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Free Fences Essays: Hardships In Families During Racism

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Hardships in Families During Racism

Betrayal and hardships can break a family’s bond. August Wilson in the play, “The Fences”, shows that racial segregation and injustice can create hardships for families, a personal lack of self esteem, and can lead to uncontrollable circumstances. August Wilson's play Fences tells the story of Troy Maxson, an African American garbage collector and ex-convict who once had a promising future in baseball. His circumstances as a youth led him to prison, after which he settled down with Rose and made a family. Like all of the "Pittsburgh" plays, Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. The play was a hurtful, favorable play that displayed how racism …show more content…

“The white man ain't gonna let him get nowhere with that football,” said Troy, again this quote shows a lack of trust in white people as he believes that one of the white recruiters won’t really take Cory and that Cory will never make a living out of it. What Troy does not understand is that times have changed since he was playing baseball and Rose manages to point this out through the quote, “ Times have changed since since you was playing baseball, Troy. That was before the war. Times have changed a lot since then.” (pg 9. Rose) Times have changed since Troy has played there was indeed an increase in black players such as when Jackie Robinson joined the MLB. Troy has this perspective on white people because of how he grew up and that is where the conflict happens because Troy and Cory did not grow up the same way therefore causing an array of …show more content…

“ you’re gonna have to kill me! You wanna draw that bat back on me. You’re gonna have to kill me”( Troy,pg 88.) This finally shows the actual rise in the conflict. Where it only started out as arguments ended in violence. To say the least, after that mishap Cory was kicked out of the house and did not return until later in his life. In the last act of the play it becomes apparent that Troy Maxson the husband of Rose and father of his three children had passed away leaving everything unresolved with his youngest son Cory. During the time of the funeral Cory had once again showed up to the place he once called home, shocking everyone there along with meeting his young sister Raynell. The only thing is Cory did not come back home to go to his father's funeral. Cory tells Rose “ I can’t drag papa with me everywhere go. I’ve got to say no to him. One time in my life i’ve got to say no,” this shows how the conflict between the two of them broke their relationship into pieces. Their two different perspectives on white people was influenced by how they both grew up in different environments, which ultimately led to one saying yes and one saying no. Cory’s resentment towards his father's views and actions led him to finally saying no even if it meant not mending bridges and to his refusal of going to the

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730 Words | 3 Pages

And although he shut down the dreams the dreams of poor Cory he had his reasons for doing so such as racism being the center point as he said paraphrasingly ‘’As a black man you need to be twice as better just to get on the plate and have a chance and even that may not be half as good for the white man who does four times less work is four times less bad but gets nine time the oppurunity and three time the damn pay’’. Racism is stil prevalent even today though lynching, racist groups, segregation, and just general hatred towards blacks has decreased by a factor it still plagues us today and even blacks are still surviving and dealing with this on a daily basis with no clear sign or stoppage. But although he has many good qualities and personality traits that make him shine those are very limited and almost repititive. For example although he has high ambitions for Troy it seems like he is ambitiously limiting than actually having high hope for Cory and his abilities to go pro and play

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910 Words | 4 Pages

Troy tries to use baseball metaphors to explain why he cheated on her. He said “I just might be able to steal second. Eighteen years I’ve been wanting to steal second” (70). In order to try to explain himself, Troy uses baseball analogies. This doesn’t do much for Troy’s defense, but it shows us what Troy does when he’s put in a corner.

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168 Words | 1 Pages

Now he is giving his son Cory a tough love, when he asked him why you never like me? Troy was telling his son that he doesn’t need to like him because he put food in his belly clothes and a house to live. He even asked that do you think they give me my paycheck because my boss like me, no because I deserve it. Troy being hard on Cory because he wants him to be ready in the real world. During that time racism is at the highest against black.

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727 Words | 3 Pages

The way Troy had a bad experience with sport baseball and what he went through in the past is what developed his character in the book “Fences”. In the beginning of the book we get introduced to a character named Troy and he is a father and husband; we also get told that he used to play baseball growing up and how he only grew up with a father who in his words was “so evil”; for a short period of time before he moved out on his own. Troy is African American and with him being African American and growing up during a racist time he didn’t get very far with baseball and because of that it spun his life in a spiral and he’s never forgotten about it. In the beginning of Fences Troy is talking to Bono and Rose and Bono brings up Troy’s son Corey playing football and even having a recruiter coming to check him out.

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811 Words | 4 Pages

His relationship with Bono shows this clearly. For it always appears as though Bono only listens and comments in their conversations. It is rare that he brings up a new topic, and when he does Troy is sure to make it go in a direction he wants it to. Rose has to be the worst victim of Troy’s selfishness because Troy never even considers her feelings or how he might hurt her. He also ignores the responsibility he owes her in being her husband, all because he wanted to indulge himself with another women.

