Troy did this to teach Cory to be responsible with his duties. “Troy: He’s alive. He’s healthy. He’s got to make his own way… Ain’t nobody gonna hold his hand when he get out there in that world.” ( Fences page 39). When Rose and Troy are talking about Cory, Rose says all Cory wants is for him to say “Good job, son.” Troy responds by saying that nobody is going to help Cory in the real world.
This characteristic shows that he wants to be a better man than his father was. He wants to fix things and work things out. When he tells rose about the other woman he also mentions to her that he is fathering a child with her. She of course is shocked to hear that as any sane woman would be. It took a tremendous amount of courage for Troy to confess the mistake he made.
In August Wilson’s Fences, Troy is the main character, or protagonist, and demonstrates his life and how he treats the people in it. Troy is an older man, who can not accept how times and people are changing, impulsive, and shows tough love to his children. Troy once tried to play professional baseball, but they rejected him due to his skin color. His younger son, Cory, is trying to play college football but his father denies his ability to play. Troy believes since they didn’t allow him to play because of his skin, they wouldn’t allow his son to play either.
This doesn’t do much for Troy’s defense, but it shows us what Troy does when he’s put in a corner. Troy turns to the one thing he does know, baseball. What he was trying to explain in this quote is how he has been safe and comfortable for the last eighteen years of his marriage and he was given a chance to do something thrilling and he took it. Troy is trying to compare the thrill of cheating to stealing second base after being safe at first. Troy and Cory in the story are not the loving father-son couple, they hardly see eye to eye on anything.
When we read books, we expect our main characters to be these gleaming representations of everything good about humanity. Certainly they may be flawed, but in the end they always win the final battle, or find true love, or save the world. Troy Maxson, main character of Fences, is one of the most tragically human main characters ever. He juggles dozens of sentiments and responsibilities. From his experience in the Negro League and discrimination, to running away from home and his prison time, to his life with Rose and his son Cory, Troy has learned some hard lessons, lessons that, as time goes on and become less true, he still feels responsible to his children to teach them.
However, his use of tough love and lack of approval towards his children creates conflict in the play, which suggests the importance of a father’s emotional role in a family. The role as a breadwinner: In Troy’s mind, he has done everything right as a father because he has provided his family with basic needs for survival: a place to live, food on the table, and clothes on their backs. His strong work ethic has made him the man he is today; but he often burns all his fuel at work and, at the expense of his family, copes with his pain by drinking. Sense of pride: As the breadwinner, Troy takes great pride in his earnings. When his oldest son, Lyons, comes around asking for ten dollars, Troy replies by saying,“ ‘I 'm just supposed to haul people 's rubbish and give my money to you cause you too lazy to work?’ ” (1, 19).
Troy, although he wishes he weren’t, is raising his sons similarly to how his father raised him. He fails to see why the strategies should change because the times have, and he still values work and respect for those older, however he does take basic care of his children with human necessities. He feels the need to be in charge
He wasn’t loyal to her for as long as their marriage stood, not only was there infidelity but a child was brought from Troy sleeping with other women. In the end, he had the audacity to come to Rose to raise another woman’s child. Troy had an incredibly high expectancy standard for how Rose should be. Did he expect Rose to help him raise his daughter that came from another relationship outside his relationship with his wife? As Troy sat down on the porch and purposely speaks at a high volume to ensure Rose hears and says, “A man’s got to do what’s right for him.
In addition, Troy’s name represent those who lived on the line between two contrasting viewpoints. Troy’s character is full of hopes and dreams and many disappointments. Troy’s role in the play is the centerpiece of all the other characters. Troy, son of an unsuccessful farmer, brings that line in between his family. The line between the north and the south represented Troy’s history; in addition, Troy provides the connection between slavery and how
A stereotype that often presents itself in the African-American community is that the patriarchal figure of the household usually abandons his family and takes no responsibility for his actions. However, in August Wilson’s play Fences, the protagonist Troy Maxson decimates any preconceived notion of the African-American man. Although he had a tumultuous childhood which, to an extent, limits him to communicate with his wife and children, Troy manages to win small victories against a universe that doesn’t want to see him win. Troy’s life is set in the backdrop of a racist America in the 1960s, a microcosm of the unjust society which August Wilson attempts to explicate. The legacy of the protagonist, Troy Maxson, should be honored rather than discarded on account of his unwavering loyalty to his family and moral code.