Troy Maxson's Character In Fences, By August Wilson

705 Words2 Pages

Troy Maxson may be the protagonist of the play Fences, but this play is an excellent depiction of how the protagonist isn’t always truly a good person. Troy Maxson is a fifty-three year-old, African American man who works for the sanitation department, lifting garbage into trucks. Troy is also a former baseball star in the Negro Leagues. Before the Major Leagues started accepting African Americans Troy’s career was basically over. Troy's character is the centerpiece that all of the other relationships in Fences gather around. Troy is husband to Rose, father to Lyons, Cory, and Raynell, and brother to Gabriel. Troy's years of hard-work for only meager progress depress him. Troy often fails to provide the love and support that would mean the …show more content…

Troy’s father did not care for his children at all and really only cared about his work. Troy’s father raped his girlfriend when he was younger which caused Troy to run away. Troy had an affair with a woman named Alberta even though he is married and has a child with her. Troy then has a dispute with his current wife Rose. Cory, Troy and Rose’s son has to get involved to cease Troy from hurting Rose. After the situation that occurred, Cory loses all respect had had for his father Troy. Cory tries his hardest to try and have a close relationship with his father, but Troy keeps pushing him away. Troy does not do this …show more content…

Troy usually causes conflict with most people, which may be why the book is named “Fences”. He always places “fences” around people he cares about. Whenever somebody is around him they have to remember to leave their guard up just in case something happens. Troy is not necessarily an evil person, he is just extremely selfish sometimes. One example of that is when he did not allow his son Cory to play football on a scholarship he received. Back in the day, when Troy learned that he could not play baseball professionally he was devastated. He could not play because of all the racism and racial discrimination happening in that time period. He does not let Cory play because he does not want him to endure that pain just in case it does happen to

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