Around the early 1900s, racism was a huge thing. Black African Americans faced many problems during this period of time because of certain things that others wanted to discriminate in. Because of these actions, African Americans weren't allowed to do certain things, well just about anything. This forced African Americans to look at the world with hatred and it limited many of their opportunities in life. In the play Fences by August Wilson, Troy had always dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but because of his racial appearance, he wasn't able to. This particular experience made Troy look at life totally different now. He thinks everything has something to do with racism now. Racism took on a very important role in Troy’s life and we can tell based on some of the careless mistakes he made throughout his life. Because of these careless mistakes, Troy caused so much tension amongst his family.
One of the careless mistakes Troy makes in the play is when he was trying to prevent his son Corey from playing football. Corey had a great scholarship offer that would've led him to a successful football career, but his father stopped all of that. “Corey will not be involved in no sports. Not after what they did to me in the sports” (Wilson ), stated Troy. Troy only did this because of his experience with sports and what he had to go through, he felt like Corey would've gone through the same thing. Although Troy thinks stopping Corey from playing football is the best decision he is making, it's not because he is preventing Corey from achieving his dreams.
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As it was stated before Troy is only trying to protect his family. He doesn't want his family to experience anything he had to go through or take the wrong route that would lead them to jail. Troy feels like he is obligated to protect his family from his past mistakes. Troy had to go to jail for 15 years because he tried to rob a man and he ended up stabbing him in retaliation. While Troy was in prison his older son Lyon really didn't have a father figure in his life. But Lyons grew up accepting and being okay with Troy's absence. Lyon’s passion was to become a musician. But unfortunately Troy sees that as a dangerous path. Troy says “You living the fast life wanna be a musician running around in their clubs and things (Wilson ). He doesn't find playing music a serious thing. He wants Lyon to work somewhere with structure rather than the free-lance world of music. Troy thinks with Lyon wanting to partake in music, would result in him doing the same thing he did to end up in jail.
Troy makes a decision that shifts the tone of the play when he decided to have an affair with his crush Alberta. Troy thinks he is trapped in a relationship that he is not happy in. But he doesn't blame anyone but himself. He feels like trying to balance being a father and trying to provide for his family was overwhelming, and he needed to escape. So he committed an affair with Alberta and they had a daughter named Raynall. Minutes after giving birth, Alberta died and Rose was willing to take Raynell in as if she was her own. Troy's careless actions show that he was willing to break any type of boundaries he was limited to. His selfish act put his and Rose's marriage in jeopardy. Troy's decision caused major problems in his family, and he lost his authority in the household.
In Fences, Troy Maxson had it rough when he was growing up. That led to him having a harsh attitude about everything because of how society looked at black people in the 1950s. Racism has always been tough for him. Troy was once young trying to follow his dreams, but because he was black several obstacles were thrown at him. Racism and going to jail changed the way Troy viewed the world. This was something that caused Troy to make all of the selfish mistakes. Whether it was crushing Cory’s dreams, neglecting Lyons, or breaking his vows with Rose. All of these decisions caused tensions amongst his family and eventually fenced them away from him.
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Critical Essay on Racism in ‘Fences’.
(2023, September 19). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/critical-essay-on-racism-in-fences/
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