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The Destruction Of The American Dream In Fences By August Wilson

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In "Fences" by August Wilson, the protagonist Troy Maxson's struggles with his own pride and sense of responsibility, as well as his relationships with his family, reveal the complex emotions and consequences of systemic racism and the struggle for the American Dream. While the play ultimately shows the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit, it also highlights the tragic effects of the oppressive systems that prevent African Americans from achieving their goals.
During the early nineteenth century, after years of speculation and arguments, the decision was made by the United States Congress to ban slavery in 1808 (Baharvand, sec.Introduction), although no one in the southern United States adhered to this law. It was not until …show more content…

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. It's my responsibility! You understand that? A man got to take care of his family. You live in my house . . . sleep you behind on my bedclothes . . . fill you belly up with my food . . . cause you my son. You my flesh and blood. Not 'cause I like you! Cause it's my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you! Let's get this straight right here . . . before it go along any further ... I ain't got to like you…” (Full Text of “August Wilson ‘Fences,’” sec.40). It is this same responsibility that led Troy to become a criminal in the first place. In an effort to take care of his first wife and provide for his first-born son, Lyons, he resorted to robbing and stealing, since the black population in America was shunned by the dominant whites. This is what resulted in Troy being sent to prison and finding his passion and talent for

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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.

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Troy As A Tragic Hero In Fences, By August Wilson

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In the play “Fences”, written in 1957 by August Wilson annotates how Troy’s childhood experiences affected his life and put a strain on his relationship with family and friends. Troy’s enormous amount of pride, flaw of judgment, and malicious actions lead to his shortcomings and resulted into him becoming a tragic hero. In the story, Troy had a lot of flaws in his character throughout the play. As Troy was growing up he never had the proper guidance, so he had to take care of himself the best way he could.

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The Faults of Troy Maxson August Wilson brings out the struggle of Troy Maxson in his play, Fences. All that matter to him end up feeling this struggle, for it remains constantly inside of him. Ultimately it proves to overcome Troy and make many lose the respect and love that was once felt. Troy’s actions and failure to fix them makes his true character known. By giving way to his own desires, becoming a continuation of his father and failing those he loves Troy Maxson proves to be a man flawed at his core.

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In the play Fences by August Wilson, Troy Maxson presents as the protagonist. He is an unsympathetic character who seems to hurt all those around him with his aggressive persona. Troy is a selfish man, with a one sided perception on life which made him unable to accept the choices others made. Due to his upbringing, Troy is unable to show love in a normal fashion. Instead, he blocks his family out by using a harsh exterior, emotionally excluding himself from his underlying love.

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The play Fences, written by August Wilson, tells the story of Troy Maxson and his family during the 1950s. Throughout the novel, Troy attempts to gain power and control on people such as his wife Rose and his son Cory. In the play, Wilson uses Troy’s power struggle to develop him as a tragic hero and to enhance his theme of people isolating themselves from those closet to them. Troy can be seen as a hero who overcame great odds.

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The psychological effects of our childhood experiences can have an outsized impact on who we become later in life. The world in not a perfect place and people face obstacles throughout their lives. In the play Fences, written by August Wilson, there lives an African American family living in a largely segregated world in the 1950´s. Troy Maxson is the Father of Lyons. Lyons is Troy 's son from a previous relationship.

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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.

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Signifying In African-American Literature

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(Wilson) rHe is not allowed to drive the truck, as that job is reserved for the white man. Walter also is a chauffeur for a rich white man, a fact he laments throughout Fences. Both men, like so many other black men in their time, have no formal education and are relegated to serving the white man, even a century after overt slavery ended. For them, their lives are not fully in their control. In both plays, they find they can only ever improve their circumstances through hardship: in Fences, Troy was able to purchase a home because of his brother’s injury and permanent disability from the war.

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How Does August Wilson Use Language In Fences

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Fences by August Wilson is a play set in 1950s Pittsburgh which chronicles the life of an African American family. Language is a crucial component of the play, revealing the characters, conflicts, and meaning of the story. In Fences, Troy is a strong character who uses his language to assert his dominance, especially over his son, Cory. Troy treats Cory with a harsh exterior, which masks his deep hopes for a better future for his son.

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The Importance Of The Father In August Wilson's Fences

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"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.

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Fences, by August Wilson, was written in 1985. This play was apart of Wilson’s ten-play cycle based on the African-American experience in the U.S. for that specific decade (Kirsner 1556; Mandell 1556). Fences is about Troy, an African-American man who is struggling with the pain of never becoming a professional baseball player due to the color barrier. Moreover, as Troy retreats behind literal and figurative barriers throughout the play, his relationship with his wife and son is being destroyed. In August Wilson’s Fences, some common perceptions (misconceptions) about marriage or infidelity or parenthood in the African-American community is that black couples are irresponsible parents, cannot stay married, and the men cheat on their wives.

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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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