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Troy Maxson Flaws In Fences

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The protagonist of August Wilson's Fences, Troy Maxson, is a flawed but well-meaning character. The root of Troy's flaws lies in his father's treatment of him when he was young; however, Troy's abnormal upbringing, experiences with racism, and his fascination with story-telling and fantasy all helped shape him into the man he is. The racial barriers Troy faced during his baseball career affects both his outlook on life and his interactions with his son, Cory. Troy's childhood traumas also affect his current relationship with his own son. Many of his defining character traits and his perceptions of reality are also a result of the way Troy's father treated him.

Troy Maxson is a fifty-three-year-old African American man living in the United …show more content…

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. Troy's treatment of Cory is influenced by the way Troy's father had treated him when he was a child. Troy may have wanted to give his child a better life than he had, but he ends up acting like his father did. As Kenney writes, "It is ironic how near Troy approaches to repeating his own father’s behavior." (1). The finale of Troy and Cory's conflict comes to a close in a similar fashion to Troy's own ultimate confrontation with his father. Troy channels his father, the man he ran away from as an adolescent, when he kicks Cory out of his home. Troy had already been humiliated by his affair and subsequent argument with Rose, and in his most vulnerable moments, Troy is reduced to the man he hates the most and effectively ends his relationship with his son. Although Cory had a better outcome than Troy did, he still had a strong dislike for Troy and wanted to disobey him, even after Troy had passed away. Cory did not want to attend Troy's funeral service, and he had to be convinced by Rose that Troy always meant

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