats the woman who cares most about him in the world. Troy does not only treat his wife poorly he also treats his sons, Cory and Lyons, poorly. Lyons is Troy's first son he had with a different woman. Lyons is having trouble with living as an adult and is a struggling musician. He constantly asks Troy to borrow money and Troy almost always gives it to him but not before he gets upset and angry every time. Troy always takes his frustrations out on Lyons because of the way he is. Lyons tells Troy that, “If you wanted to change me you should have been there when I was growing up”(1.1.155). Growing up Troy was not a good father to Lyons. He was never there for him and practically forced Lyons to grow up without a father. It is hard to feel sympathy for Troy knowing that he was not there for his kids which is another reason why Troy is a villain not a hero. Troy is not only a villain because of the way he treats his family but because he is a criminal. When Troy was younger he needed money to buy food and clothes and the only way for him to do that was to rob stores and peoples homes. When Troy found out that he was going to have a son he decided that he needed to steal more money rather than trying to find a real job. When Troy went to steal someone's money they pulled out a gun and shot him, “When he shot me I jumped at him with my knife. They told me I killed him and they put me in the penitentiary and locked me up for fifteen years”(1.4). This quote explains why Troy became a criminal. Instead of trying to find work and make money to support his family legally he killed someone and left his family with nothing instead. Most readers feel unsympathetic towards Troy after they find out about this detail of his life. Him being a criminal and killing a man proves the point that Troy is indeed a villain. Another factor in Troy's life that makes him out to be the villain of the play is the fact that he is unsympathetic to everyone and everything around him.
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 …show more content…
play. There is additional evidence that proves that Troy Maxson is a villian throughout the entire play. Multiple people who have read the play agree with the idea that Troy is a villain. In the article “Troy Maxson and Toxic Masculinity” by Anthony Boynton we can see that Troy is a man incapable of love. In the article Boynton makes a point that, “Troy was unable to love Cory. He was unable to love and remain faithful to his wife, Rose”(1). Not being able to love the people who love you back does not make someone a hero. This quality in a person makes them a villain not a hero. This again shows that Troy is hurtful and a villain because he is unable to love the people who love him most. There is more than one outside resource that shows Troy as a villain type character.
In the article “Troy Maxson: Heart, Heartbreak as Big as the World” by Allison Keyes the author talks about how Troy does everything for himself. Whatever Troy wants he gets and does not care about any other person in his life that it might affect. Keyes makes a point that Troy, “ has the affair because he wants, he just wants, and his wife cannot give him all he wants”(1). Troy is the type of person that just wants and wants. He can never be satisfied with the things that he already has. He has a wife that loves him but he needs more love from another woman. He has a job that pays him but he wants a job that makes more money. He is never satisfied with his life which leads him to hurt his family and himself in the long run. Troy Maxson is a villain because he is selfish and only cares about his well
being. After reading the play Fences there are multiple reason why the main character, Troy Maxson, is considered to be a villain rather than a hero. Throughout the play he is constantly hurts and is rude to his friends and famiTroy proves himself to be the villain by not treating his wife correctly and cheating on her, ruining any chance for his son to have a good future playing football, was once sent to jail for robbing and killing a man, and is completely unsympathetic to any person he hurts while trying to make himself happy. Troy Maxson is not a good character or person in general. He does not care about anything he does as long as it benefits him. Therefore making him a villian. .
Troy had faced through so many consequences with in his marriage with Rose. A quote to support that Troy had tried his best to give everything to Rose is “ I ain’t ducking the responsibility of it. As long has it sets right in my heart . . . then I’m okay. Cause that’s all I listen to. It’ll tell me right from wrong every time. And I ain’t talking about doing Rose no bad turn. I love Rose. She done carried me a long ways and I love and respect her for that” (August Wilson, pg 63). This states that it is a comparison between Daisy from The Great Gatsby because Daisy had gone through so many problems with her marriage but all she wanted was the best for her to accomplish an American Dream for her future even though Troy had helped her a lot. Another detail from an outside source is “ Young people are supposed to have a chance to make their own decisions and to live its consequences even if it means failure because life is not about passing or failing it’s about learning from our mistakes and try not to repeat them. After all we are humans and all humans make mistakes”. From https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-parents-allow-children-choose-own-careers-play-parsan-narang. Even though Troy was not a young person he had always tried to take care of his family no matter what happens because when he was a young
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 in an insensitive and uncaring manner towards his wife, Rose, his brother, Gabriel and his son, Cory. At the beginning of the story, Troy feels he has done right by them. He feels this throughout the story. He doesn’t realize how much he has hurt them.
He said he had an affair with another woman to escape reality and his responsibilities. Troy and Rose had somewhat of a perfect relationship in the beginning of the play. They seemed happy and it didn’t seem like anything could make them apart. However, when Troy told Rose about the affair they immediately tore apart. Troy didn’t apologize to Rose nor showed any regret for what he had done.
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)
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.
Troy was secretly having an extramarital affair with a woman named Alberta. Troy’s friends all knew the truth, but Troy continually denied any involvement with Alberta. Troy’s best friend, Bono, however, managed to convince Troy what he was wrong for continuing the affair. Troy then came clean to Rose, telling her he was going to be the father of a child Alberta was pregnant with. Rose became heartbroken. She told Troy, “I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot as you. Don’t you think I ever wanted other things? Don’t you think I had dreams and hopes?” (1606). Rose had given up her entire life to be with Troy. However, Troy never once apologized. Troy continually defended himself, and he went as far as to justify himself. Troy claimed Alberta was an escape for Troy. Troy stated, “It’s just… She gives me a different idea… a different understanding about myself. I can step out of this house and get away from the pressures and problems” (1605). Rose was hurt, however, and Troy never apologized nor stopped seeing Alberta. He continued to live in an illusion that he could keep both his family and his secret life separate. However, Alberta later died in childbirth. Her daughter, Raynell, was to be raised by Troy and Rose. Troy effectively destroyed his marriage because of his excessive pride. He refused to believe he was in the
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 any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. 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 shape 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. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and...
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.
There are many causes that molded Troy Maxson into the dishonest, cantankerous, hypocritical person that he is in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” (1985). Troy had an exceptionally unpleasant childhood. He grew up with a very abusive father that beat him on a daily basis. His mother even abandoned him when he was eight years old. In this play, Troy lies habitually and tries to cover himself up by accusing others of lying. He is a very astringent person in general. His dream of becoming a major league baseball player was crushed as a result of his time spent in jail. By the time he was released from jail, he was too old to play baseball efficiently.
...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.
Identity is the fact or being of what a person is. Each person searches for his own identity unique to himself alone. In Fences by August Wilson Troy struggles to find his own identity. While doing so he forces his past self onto Cory and disrupts Cory’s own identity.
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.
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.
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
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