Character Analysis Of Troy In Fence By August Wilson

The movie ‘Fences’ has three main characters: Troy Maxson, Cory Maxson, and Rose Maxson. However, I believe characters such as Lyons Maxson, Jim Bono, and Gabriel Maxson play extremely important roles in the movie also. Therefore, I will speak on all six.

In the powerful play Fences by August Wilson, tension can be found through characters like Troy Maxson, Corey Maxson, and Rose Maxson. Troy Maxson has gone through a life in a country where to be proud and black was to face pressure that could crush a man. Corey Maxson wishes to play football, however, his father wants him to get a job and do “labor work”. Rose Maxson is the wife to Troy Maxson they had a happy relationship until Troy has a child with a woman named Alberta? Troy is the main source of tension in the book. His action impacts the family and takes a heavy toll on his relationship with his family.

In the book Fences by August Wilson, the author chooses baseball to compare many of the struggles everyday people deal with in everyday society. August Wilson created some very relatable characters to portray the message of life and love Fences attempts to display. It is ultimately displayed in a quote by the main character Troy Maxson. Troy said “That’s all death is to me. A fastball on the outside corner” (10). In this quote, Troy even compares the end of life to a dangerous pitch that is hard to hit. It would seem as though Troy’s entire life revolves around baseball. This conclusion is displayed in the way Troy talks and in the way, Troy lives his life.

August Wilson’s play Fences was written in 1983. Fences is the sixth play in Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle. Pittsburgh is important because it represents a better life for blacks; it provides them with jobs and helped them to escape the poverty and racism of the south after the civil war. It represents promises and promises that were broken. I feel like Fences represents the struggles Troy and his family faced because of their complexion and their constant disappointments as black people.

The novel Fences by August Wilson is set in the 1950s, Fences talks about the African- American experience which is evolving and examines race relations as well as other themes. In the novel Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe, the novel discusses the experiences of the Africans during the colonization of the europeans. Fences is about a man named Troy who goes through many situations and even taunts death. Troy is a garbage man, he is married to Rose who together have a son named Cory. Cory plays on the football team and is getting scouted. Troy does not want Cory to go into football because of his own experience, which would assume Troy is jealous because his son might actually get into professional, while Troy did not. Bono, Troy’s friend thinks that he is having an

In the play Fences, by August Wilson, Troy and Rose Maxson have extremely different parenting styles. They are the parents of three children, Lyons, Cory and Raynell. Lyons is the son of Troy’s previous wife, Raynell is Troy’s illegitimate daughter, and Cory is the son of Troy and Rose. There are many different styles of parenting. Some parents are very rigid and overbearing, while other parents let the children have more freedom to explore and pursue their ambitions. Troy is very overbearing and wants to force his expectations upon his children. In contrast, Rose is very supportive of her children and encourages them to pursue their own passions and determine their own goals. Although both Troy

In Fences, by August Wilson, Troy’s selfishness makes him a tragic hero because it causes him to make decisions that hurt not only himself but ultimately the people who he loves most.

Koprince, Susan. "Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson's "Fences.." African American Review, vol. 40, no. 2, Summer2006, pp. 349-358. EBSCOhost,

“A lot of parents will do anything for their kids except let them be themselves" -Banksy. In the play “Fences” ,Troy, Cory’s father does exactly this. He doesn’t allow his son to achieve what make him happy, which is playing college football. He thinks by doing this, he's doing what’s best for him. Because of this, Cory begins to bear a grudge towards his father. Wanting to be able to move forward with his life and not be the same person as his father, he attends Troy’s funeral, as a way to make peace with their relationship.

The play Fences is a drama written by August Wilson who was one of six children and also dealt with opeesrrions and racism when he dropped out of school due the struggles of racism. The play Fences presents the character Troy Maxson a person who has faced racism and discrimanation throughout his life. The Pulitzer Prize winning play is set in 1957-1965, a time when African-Amercians where hopeful for a better life. In Fences, racism haunts Troy Maxon’s life past and present. The play brings the view of racism in the world through Tory Maxson, family and friends. The play describes the life of Troy Maxson a middle age Africa-American man who was raising his family in time of racism. Troy is married to Rose and the father of three children. Troy has two sons Lyons and Cory, and a daughter named Raynell. August Wilson describes the life of Troy as someone who feels he is being oppressed and how different the culture was when his was a child growing up compared to his children’s lives. Troy’s outlook on life is more narrow minded however, his family is more optimistic for a better future.

"When the sins of our fathers visit us, we do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness; As God, in His Largeness and Laws"(Wilson X).This epigraph by August Wilson provides an insight into the importance of the topic in the play Fences. In Fences, the play depicts the relationships of the Maxson family and their friends. Troy Maxson, a middle-aged African American man, is happily married to his wife Rose and takes care of his son Cory whilst occasionally interacting with his other son from a previous relationship. However, the complexities of Troy 's past create issues for him and his family and their relationships begin to deteriorate. Throughout the play, the characters look at faith, race, opportunities, fatherhood and

The play, Fences by August Wilson, is about Troy Maxson and his struggling family relationships. A recurring idea throughout the story is the construction of a fence around Troy's home. Troy's fence could symbolize two things, Troy is trying to protect his family from the outside world, or Troy is isolating himself from his own family. As the construction of the fence progresses, the more severely damaged Troy's relationships become. In this play, the underlying message is that, despite the fact that fences can both protect and isolate, Troy’s fence isolates him from his family rather than to protect his family.

When reading the play “Fences” by August Wilson, one may say that it is a tragedy, and that the protagonist, Troy Maxson, has tragic flaws that leads him through a path of false judgement. Troy is seen as a stubborn man and wants everything to go his way or the highway. However, in actuality, he is not a bad guy, Troy is just a father who wants to keep his family out of harm’s way. This led me to three journalists with similar judgments of Troy Maxson. Critics Joseph H. Wessling, Alice Mills, and Myles Weber all give their own insight on the play “Fences.” I agree with Wessling’s statement “Troy, for all his strengths, is flawed humanity in need of forgiveness,” disagrees with Mills’ claim “…Troy does not face trail of initiation until he crossed the fence and left behind the protection of his family for the world of difficult choices.”, and Weber’s claim “Troy’s cruelty constituted a clever method of challenging

The notion of loyalty is something that is valued in a family trying to survive a stressful life. Fences is a play written by August Wilson about an African American Family having a hard time with a man due to his refusal of acceptance and loyalty. With this play I believe that the author is trying to explain the importance of forgiveness and loyalty within a family living through struggles at a time of racism and poverty.