Troy Maxon Character Analysis

Troy Maxson the Anti-hero Being a father is one of the life’s struggles that never seems to end for the character, Troy Maxson, his struggles are no different. In the play, Fences, written by August Wilson, Troy demonstrates a hard working husband and father striving to get through the difficult times he is faced with due to his race and age. The result of all the stress led Troy to become a harsh and distant father. Troy Maxson is a prime example of an unhappy, small-minded tragic hero. Troy is a father who lacks the ability to show affection and respect towards his children and wife, is a loud and obnoxious man, but also is a hard-working, dedicated father. The play begins with two friends, Troy and Bono, coming home from work and enjoying their Friday night ritual of drinking and telling stories. Bono begins with stating that he has been noticing his friend eyeing a neighbor, Alberta. Bono is starting to believe that Troy is not being faithful to wife and also being abusive in his marriage. As a woman ages and becomes comfortable with their husband, she is likely to suffer from emotional and physiological abuse (Doak 3). Having an affair with a woman outside of your marriage is a clear sign …show more content…
The longer the night gets more inebriated he becomes and begins telling stories full of lies. “Troy, you ought not talk like that. Troy ain’t doing nothing but telling a lie” Rose states (Wilson 1839). His wife can see through his antics and proves him wrong often. Throughout the play, Troy attempts to reestablish his credibility by voicing these stories of himself and in the end they are just exaggerations. He portrays this tough exterior dramatically, but he is truly harassed by his inward demons. The spreading of rumors and lies seems to be Troy’s attempt to reinvent the man everyone knows as the star ball player, but the effect is that he just damages others in the process (Juntenun