When starting a family, the hope is that this family will love and respect you. It can be difficult to be successful when it seems like nothing goes right. We will see some of the struggles of an African American family in Fences, by August Wilson. It is difficult to understand the reasoning behind Troy Maxson’s thoughts and actions; he has stated that he loves his family but his actions say otherwise. Maxson is uncaring and cold toward his wife and children, who want nothing more than to make him proud. After being abused as a child, Maxson feels it is necessary to be hard on Cory to make him understand hard times and appreciate the things he has. I feel like Troy does not provide the love and overall support that his friends and family needs—he continues his father’s cycle of verbal abuse and in turn causes Cory to stand up to him and leave home.
Maxson’s years of hard work for very little pay is a very depressing topic for him. He is unable to let go of the past and
…show more content…
He held Cory back from his dreams and this was not the way to teach Cory anything (Ed 187). When he held him back, according to Frankl, he prevented him from finding his purpose in his life (Heller). Cory felt as if his father was only jealous because he didn’t make it in his ball career, which was made this clear to his father in Cory’s statement “You just scared I’m gonna be better than you/ that’s all” (Wilson 1863). Troy feels like he is living his life to go to work and feed his family, no time for himself. So when Cory says “Why don’t you like me?” (Wilson 1853), and Troy responds “Liked you? / Who the hell say I gotta like you? What law is there say I gotta like you?” (Wilson 1853). It has been studied that a parent with a history of abuse may unwilling abuse their own children (Dixon). Although Maxson is trying to make his son feel loved, he only fails repeatedly in the