“ I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as a need for a father's protection” (Sigmund Freud). Though it may only be defined as a man in relation to his natural child, a father is so much more to his children.Fathers bring support, understanding, and influence towards their children’s entire life. In Fences, by August Wilson the treatment that Troy had to undergo from his father, very negatively influences the way that Troy treats his own sons.
When Troy was a child, his father did the bare minimum when it can to showing him any affection. Once while talking with Lyon, and Bono, Troy said “ sometimes I wish I hadn’t known my daddy. He ain’t cared nothing about no kids.” (Wilson 50). Troy’s father’s blatten disregard for Troy directly influences Troys disregard for
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When Troy was about 14 his father severely beat him after Troy attempted to wip him with leather mule straps because he was attempting to sleep with Joe Canewells daughter when she was only 13. Troy was beat so intensely that he was not only knocked out but woke up with his eyes swollen shut. This tremendous abuse that Troy experienced as a child caused Troy to threaten his own sons with the same vial treatment. When Cory hit Troy in an attempt to stop him from beating Rose, Troy’s anger was so built up towards his own father that he turned to Cory and said, “You stay away from around me, boy. Don't you strike out… Don’t you strike out.” (72). The metaphor of striking out relates to Troy beating Cory so savagely that it may kill him. Troy’s father showed so much evil towards his family that almost everyone in his life left him. Troy's mother left at 8 and Troy eventually left at 14, after his horrid beating he could no longer stand his father in his life. Just like his father through hatred Troy causes his family to eventually leave him.
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.
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.
We are first introduced to Troy as he comes home from work with his best friend, Bono. The two became friends after Troy went to prison for killing a man. Despite this, Bono is said to look up to Troy, admiring his “honesty, capacity for hard work, and his strength, which Bono seeks to emulate” (1.1). Throughout the play, Troy and Bono’s relationship is relatively good. They often say that they love each other, and they
Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasure. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism is misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty.
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 is the son of an abusive father. His father was hardly around to raise him. When he was around, he made him do chores and if he didn’t do them he would beat him. One time, after Troy tied up the mule, just as his father told him to, he went off to the creek with a girl to “enjoy himself.” The mule got loose, and his father found out. His father came looking for him. When he found them at the creek, he had the leather mule straps; he started to beat Troy. Troy was naturally scared so he ran away. He looked back at his father and realized that his father didn’t care about beating him, he just wanted the girl. Troy came back; he ripped the straps out of his father’s hand. He then started to beat his father with them. His father, not afraid of Troy, beat up Troy. Troy was left there, his eyes were swelled shut. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t go back to his father’s house, so he went to another town 200 miles away. This is when Troy became a man at the age of 14.
As a result of Troy being unable to find a place to live or a job he started stealing to get by. Eventually the situation escalated and he murdered someone in a robbery gone wrong; this led to him being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prison is where he found his love for baseball. He became quite good with a bat and hoped that when he got out he could play professionally. Unfortunately due to the segregation of the MLB Troy was never able to pursue that career and he is resentful of the situation his whole life.This caused him to be a very bitter person for the remainder of his life and this also caused him to shoot down the hopes and dreams of his son Corey by telling him things like “...The white man ain’t gonna let you go nowhere with that football
... 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.
The metaphoric talk of death repeats in Troy's final struggle with Cory. Troy is drunk now, whereas Cory is brave and strong. They struggle for a bat; which Troy ultimately gets. This struggle for the bat is not merely struggle for that trivial bat, but for something which are very important in one's life. For Troy it can be rules and orders, expectations and respects. For Cory, it can stand for independence
time I see him.? The source of this conflict lies in Troy?s experiences and attitude
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
Perhaps the most important and fulfilling relationship a man can be involved in is one with his own flesh and blood. At the beginning of the play, we learn that Troy has two sons, Lyons and Cory. Lyons is Troy's son by a previous marriage and Cory is Troy's son by his current marriage. Neither Lyons nor Cory share a close relationship with their father and Troy is mostly to blame for that.
Son inherits father’s quality also is another possible theme in the play. As Troy grew up his father was never there for him emotionally. However, despite all the damages his father caused, he was still able to provide for his family as well as Troy as he got older. Troy was able
Troy grew up in an unloving home with a father he wished he had never known or experienced. Troy attempted to play baseball in the major leagues, but was rejected because of his skin color, not necessarily because of his baseball ability. This painful and infuriating experience, along with the lack of preparation and training from his father, is the root cause of Troy’s intensity and intentionality in the way he raises Cory. His goals for Cory, while different from Okonkwo’s actual goals for his sons, are similarly shown through tough love and harsh treatment at times. Troy uses his dad as an example of what not to do in certain scenarios, as well as at time what to do in other situations. He admires the way his father “felt a responsibility towards [them]” because “without that responsibility he could have walked off and left [them]” (Wilson 51). Troy understands that sometimes you do something for your child because you have to, not because you want to. Other than that feeling of responsibility to raise his children, Troy views his father as an example of how he does not want to live, as well as how he does not want to raise his own children. Troy is adamant about not allowing Cory to act on the football scholarship offer he receives because of the experience he had with major league baseball. Troy tells Cory that “the white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that