Bernadin 1 Patricia Bernadin Mrs. Noel English II 4 April 2017 Literary Analysis: Fences A Fathers Sins 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. Troy Maxson is a fifty-three year old man who works at a sanitation department. He refuses to show love and appreciation for others because he believes that his duties and responsibilities are what matters most. Troy’s …show more content…
She requested that Cory and Troy work on building a fence in the backyard. Rose hopes that the fence will keep the people she loves close to her and protected from the harshness of the world. Unlike Troy, Rose is a realist who has love and high hopes for Cory. When Rose evesdrop on Cory and Troy, she overheard their argument about football, and talks to Troy after Cory leaves. Troy explains to Rose why he will not allow Cory to play football and tells her that she’s been mothering Cory too much. She then tells Troy that Cory wants to make him proud, and all he wants to hear from his father is “Good job, son.” (19). To make matters worse, Troy has been having an affair with another women named Alberta. He later admits to his wife that he slept with someone else and got her pregnant (30). Troy argues with Rose about why he did it. He justified his actions by saying “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, be a different man.” Meaning that Troy feels trapped and Alberta is his escape from his real problems (31). With Alberta, Troy can live an illusion with no time and no worries. Rose is deeply hurt by the news and communicated to …show more content…
Troy has always been tough with Cory which makes him think that he doesn’t like him. Troy had a dream of becoming a baseball player which he has never achieved so he is envious and keeps Cory from having the opportunity of being recruited for football. Cory comes home one night to Troy sitting down on the steps drinking and singing in the backyard and tells him to get out of his way. Troy advises Cory that if he needs to go inside then he must say excuse me because it is his house that he bought and paid for. As he tries to walk past him, Troy shoves him back and Cory yells “I live here too.” As they continue to argue, Cory admits that he has been afraid of Troy. “I used to tremble every time you called my name. Every time I heard your footsteps in the house. Wondering all the time what’s Papa gonna say if I do this? What’s he gonna say if I do that? What’s Papa gonna say if I turn on the radio? And Mama, too. She tries but she’s scared of you.” Troy became angry, began fighting Cory then kicked him out of his house (38-40). Cory’s problems with his father hinders him as he lives the next few years of his life angry at Troy and his
Fences Final Michael Goussios EGCC Mrs. Dewberry ENG102 February 10, 2023 Abstract This essay focuses on the main character, Troy, in the play Fences. He persistently exemplifies the scheme that he is an inadequate father. Countless times all throughout this essay, Troy reveals himself closing the relationships that are closest to him.
In 1985 American playwright August Wilson wrote and produced a play by the name of Fences which was later adapted into a movie in 2016. The play is about the Maxon family living in 1950s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania struggling to make ends meet. It explores the aspects of family and what makes a father a good father to his family. The author of this play uses multiple formal elements throughout the play such as language, structure, and style to tell an emotionally impactful story about the struggles of a family trying to overcome the racial barriers of society and their struggle to come together. One formal element Wilson uses to contribute to the play’s aesthetic and emotional impact is the use of flashbacks and motifs.
He discovers that Cory quit his job to focus on football, which upsets Troy. After Troy scolds Cory, telling him to go get his job back, Cory looks to Troy, asking him why he never liked him, to which Troy replies by asking if Cory eats every day and if he has clothes on his back. Cory says he does, prompting Troy to ask him why he thinks that is. Cory says, uncertainly, that it is because Troy likes him. Troy says, “It's my job.
In Fences the terrible side of Troy's childhood is appeared all through the play to bring light upon the individual battles of Troy and the results it has on his family. Troy is a man with passion, who needs to lead his family, yet Troy does not have the mentality to center his energies into a totally positive atmosphere; this outcome in Troy's family displays an understanding into the life and identity of Troy
Both of them were fonder of their mother, so they wanted to protect them. Troy and Cory got into a fight with a bat; Cory brought up his mom, and said “I don’t know how she can stand you … after what you did to her” (180). Troy got mad and told him to leave Rose out of it, and the last words Cory said to Troy were “Tell Mama I’ll be back for my things” (181). Cory had gone to his mom first before his father; his mom wasn’t so harsh on him. He had a stronger bond with Rose.
However, when it comes to most situations, he handles it based on his past. He believes that because he was black, the Major League would not let him on the team. This is seen in a conversation with his son, Cory. Cory wants to play football, but Troy wants him to work at a grocery store called the A&P. Troy ‘knows’ Cory would not really play football anyway even if he got onto the team. “I decided seventeen years ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports.
Troy explains why he had the affair an he says that he still loves his wife. Rose thinks otherwise because Troy is out sleeping with another woman. After Rose and Troy separate because of him cheating, Troy brings home a baby that was the girls who he cheated with. Rose is even more furious but Troy asked her to take car of the baby due to complications in the pregnancy. Rose accepts
Pride and greed can affect a person’s actions and decisions in a negative way. They are selfish traits that often lead to selfish acts. Troy in “Fences” by August Wilson is a good example of this. Troy has a great amount of pride and greed. Troy’s pride and greed in “Fences” influence his decision, leading to failure in his relationships.
August Wilson's play Fences addresses a great content of interpreting and inheriting history. Throughout Fences, much of the conflict emerge because the characters are at disparity with the way they see their foregoing and what they want to do with their forthcoming. Fences explores how the damaged aspirations of one generation can taint the dreams of the next generation on how they deal with the creation of their own identity when their role model is a full of dishonesty. Wilson illustrates his qualities primarily through his use of symbolism in the play Fences.
“Troy: All right... Mr. Death.... I'm gonna take and build me a fence around this yard. See? I'm gonna build me a fence around what belongs to me.
"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.
Later, Cory tries to stand up to his father and explain his side of the story. He claims, “You ain’t never done nothing but hold me back. Afraid I was gonna be better than you. All you ever did was try and make me scared of you. I used to tremble every time you called my name.”
Two: Scene 3). After the death of Troy, Cory came to tell
Fences is a play written by the playwright August Wilson, who dedicated himself to writing plays capturing what it was like to be an African American in the United States during every decade of the 20th century. Fences was a play that was specifically written to provide an outlook into the lives of African Americans in America during the 1950s, during the process of demarginalization. Each character of the novel provides a unique perspective to capture different aspects of the “African American Experience” during this time period. In Fences, it was very important to August Wilson to truly capture “The African American Experience” and he was able to do so through the portrayal of the Maxson family, with his representation of African Americans during the 1950s in Fences, and with the multiple perspectives of African Americans captured
James: Listen, why don’t you just run away and never come back. I’m thinking about doing the same, get a new name and everything. Cory: Man you crazy