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In act one of August Wilson’s Fences, the reader sees a fathers struggle to raise his son and to instill the necessary characteristics of a man. Both Troy, the father, and his son, Cory seem to have reasonable motives to act the way that they do, although neither one of them can see eye to eye with the other. This ultimately leads to Troy telling his son’s football coach that he is not allowed to play on the team. His conditions for Cory to remain on the team were for Cory to keep his job and to complete all of his chores before leaving the house. Cory does not feel that he can keep his job during the football season and believes football is his ticket to a college education. His father is familiar with a time where blacks were not allowed to play sports therefor it is a waste of time. It is clear that Troy only wants his son to be better off and start working so that he can move up in his job overtime and have earned money to support himself. However, I do not feel that Troy is going about helping his son the best way. Cory really believes that he has a chance to attend college by playing football and this will allow him to get employment in a job with much better pay than he would get otherwise. Having a job to make money is important but Cory is still young and shouldn’t have to work his whole life. It is understandable as to why Troy is such a pain to Cory, as his first son Lyons is 34, unemployed, and has no desire to receive employment. He often visits his parents to ask for money. Troy denies Lyons requests, but ultimately his mother gives him money. Lyons offers to pay the money back, with his wife’s money. It is very clear how important it is for a father to teach his son the importance of work and I wonder what events will happen in act 2 to show what lessons Cory has learned.
In the second act of Fences, the reader learns that Troy has cheated on Rose and will be the father of another woman’s child. This was hinted at earlier when Troy’s friend Bono mentioned Troy’s relationship with other women before. This conversation seemed more innocent and when it was given a second time later Bono was more persistent and made Troy feel guilty. This act seemed to display more of Troy’s lesser qualities. This makes Troy seem like an even worse father as his actions are not for the interest of his family but for himself. His relationship with Cory falls out and he tells Cory to leave his house and not come back. It would be likely then that with the end of the play, after Troy has died his family would have a poor memory for his last days. This is not the case though as all of his family is very respectful of him. Even his wife Rose saw only the best in Troy. This is the first time Cory returns since Troy kicked him out and he obviously hadn’t forgot his relationship with his father. He does not plan to attend the funeral but his mother makes him think twice. Despite Troy’s short comings, he wanted his son to be the best he could be and make something of his life. He hoped to keep his son from taking up his bad habits while still giving his best qualities. Cory had spent the last six years in the military and simply by the way he carries himself, one can see how much Cory has grown. The reason for his growth is that he always had his father in his thoughts. No one is perfect and everyone is capable of making mistakes. Despite his flaws as a father Troy only wanted to provide a future for his children by teaching them to work for themselves.
In act one of August Wilson’s Fences, the reader sees a fathers struggle to raise his son and to instill the necessary characteristics of a man. Both Troy, the father, and his son, Cory seem to have reasonable motives to act the way that they do, although neither one of them can see eye to eye with the other. This ultimately leads to Troy telling his son’s football coach that he is not allowed to play on the team. His conditions for Cory to remain on the team were for Cory to keep his job and to complete all of his chores before leaving the house. Cory does not feel that he can keep his job during the football season and believes football is his ticket to a college education. His father is familiar with a time where blacks were not allowed to play sports therefor it is a waste of time. It is clear that Troy only wants his son to be better off and start working so that he can move up in his job overtime and have earned money to support himself. However, I do not feel that Troy is going about helping his son the best way. Cory really believes that he has a chance to attend college by playing football and this will allow him to get employment in a job with much better pay than he would get otherwise. Having a job to make money is important but Cory is still young and shouldn’t have to work his whole life. It is understandable as to why Troy is such a pain to Cory, as his first son Lyons is 34, unemployed, and has no desire to receive employment. He often visits his parents to ask for money. Troy denies Lyons requests, but ultimately his mother gives him money. Lyons offers to pay the money back, with his wife’s money. It is very clear how important it is for a father to teach his son the importance of work and I wonder what events will happen in act 2 to show what lessons Cory has learned.
ReplyDeleteIn the second act of Fences, the reader learns that Troy has cheated on Rose and will be the father of another woman’s child. This was hinted at earlier when Troy’s friend Bono mentioned Troy’s relationship with other women before. This conversation seemed more innocent and when it was given a second time later Bono was more persistent and made Troy feel guilty. This act seemed to display more of Troy’s lesser qualities. This makes Troy seem like an even worse father as his actions are not for the interest of his family but for himself. His relationship with Cory falls out and he tells Cory to leave his house and not come back. It would be likely then that with the end of the play, after Troy has died his family would have a poor memory for his last days. This is not the case though as all of his family is very respectful of him. Even his wife Rose saw only the best in Troy. This is the first time Cory returns since Troy kicked him out and he obviously hadn’t forgot his relationship with his father. He does not plan to attend the funeral but his mother makes him think twice. Despite Troy’s short comings, he wanted his son to be the best he could be and make something of his life. He hoped to keep his son from taking up his bad habits while still giving his best qualities. Cory had spent the last six years in the military and simply by the way he carries himself, one can see how much Cory has grown. The reason for his growth is that he always had his father in his thoughts. No one is perfect and everyone is capable of making mistakes. Despite his flaws as a father Troy only wanted to provide a future for his children by teaching them to work for themselves.
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