Father and Son in Death of a Salesman, and Fences Essay

Due to the fact that Troy does not want Cory to play sports sets a boundary between the two of them. On page 5 Troy tells Cory “I told that boy a bot that football stuff. The white man ain’t gonna let him go nowhere with that football.” Troy does not want Cory to play football because he feels like he will not get anywhere with it. Another thing that puts a fence between Cory and Troy is jealousy. Troy is jealous of Cory because he actually has a chance to live out his dream and play a sport. When Troy was young and he played baseball it was back in the time of racism so he could not make it to the major baseball league like he wanted to even though he was a great player. On page 27, Cory says to Troy “Just cause you didn’t have a chance! You just scared I’m gonna be better than you, that’s all.” The relationship between Cory and his father is not very good. This could be because Troy is jealous of his son for getting a chance to do something that he could not. This could also be because Troy loves his son very much and does not want to see Cory get his feelings hurt if he does not make it where he wants to with playing

Cory is very aware that his father is envious of his athletic accomplishments. Troy also has no respect for Lyons and he does not support his dream to be a musician.

The son however is the ‘faith’ within the story. He is the hope for a better future. The son is more trusting towards others and therefore becomes upset and quiet when his father doesn’t agree with him. “I’m afraid for that little boy” – The son has never seen another young boy and is frightened for him but his father shrugs off his pleas to help him and says “I know but he’ll be alright”. Towards the end of the book it appears that the father and his son become distant to each other due to their diverse personalities. It could however be seen that the son is a lot more knowledgeable about dangers and therefore does not need his father as much.

Where Cory has aspirations of playing football, Troy says that he must continue with his more practical job at the A&P.

Growing up, most parents want what is best for their children with the hope that they will lead a better life than the one they had. On the surface, this does not seem to be the case in the relationship between Troy and Cory in August Wilson’s Fences. Troy was a hardworking man who did all he can to provide for his family. Cory worked equally as hard in his athletic career. Troy made a decision to end Cory’s football career out of protection but Cory viewed it as his father’s jealousy. Troy’s rough attitude and relationship towards Cory stems from multiple sources: Troy’s relationship with his own father, his jail time, the fact that he did not make the Major Leagues in baseball due to discrimination, and his reluctance to accept the idea that the times have changed. Each of these plays a distinct role in their relationship, ultimately cultivating in Troy losing Cory for good.

Individuals and society often rely on the trait of responsibility in order to have their daily activities run smoothly. Troy Maxson has incorporated the key ideas of responsibility; to secure his family, friendships and job. Troy had stated multiple times within Fences that his actions are based off of his responsibilities; instead of love. “[...]Liked you? Who the hell say I got to like you?[...]” (Wilson,37). This quote displays that although Troy loves his family, his sense of responsibility is stronger. The sense of responsibility shows he is concerned for what is to come to the family; although this shadowed his emotions to forget to show affection. “[...]Some people build fences to keep people out…and

Troy's inability to come out of his bad experiences of discrimination and his inability to achieve his American dream made his son, Cory, dislike his views so he had disregard for him, so much so that he did not have much respect for him even upon his death. Cory felt that his own dream which he could have easily achieved was shattered by his own father. Although Troy's approach to life was negative but his family knew that, “he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm” (Wilson Pg 137). The same way Willy's suicide was a cowards way of giving up and running away from the mental turmoil he was in due to the unrealistic state of mind. His suicide was as misguided as his idea of success and happiness, his main reason for suicide was the money his life insurance will give his wife that can compensate for what he couldn't achieve and to become a hero in the eyes of his son who was in bad terms with him after he had found out about his father's infidelity.

Cory was going down the same path Troy went down with sports, and Troy knows this will hurt him in the long run, so he made Cory get a job and do his chores. This makes Cory build up a work ethic and it also teaches him respect and how to deal with bad bosses and people being racist and unfair. A example of this is when Troy tells Cory he will have to quit football if he can't keep up the job and his chores. Cory needed to get a trade, not a talent which means he needs to be good at something people can't segregate, and something people need. Cory needs to get his head clear, and Troy takes him out of football, and this makes Cory very mad but it is for the best.

In the play, Troy’s relationship with his son, Cory fades. The relationship first starts to wane when Cory and Troy are in the yard working on the ever so symbolistic Fence in the yard. Cory tells his father that a recruiter will be visiting him due to his success in both school and in football. Troy asks if he still has his job but Cory tells him that he will work on weekends. Troy becomes exceedingly angry with his son and forces him to quit the football team saying that: “The white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway” (35). Even with the tensions high between blacks and whites in the time period, Troy is still very harsh in his words. Perhaps, this can be attributed Troy’s past experience with baseball which didn’t end well for him. This action by Troy is both a crooked and straight. It is crooked because it holds a bar of limitation over his son’s head but it is straight because Troy is only doing it to protect his son. This event shows the reader that there can

Troy fears that Cory will turn out just like him and that he will end up just as his father did. Whenever Cory delays doing his chores to go to football practice, Troy reprimands him harshly. Troy does his best to parent Cory, a luxury not afforded to Troy in his own childhood. Troy is aware of what his life has turned out to be, and he does not want his son to suffer the same fate that he has. Troy's struggle between wanting Cory to be just like him and hoping Cory never has to lead the life that Troy leads causes great conflict.

became a father that Cory never wanted, ultimately leading to Troy’s own demise. While it

One of Troy’s major flaws is his obsession with having a practical career and a steady income. He claims that, although he does not “like” his son, he will always work hard to provide for him because “It’s my job. It’s my responsibility… A man got to take care of his family.” (Wilson 38). He cares very deeply that his sons are also able to guarantee income, even if it costs them their passion. Troy disapproves of his son Lyons decision to pursue

Troy is the father to Cory, a high school student at the time. One day Cory came home excited with news, and told his father he was being recruited and had quit his job to be able to attend practice more (pg 1959 line 76). This intensified the not-so-good relationship the two already had. When Troy was younger, he wanted to go pro in baseball, but to that day kept making excuses about why he was prohibited from doing so. He uses baseball references when he struggles with finding the correct emotional words to say. He uses the ‘3 strikes and you’re out thing with his son. Cory doesn’t understand why his father doesn’t want to let him play sports and go to college because to Cory, times are changing and people are more accepting of race. Cory resents his father’s traditionalist ways and refusal to see ‘the now.’ Cory spends more

Family relationships always have a way of playing a key role for the duration of most literary pieces. According to Arthur Miller’s novel, Death of a Salesman, the interaction of Willy and his sons, Happy and Biff, shows that family ties usually are connected either physically or emotionally in some way or another. Willy Loman is just like every father in a father/son bond, yet all he wants is to be a part of his son’s life. Even though Biff and Happy admire and have so much love for their father when they are younger, later down the road when they are older suddenly they realize he had failed to prepare them for the real society in life.

Cory pleads with his father to allow him to quit his job at the grocery store to be fully involved in football. Nevertheless, his father does not accept which bars Cory from joining the high school team. This shows that Troy is not sensitive to Cory’s wish, but on the contrary, he has the will to fight for his rights which sees him rise to become a garbage truck driver in the city. It is sad that he denies his son the opportunity of becoming a sportsperson. To make matters worse, Troy cheats on his wife Rose but show compassion to his brother Gabriel who is mentally disturbed. Gabriel got a head wound when he took part in the World War II, and his friendship with Bono is firm.