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feedback2.docxAshly Farrar
8:03amJul 29 at 8:03am
Troy: Who is Troy Maxson? Find 3 important passages that characterize him and explain what they help us understand about his character.
Troy Maxson is the protagonist of Fences, father to Lyons, Cory, and Raynell, and husband to Rose. The motif of baseball is seen often throughout the play. Troy Maxson is a man who dreamt of playing baseball professionally, only to be declined for what he thinks is because he is black. However, Rose tells Troy he couldn’t play baseball because at 40, he is too old to be playing professionally. After an argument between Cory and Troy about football, Rose states, “Troy, why don’t you admit you was too old to play in the major leagues? For once… why don’t you admit that?” (Wilson 473). She knows Troy is in denial about his baseball career, and she is fed up with him trying to control Cory’s life.
Troy Maxson is also a liar. Many times throughout the novel, Troy is seen lying about arbitrary things and Rose is usually the one to call him out on his bluffs. There is one instance where she cannot call him out, however, and that is when it comes to Troy’s infidelity. During the first scene of the play, Troy and his friend Bono are sitting outside talking. Bono tells Troy he’s seen Troy flirting with a girl named Angela, but Troy denies the accusations, saying that he talks to everyone that way. Later on in the play, however, the truth comes out and Troy has to face the reality his cheating has come to. He states, “I’m trying to find a way to tell you… I’m gonna be a daddy. I’m gonna be somebody’s daddy” (Wilson 490). Because Troy lives in denial about baseball and his infidelity, it is hard for him to really come to terms with things. In this case, he got the girl he was seeing pregnant, but instead of feeling remorseful, he tries to defend his actions to Rose.
Troy is an unsympathetic character. He is stubborn and doesn’t care about consequences as long as he thinks he is doing the right thing. A prime example of this is when he tells Cory’s coach that Cory will not be playing football anymore. Walking angrily into the house, Cory states, “Papa done went up to the school and told Coach Zellman I can’t play football no more. Wouldn’t even let me play the game. Told him to tell the recruiter not to come” (Wilson 484-485). In Troy’s mind, he thinks he is protecting Cory from heartbreak when he doesn’t make it as a football player. What Troy doesn’t realize is that times are changing. People of color can play sports professionally. Because Troy plays his role as a strict father figure, Cory thinks his father is crushing his dreams out of spite.
Because of Troy’s actions of denial, he is similar to Willy in Death of a Salesman. Both Troy and Willy are the breadwinning father figures in each story. They both have two sons and a wife and are controlling towards them. Both protagonists cheat on their wives and want what they think is best for their sons. Both stories show family dynamics in the mid 1900s. Although each family was dramatized to be dysfunctional, each show a breadwinning father figure, a subordinate wife, and children who are maturing and starting to think for themselves.
Collapse Subdiscussion Deborah Ealantifex
5:29pmJul 29 at 5:29pm
In the play Fences by August Wilson my interpretation of the final scene was really focused on the conversation between Rose and Cory that starts by Cory telling Rose “Mama...I got something to tell you. I don’t know how to tell you this...but I’ve got to tell you...I’m not going to Papa’s funeral.”(Wilson 508) This really surprised me. My interpretation is that Cory felt like his father had told him what to do his whole life and Cory just went along with it. Cory wanted to choose what he was going to do for himself and he felt like this was his last chance to stand up to his Dad. Cory resents his Dad for controlling his life and he does not want to be anything like him. “Cory: I don’t want to be Troy Maxon. I want to be me.”(Wilson 509) All cory can see from his upbringing is the negative. As the audience we heard about Troy’s past. When you learn about his past you can see that Troy rose up from his past and made a good life for himself. Rose explains to Cory that his Dad did the best he knew how. “I’m gonna do her(Raynell) just like your daddy did you...I’m gonna give her the best of what’s in me.”(Wilson 510) the takeaway I got was, your parents don’t always know exactly what to do, nor are they always right. But Troy did his best, tried to do what was right, and loved his kids. It just didn’t come out quite right. In the end When Cory sings his dad’s song with Raynell I think that was a symbol of Cory accepting his Dad and realizing that all anyone can do is the best they know how.
As I read this play I felt there was a strong connection to the Play “Death of a salesman” by Arthur Miller. The way the father pushed his Sons and how they both ended up with a different take away from the way he pushed them. Willy pushed his son's to be “well-liked” While Troy did not care about whether or not someone likes you, you need to work hard and earn what you get. Although both fathers had a different outlook on what success meant neither one of them supported their son’s to do what they wanted to be happy. Both fathers were trying to get a “do-over” by pushing their son’s to do what they wished they would have done when they were young.
