His father cannot see him as a new hope; because he is too busy trying to protect him from the past. However, he cannot protect him, and in fact, he lets the past influence his own decisions. Wilson seems to be saying that many black men cannot learn from their past, instead they keep perpetuating the same mistakes generation to generation.
Troy is a liar, which also gives a clue to Wilson's ideas on fatherhood. Throughout the play he says he loves Rose and does not run around on her, yet he has an affair with Alberta, sires a daughter with her, and Rose has to raise the daughter when Alberta dies. Thus, he shows that he is not trustworthy - instead, he is cunning and sly. His life is about self-gratification at any cost, and he does not consider the feelings of others in his decisions. Wilson's cynical view is of fathers who are not trustworthy, responsible, or able to grow away from the sins and mistakes of their own fathers, and Troy epitomizes that cynical view perfectly.
Troy is not a bad parent because he is selfish and self-centered, the worst thing between Troy and his sons is his inability to allow them to grow and pursue their dreams. He is so intent on controlling them and molding them to fit his own ideals that he cannot allow them to strike out on their own and become men. That is why he drives Cory away - he takes away his dream of playing football and making something important of his life. Consciously or not, he punishes Cory for his own failure to play in the major leagues. He did not reach his dream, and so, he cannot bear to see his sons attain their own dreams. Thus, he represents the very worst traits of fatherhood - the father who cannot give his children their freedom and their happiness.
Another clue to Wilson's thoughts on fatherhood in the play (and many of his plays), is the location. Another critic notes, "Wilson's African-American characters are, for the most part, working-class black men who live within the geographical location of the Hill District of Pittsburgh" (Perry). This is true with "Fences," and it represents the area where Wilson himself grew up. It could also represent the absence of his own father from...
Fences" August Wilson The Influence of Sports in Fences Sports is one of the principle motifs in Fences, a play written by August Wilson, and is utilized to facilitate the other themes that this work of drama explores. The protagonist, Troy Maxson (Gilmore), is a former Negro leagues baseball player who is still attempting to reconcile his attempts at a career in professional baseball with the fact that he was not
Fences" August Wilson Breaking Out: Autonomous Independence in Fences One of the principle characters of August Wilson's play entitled Fences is Cory Maxson, whose role as the son of the play's protagonist, Troy Maxson (Gilmour 2010), is fairly integral to the thematic issues that the author chooses to demonstrate within this dramatic work. As one of Troy's several sons, Cory represents the distinct ideology that is fairly endemic to all parents
When a person understands the history of baseball, much of what Wilson has to say makes more sense, because the jargon of the book can be problematic for others who have no concept of the game. This does not mean that the book cannot be enjoyable to people who have no real concept of baseball, but most people in America today at least know the basics about the game of
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Troy's father beats his fourteen-year-old son and then rapes the boy's friend. Troy understands in this moment that the cruelty in his life is represented by men. And part of the real evil that he seems as emanating from men is that they destroy women and drive them away. Troy sees the real harm that his father has done to women. And yet he also struggles to understand how a
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