August Wilson's Relationship Essay

There’s an old saying about children being like their parents that says, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This saying is very true for Troy Maxson, the main character of the play Fences by August Wilson. Troy strived to be a good father to his children, but as a result of selfishness and not having a good father himself, he had a bad relationship with his sons. When Troy was only fourteen years old, he left home because of his abusive father. His father knocked him unconscious and beat him to near death when he got caught neglecting his work to hang out with a girl. When Troy woke up, he realized it was time for him to leave home and he decided to go to the city to find a job. When he got there, he could not find a job, so he started stealing so he could feed himself. Things quickly got out of hand, and he ended up murdering a man he was attempting to rob and he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison; however, before he went to prison he met a girl and had his first son, Lyons. Spending fifteen years in prison had a huge impact on
Cory feels like Troy tries to hold him back from his full potential and does not love him. When Cory asked Troy why he never liked him, Troy responded by saying, “Like you? Who the hell say I got to like you? What law is there say I got to like you?” (Wilson 1075). Troy showed little, if any, affection to Cory, and Cory resents Troy. Cory also resents Troy as a result of Troy not letting him play football in college. Troy was a good baseball player and when he got out of prison he tried to play professionally in the major league; however, he was unable to because he was black. Cory was a good football player and got offered a scholarship to play in college, but because Troy was unable to play professionally, he did not let Cory play in college. Troy would not let Cory play football in college for two main reasons: he did not want Cory to succeed where he could not, and he