The mere attempt at perfection is a lost cause, no one in the world can achieve something because one can only be as perfect as his flaws allow. August Wilson’s play, Fences, explores this theme of trying to be the best that one can be through the protagonist, Troy Maxson. His past defines him, where it is fitting to define Troy, and any person for that matter, as the sum of one’s experience. As the choices he makes in the play are defined by prior events in his life, he believes that his actions are justified. Through his roles as a son, father, and husband, Wilson shows the motive behind his decisions, and why he chooses to act on his past. His actions, albeit how unethical and immoral they might be are all due to his clinging on the
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His actions are justified by the weakness that eventually overcomes him in the end. The relationship with Cory shows that although he tries to be a father with good intentions, they only further him from his son due to his tunnel vision of the world. He wants his son to be able to fend for himself which is why he wants Cory to get a job, but one that is better than his own. With his past experience, he feels the need to keep his son from experiencing the same struggle by directing him to do what he thought entailed success. When confronting Rose, he tries to explain why he had gone ahead with seeing Alberta and this leads to his next and most prominent flaw – self-centeredness. He cannot get over many things that did not go right in his life which is why he has to be the center of the conversation. In essence, this is why he had the encounter with Alberta, not because he did not love Rose, but because he was bored and tired of his life, trying to find an escape from the pressures of his life, which all people want. Although he is not the perfect character, he did the best that he thought he could be. In the end, one can only truly judge Troy based on his childhood and how those experiences have helped influence his actions toward his family and
His actions are justified by the weakness that eventually overcomes him in the end. The relationship with Cory shows that although he tries to be a father with good intentions, they only further him from his son due to his tunnel vision of the world. He wants his son to be able to fend for himself which is why he wants Cory to get a job, but one that is better than his own. With his past experience, he feels the need to keep his son from experiencing the same struggle by directing him to do what he thought entailed success. When confronting Rose, he tries to explain why he had gone ahead with seeing Alberta and this leads to his next and most prominent flaw – self-centeredness. He cannot get over many things that did not go right in his life which is why he has to be the center of the conversation. In essence, this is why he had the encounter with Alberta, not because he did not love Rose, but because he was bored and tired of his life, trying to find an escape from the pressures of his life, which all people want. Although he is not the perfect character, he did the best that he thought he could be. In the end, one can only truly judge Troy based on his childhood and how those experiences have helped influence his actions toward his family and