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970 Words | 4 Pages

Troy not only disapproves of his son Cory playing football, but he also disagrees with his oldest son Lyons aspirations of becoming a musician. We see this when Troy states “get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living”. Instead of focusing on sports, he believes Cory should pick up a trade that can provide an income for his future. Cory is a talented athlete just like his dad, but due to Troy’s dreams being shattered by the white man, his outlook is tainted. Although Troy is predominantly aggressive, he is attempting to protect Cory from the same disappointment he once endured.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

The hardships that people face, coming from racial and gender injustice, can sometimes affect not just those directly concerned, but their families as well. These injustices, such as the treatment to Troy in Fences during his younger years, change the ways he acts to his sons and the rest of the characters and is the source of much of the conflict they face. Many of the conflicts in the play arise because the characters disagree with the way they see the past and what they want to do in their respective futures. For example, Troy and Cory see Cory's future differently because of the ways they have been treated in their pasts.

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1222 Words | 5 Pages

Troy chose to escape his reality by having an affair that gives him some laughs and good time every now and then. However, despite the flaws in Troy’s character, he was a providing family man who wants to insure a better life of his sons than the one he had. Based on the play’s time period, which took place at the 50’s, apparently the main problem of Troy Maxson’s character was racism against African Americans at the time that had prevented him from achieving his dreams. Throughout the play, Troy expresses his dissatisfaction in several scenes with the other characters.

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1516 Words | 7 Pages

Troy’s inability to commit to building his fences despite his repetitive speaking of how he is going to finish his fence shows how his isolation from his wife stems from his inability to truly commit to his wife even though he always told her he loved her. He wanted to protect his wife from the truth that he cheated on her and has a baby on the way with her but the fence prevented true communication with his own wife. Troy's inability to see the change in civil rights during his time period because of the fence led to the isolation of his mindset towards African American rights and the straining of his relationship with his son. His struggle to be accepted into playing professional sports alongside white men lead to preventing his son from playing professional football despite the changing times in civil rights. Without isolation from change, his relationship with his son could possibly be a happy one.

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1249 Words | 5 Pages

In summary, the play “Fences “setting was set during the 1950’s in Pittsburg, where many African Americans were fighting for their rights. Many of the minority population were getting treated poorly and unfairly. Troy Maxson, his wife and son lived off a small alley in a big-city. The main character Troy was a sanitation worker and former Negro League baseball player.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

This meant that all professional baseball teams were still not for black people from playing. In fences, the troy character is very negative just because, he suffered in his past. In Fences, August Wilson shows that troy is a villain because he is unfair to his wife, wants to control everyone, and mean with his son. In the fences, August describe how Troy is a villain because of the unfair to his wife.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Troy’s outlook on life is more narrow minded however, his family is more optimistic for a better future. Troy was raised by a very dominate male figure who was abusive. His father would be little him and made him like he would not be able to overcome racism. Troy despised his father who was mean and never showed him any love.

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

He has a softer tone in the dialogue with Rose which shows that he does care about Cory. He is tough on Cory because he doesn’t want his son to experience the same things as he, as a black male in the mid-century, endured. He believes that a sturdy hand will lead his son in the right direction and prepare him for a harsh world. Troy tells Rose, “He’s got to make his own way. I made mine.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

Troy is controlling and often verbally abusive to his family members because he lacks a sense of control in other areas of his life, he is unable to achieve his dream of becoming a pro-baseball player or advance in his career and this makes him feel inadequate. Troy’s wife Rose represents a stereotypical mother and dutiful wife role. Rose has two disadvantages in her life because she is not only African American, she is also a woman and in some ways she is the wife you would expect during the 1950s era. Rose however, is not weak minded because she recognizes how times have changed and this what makes Troy and Rose so drastically different throughout the play. Their contrasting ideologies represent two different aspects of the “African American Experience” by showing a major question many African Americans faced during the 1950s and that is: “are times really changing?.”

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

In August Wilson’s playwright Fences, the narrator portrays racism in a social system, in the workplace, and in sports, which ultimately affects Troy’s aspirations. Troy Maxson is constantly facing the racism that is engraved into the rules of racial hierarchy –– fair and unfair, spoken and unspoken. Troy suffers many years of racism when he plays in the Negro major Baseball League; therefore he decides to protect Cory from ever experiencing those blockades in his drive for success. In the end, although Troy is always driving to obtain agency, Troy always succumbs to the rules of racism because those racist ideologies are too hard to overcome. Throughout the play, Troy is perpetually confronting the racist social system that displays unspoken

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