Preview

Troy?S Ideology, as Reflected by His Occupation (Fences)

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
662 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Troy?S Ideology, as Reflected by His Occupation (Fences)
In Fences, the main character Troy obtains an occupation that changes his value systems, his character traits, and his overall ideology. Not only did it affect his lifestyle, it eventually affects those around him. The newly found ideology Troy obtains significantly effects the development of the story?s plot. Troy has a lower-middle/working class occupation - a garbage man. In Troy's mind, this job is something that enables him to survive thus far. Growing up, Troy experiences many hardships. Escaping an abusive father, Troy corrupts his life with a passion for thievery and irresponsible actions. For example, Troy impregnates a woman; the woman gave birth to Lyons. Because of Troy's irresponsible lifestyle, he is sent to jail; Lyons grows up without a father. Upon obtaining this job, Troy thinks it is one of the most stable aspects of his life. Stability, security, and success - this occupation brings many enhancements into Troy's life. Having a steady income changes his personal ideology of what character traits an African-American male should possess; in particular, what character traits his sons should possess. Troy's son Lyons now lives as a musician. To Troy, musicianship as a career does not provide that level of stability his job as a garbage man provides. Telling Lyons his point of view, Troy says the following:
You know why I got it? You living the fast life...wanna be a musician...running around in them clubs and things...then, you learn to take care of yourself. You ain't gonna find me going and asking nobody for nothing. (464)
Troy, without the use of force, wishes Lyons, would change his ways to match his new ideology; on the contrary, Troy attempts to force Cory, his youngest son, to adopt these beliefs. In fact, Troy wants Cory to exemplify a more developed and enriched ideology than he himself has. Telling Lyons his point of view, Troy says the following:
You go on and get your book learning so you can work yourself up in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Watson, is the theory that once the motivation behind a behaviour is understood and identified, the behaviour can be predicted in the future. A behaviour that Troy depicts quite frequently is how is is emotionally abusive towards Lelaina. Throughout Reality Bites, he states that he is Lelaina’s best friend and is supposedly in love with her. Yet, on multiple occasions he publicly ridicules her, attempts to control, flatter, and isolate her and overall treats her poorly. This behaviour reflects on his own emotional immaturity. He doesn’t know how to express himself, so he mocks her. He can’t handle sleeping with someone he cares about so he runs away. When he doesn’t know how to apologize properly and prove himself worthy of her, so he resorts to tempting her own personal fears. He says she needs him and that he is the only real thing in her life, so therefore he should be excused for his wrongdoings. Knowing that this emotional immaturity drives his abuse towards Lelaina, one can predict that although the movie ends seemingly happy, his abuse will continue. Contrary to popular belief, falling in love does not absolve someone of all their poor traits. Especially when it comes to an unemployed, self-important, fellow with daddy…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of the fence has a number of symbolic meanings in the play. You have Troy’s baseball, Raynell garden, and the fence. This play focuses on the symbol of a fence which helps readers receive a better understanding of these events. “Fences” symbolizes a great struggle between the literal and figurative definitions of humanity and blackness. Of course, this fence is much more than just a fence – it's a complex symbol that pretty much sums up the whole play.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Eng15 Fences

