Fences Causal Analysis

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10/6/12 Fences Causal Analysis Revision Every decision has a motivation behind it. In the play “Fences”, by August Wilson, this is conveyed through Troy Maxson’s life of tragic events. Motivations that had driven him were his unsatisfactory feelings with himself, jealousy of his son, self pride, and most of all, his drive to escape all of it. These motivations create a cataclysm of Troy refusing to let Cory play college football, cheating on his wife, and putting his family in grave financial danger. Troy’s emotional warfare with himself unfairly holds Cory back from his obtainable dream. Troy would not let Cory play college football because of his own past experiences. Troy states, “I decided seventeen years ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports. Not after what they did to me in sports” (Wilson 1535). As a result of his failure to make it to the baseball major leagues, Troy reflects his defeat on Cory, telling him he’ll never succeed because of the “white man”. In addition to his jealousy, another reason for Troy holding Cory back is he subconsciously does not want his son to surpassing his own life progress and accomplishments; this is unlike a usual Father who dreams of their child accomplishing more than themselves. Troy’s self-loathing also sabotages his seemingly satisfactory marriage. By cheating on Rose, Troy can escape his daily responsibilities and feelings of failure. He feels this way with his mistress, Alberta, because she does not know much of him or his past, unlike Rose. In a symbol of their marriage, Troy procrastinates building the picket fence around their front yard that Rose repeatedly asks him to finish. For example, after Rose has asked Troy once more to finish the fence he responds with, “I’m gonna walk down to Taylors’. Listen to the ball game. I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll work on it when I get back”(Wilson 1531). Troy’s

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