In the traditions of tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex, Willie Loman, and Marcus Brutus, Troy Maxson from August Wilson's Fences is a commendable man with a tragic flaw leading him down a path ending in mess up. Troy's hamartia is his stubborn, self-centeredness. He lives in his own little world and views individuals in his life as revolving around him. When he ruins Cory's chance of gaining a soccer scholarship, he achieved it because he thought whites wouldn't let his child play, but the world had transformed and Troy stubbornly refused to trust it. It must be observed that Troy Maxson isn't a bad man. His activities and speech will come off as cruel and callous but he also offers admirable and likeable qualities. He is tightly accountable in his obligation towards his family as a specialist. He is funny and ardent and hearing him tell testimonies is hypnotizing. And deep beneath his difficult exterior is a man who truly cares about his family but never learned the right way to show it. The tragedy is that his family only learns concerning this after until his fatality and following the negative actions he does that tore his family aside.
All people around Troy try to make him realize that the times are changing, and that Cory has more an opportunity than he of attaining his fantasy. Troy's partner Rose attempts to clarify that, "They acquired lots of coloured boys playing ball now. Football and sports. " Even Bono will try to convey a similar thing to him, "Times have changed, Troy, you merely come along too early. " Cory titles some current dark-colored baseball players to his dad, like Hank Aaron. Troy ignores this and says to Cory, "The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere get back football noway. " Cory blames his daddy to do this out of resentment, stating, "You just frightened I'm gonna be better than you, that's all. " But Troy says to Rose, "I got sense enough never to let my boy get hurt playing no athletics. " It seems that Troy puts an end to Cory's football goal out of both his own disappointment and his desire to safeguard his young man. It's these wrestling of videos inside Troy that produce him a sophisticated and tragic identity.
That intricacy of Troy also manifests from the good and admirable features of his personality. Throughout the play it's easy to feel anger, pity, and respect towards him. Despite the fact that Troy pursues the incorrect course in looking to help Cory, it's still visible that he cares for his kid in his fractured way. Troy's bad marriage with his boy can be traced back again to his own relationship with his father. Troy despised his father, who was mean and didn't show any wish to him, but retained by his family anticipated to a sense of responsibility, which is molded into Troy's character. He goes to work every day to provide for his family even though, but he can't exhibit the want to them that they desire. Without his good characteristics to counterbalance against his bad ones, Troy would you need to be an bad antagonists intentionally ruining his families lives. But because Troy is made as a tragic hero we can find out more about the experience of living life as a dark man, confronted with lost opportunities as a consequence to discrimination and we can learn a lesson from his inability instead of paint him as a monster.
Troy's hamartia helps prevent him from acknowledging that times have improved. Like Oedipus Rex who came before him, he won't see the writing on the wall structure. Instead of believing what everyone around him is saying, he comes after his own misguided journey of delusion, ruining his sons desire to play football and go to school. Because of his actions, he creates not only a fence but an impenetrable wall around himself, never checking to his family. Only at his funeral do his family attain knowledge of his deeper motives and obstructions despite his hazardous activities. As Lyons says, "You have to consider the crookeds with straights. That's what Papa used to say. " With Troy there was always the crooked man endeavoring to conquer down the straight, and the right man trying to regulate the crooked one. This tragic circumstance of hamartia all together destroys his chance of a happy life with his family and starts up a spot for Troy in the long line of tragic heroes. .
