Troy Maxson As A Hero In August Wilson's Fences

August Wilson faces a lot of difficulties in his life. He begins writing Fences in the twentieth century, and he portrays the African American experience between the 1900s to 2000 (Wilson 11). In Fence August Wilson tells the story of a father, Troy Maxson’s lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Troy was a very talented baseball perspective with hopes to play in the major leagues. Maxson’s had the bad luck of having to grow up when racism was the biggest part of America.

Gilgamesh says “He who marches first protects himself. / Let him keep his comrade safe! / Those two will have established fame down through the ages.” (IV, 56) Gilgamesh committed the kill of Humbaba, while Enkidu aided with advice and support. It seems that they both learn from each other in the sense that Gilgamesh learns to keep his word by following Enkidu’s command. While Enkidu learns that it was not impossible to kill Humbaba like he previously assumed.

Troy is determined to push the boundaries his success is hindered by, in filing a complaint to become the first black garbage truck driver but in doing so his relationship with Bono begins to diminish. Rose, Troy’s current wife, requested that he build a fence around their home with their son, Cory, in an attempt to strengthen their bond. Cory is extremely talented in playing football but sadly Troy doesn’t want him to play in hope to save him from the same disappointment he faced when he was his age, this adds to the tension between the two. In act two of the play, Troy’s life begins to go downhill. He finally confesses to Rose about his pregnant mistress Alberta.

Aristotle also felt the best type of a tragic hero will fall somewhere between the two extremes - “... a person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor one who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation.” According to Aristotle the characteristics of a tragic hero are to provoke sad emotions, such as pity or fear, from the audience. When these sad emotions are provoked from the audience, it is hoped that after seeing the tragic hero leading themselves to downfall or death it will transform the audience into good human beings. The characteristics of a tragic hero are shown through Blanche in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, showing tragic flaws. Hamartia is when a tragic flaw causes downfall for a hero. Blanche represented hamartia in many ways which can include of her compulsive lying, creating a fantasy for herself and others, drinking antisocially, and her inability to be independent.

In many texts, a tragic figure contains aspects of a hero; they have power or other noble qualities. These types of tragic figures are held back by a tragic flaw, which contributes to their downfall and categorizes them as a tragic hero. However, some tragic figures do not have to obtain these qualities, but rather have qualities of normal people. Throughout “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman is presented as a tragic figure, illustrated through his dreams and suffering of himself and others, displaying the theme that the American Dream can drive one’s life out of control. A few key aspects of Willy cause the reader to classify him as a tragic figure.

He wants his son Cory not to sacrifice his studies and his job only to become a football player. He doesn’t want his son live his life as a sports player just like him. However Cory still insists to become a football player, therefore he kicks his son out of the house. During his tension with Cory, Troy suffers difficulty at his work. Troy works for the sanitation department.

Throughout the story we hear about the boy’s life and his dreams. The boy’s biggest dream is to do Sports Leadership, but he cannot go to college because of the fact that he has not passed his exams. Therefore his foster mum, Eileen, helps him to find a job. She finds him a job working for a man named Phil, and the boy gets employed as a window cleaner. The boy is given a privilege to collect money for his boss.

The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are a multitude of factors that contribute to Macbeth being labelled as a tragic hero. Before these factors can be discussed, it is important to understand what workings make up the characteristics of a tragic hero. Typically, a tragic hero is a figure of high stature, often of noble background. This person is predominantly good, but suffers a self-inflicted falling out due to flaws in their personality.

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.

Hamlet’s Tragic Flaw A tragedy is supposed to arouse the emotions of the audience in a way that makes them feel hopeful. The hero of the story must be of some sort of royalty, so that they can suffer from their conflict. A tragic hero more than likely has a certain problem or conflict that he has to face. The conflict could be either self-inflicted or created by nature. In the tragedy Hamlet, Hamlet’s conflict was cause by his own emotions and flaws.