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The play Fences by August Wilson revolves around the front yard of the main characters Troy and Rose Maxson between the years 1957 and 1965. Rose is a long, responsible mother, wife, and friend who tends to show forgiving and selfless character traits. Many of her words and actions also show that she is a strong and assertive yet tender woman. Her husband Troy, on the other hand, is pretty much her opposite. Troy’s character is very dominant. He is and imaginative and boastful person who mostly comes off as selfish and bitter. Within the eight years, which the play takes place, Rose and Troy find themselves in a tragedy. Troy’s character changes between Act I and Act II, however, both his and Rose’s character are responsible for the tragedy.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    So does troy maxson character in the 2015 fences convey the traits of a tragic hero, a concept adopted in what year was it created…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ Nigger as long as you in my house, you put that sir on the end of it when you talk to me”. Troy Maxson, the Protagonist of Fences, quotes. Troy Maxson is a 53 year old man who is a father and husband. He has led a hard life from being abused by his father to going to jail for fifteen years due to robbery and murder. While in jail, he became a sharp baseball player. He is determined to protect his son Cory from the disappointments and opportunities loss because of the color of his skin. Troy lives in the past and fails to recognize that the world has changed. Troy father was controlling and bitter so he feels as though he must act the same way towards Cory. Troy tries to escape his responsibility of taking care of home, his wife and son by having an affair with Alberta and getting her pregnant. Troy keeps most of his emotions bottled up inside, building imaginary fences between friends, family and even himself.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Troy and Rose’s emotions have clearly been understood by the reader, however, they can not express them in clear words to each other instead they use metaphors to communicate their feelings to each other. Metaphors and word choice allow their feelings to be understood while increasing those feelings based on their personalities and outlooks on life.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the end of A Death of A Salesmen Biff has basically lost all connection to his father just as Cory had with Troy. Both Willy and Troy also have affairs with other women, which eventually distances them from the rest of the family. We see how both characters essentially treat their family members as though they are servants, Willy tells his wife not to speak when he is multiple times throughout the play. Similarly, Troy aims to dictate every decision that his children make. Both characters wives have basically given up on their marriage and husband, in Fences Roses even states that “you [Troy] a womanless man.” At the end of the story the two characters Troy and Willy are dead and have lost all connect to their family. This lack of connect is even present in both characters’ funerals. At Willy’s funeral Biff continues to be insensitive towards his father stating that, “he never knew who he was.” Similarly, Cory is insensitive towards his father saying that he doesn’t even want to go to the…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “We are part of all we have met. Everything we have seen, heard, felt or thought has had its hand in molding us, shaping us.”-Orison Swett Marden. This quote gold evident to both Troy from Fences and Richard from “Shame”. Both characters had experiences at young ages that had crafted the type of people who they are today. While both of their events occurred around 1900’s and were both very tragic the two men became two very different types of people.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This happens commonly in life and literature, one choice made by someone can have a significant impact on themselves and others. This happened in the play Fences by playwriter, August Wilson. In the play Fences composed by August Wilson, taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1957. A character named Troy Maxson settled on a choice that resentfully influenced several characters in the show. Married for 18 years, Troy Maxson and Rose Maxson had a son named Cory who now is 17 years old.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fences Character Analysis

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fences by August Wilson is a dramatic and powerful play about Troy Maxson, a hard, gruff man, who has had to learn to survive in a world he does not understand. Growing up, Troy had an awful example of a father. He ran away from home at the age of fourteen, and had to find a way to live even though he had nothing. Now a father himself, Troy finds himself becoming as angry and hard as his father, although he has only ever tried to be a responsible man. Lyons, Troy’s oldest son from his first marriage, is the opposite of Troy. A struggling musician, Lyons’ fatherless childhood condemned him to be an irresponsible dreamer who believes in a future of liberation.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The character I chose to render a costume design for is Troy Maxson from the play Fences by August Wilson. Troy is the family’s main source of income and his character is a very strong willed and stubborn 53-year-old man. Troy relentlessly told his son, Cory, multiple times that his football recruitment was a waste of time and that he should get “…recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living” (8; ch.1, sec.1). Therefore, from Troy’s actions, I knew that his costume should entail a sense of seriousness such as nothing brightly colored or crazy patterned clothing. Another area in the script that influences my costume choices was the setting of the play. The play was set on a dirty entrance of an old brick building house…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Troy Maxson's Downfall

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fences is a "tragedy of the common man” who challenges the affront to his dignity. Troy Maxson’s downfall was caused by his response to the challenge that racism posed to his personal dignity. Although Troy was able to knock a baseball out of the park like it was nothing, he constantly "missed the mark" in his personal life. Troy had a tragic flaw, which was that he did whatever he thought was right without thinking of the consequences. In an attempt to respond to the indignities he suffers, he distorts history, denies facts, and lies. The circumstances that shaped Troy to the character he is, led to the development of a begrudging mentality. As Troy did not amount to much, he did not want others to surpass him and diminish his self-reputation. In addition, although prison has a negative connotation, it was a positive turning point for Troy. Also, it can be inferred Troy suffered from athazagoraphobia. Racism played a key role in Troy’s refusal to accept his circumstances.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem, “Fences,” Troy is someone who doesn’t care what anyone says about him. He’s his own person and he likes to be open about his problems. I think that Troy is someone who is polite, nice, and somewhat thinks he knows it all. Troy doesn’t care if his wife, Rose, doesn’t want to hear about death. When Troy talked about death, he was telling his friend, Bono, and his wife, Rose, that everyone dies at some point in life. When Troy’s son, Lyons, comes over, he asks for money but Troy doesn’t want to give it to him. He feels like Lyons only comes to him when he needs something. I sympathise with Troy because if someone only comes to you when they need something, it’s because they don’t know what else to go visit you for. I think that Troy…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Characters of Troy(Movie)

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus - King of Sparta and husband of Helen. Brother of Agamemnon.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays