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The relationship with Troy and Rose isn’t perfect because they disagree a lot. Troy is conveyed as someone who so very dominant in the play.

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Troy is unsupportive of the idea of his sons pursing a career in the artistic path. With Lyon’s dream of becoming a musician and Cory’s dream of becoming a football player, it doesn’t fit Troy’s idea of what a man should do.
He believes they should pursue something that will help provide for their future family.

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Rose sings a song in scene 2 about hoping that  Jesus will  be this “fence”. The word “fence” can be a symbolization of protection and family togetherness. However, in Troy’s perspective, the word “fence” could literally mean a cage for him.

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Troy had the hope of building a better future for his family. The audience learns that Troy was only able to afford the house his family lives in because of Gabriel's disability money, and it's implied that Troy feels guilty for profiting off of his brother's suffering. This is only one example of the things that the characters in this play have sacrificed to get to where they are now.

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Troy's brother Gabriel is a living embodiment of how war permanently mutilates its victims. Gabriel was a WWII veteran that sustained a head injury, causing lasting mental issues. He is a relatively innocent and optimistic figure, believing he is an angel, which is starkly contrasted with the hell he was put through being a soldier. Gabriel's story illustrates how the past can create lasting wounds, and it's no question that Troy has wounds as well, though they may not be physical.

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Troy ends up pushing away his sons because he believes he knows what's best for them, which usually means trying to convince them to prioritize practicality over doing what they love. This stems from Troy's life experiences, since he aspired to be a professional baseball player but failed. Troy is jaded by this experiences, thinking that if he failed, his sons will inevitably do the same.

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Troy embellishes multiple stories to enhance his image in the eyes of others. While they may not buy into it, it displays an ambitious nature within Troy to be successful or at least a desire to be. He speaks as if he could have made it as a professional baseball player and then says that the young African American men in football are wasting their time. He also feels he shouldn’t be working with rubbish while whites drive the trucks and then scoffs at his son for wanting to pursue a career in music.

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Troy feels it his not his responsibility to lend Lyons money when needed while his wife Rose encourages him to lend a hand. The fact that his second wife will so willingly offer up money that contributes to her own household, for a son that isn’t hers, demonstrates the idea that even Rose knows what Troy should be required to do as a father.

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To Troy, women have very little value and very few purposes. A woman is to speak when spoken to, take care of the home, and serve as an object to be sexualized. In the same breath as he can demean his wife Rose, he can claim how she’s the love of his life, and then immediately regress by saying he doesn’t “need” her or anything. Additionally, he maintains that he loves his wife, but is shown to be manipulative and abusive towards her. Violence isn’t something that traditionally equates romance.

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In Act One Scene One, we learn that Troy has a son from a previous marriage. He is very expressive about his distaste for the way Lyons was raised by his mother. Troy acts as if he would have been raised better had he been raised by Troy. Too bad though, Troy left them thus having no say in Lyons’ development. Upon looking at Troy’s son, we see that there really isn’t anything about him that would make him a son yo be ashamed of. He is simply looked down on by Troy because he wants to pursue a hard-to-break-into career, and asks for money from time to time. He just isn’t up to TROY’S standards (which are irrelevant but we’ll get into that later).

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Troy was alive for the second world war in which Americans fought for the freedoms of oppressed minorities (Jews, Slavs, non- Aryans), in the slavic satellites and Germany. In a world where the US protects everyone else’s freedoms, Troy probably feels great resentment toward the country for it’s treatment of African Americans.

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Throughout scene one we see Troy undermine the success of other African Americans on multiple occasions. He didn’t like that his son could choose to be a musician if he wanted to instead of doing hard labor, he bashed Jackie Robinson’s talent, he uses a racial slur in it’s derogatory form, and he boasts and holds himself up on a pedestal over other African Americans.

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Troy since having his hopes and dreams dashed has tried to limit the hopes and dreams of his own children in order to limit their exposure to disappointment. This is why he fights with them to get normal jobs like the average person has.

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Troy is very traditional in his duties and so is Rose. He works and tries to achieve a good union job which was the American dream at the time while Rose takes care of the domestic activities. He tries to impose these duties on his children and that is why he is so hesitant to give Lyons the money to continue to support his pursuit of music which does not allow Lyons to carry out his responsibility to care for himself.

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The Maxson household is very traditional in its structure. Troy works while Rose does the domestic arrangement. While Troy is undoubtedly the head of the house he still has respect for his wife and listens to her and considers her advice showing that he still respects her as a person.

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Because of Troy’s past experiences he tries to mold his sons to be more realistic which is what he thinks is best. Troy loves his children and wants them to follow the route of least resistance to the hardships of life.

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Troy’s past is the major factor in why he is jaded in the present. Troy was a good baseball player and if race was not important might of had a chance to play in the league but he was not in the right time. Knowing his experiences he tries to warn his children to think practically and not always dream so you will not come crashing back to the ground.

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Troy wants and believes in equality unlike some other blacks at the time but still is jaded. He wishes for segregation to end but realizes the chances of that happening are slow and and he lives in a world where it is best to not challenge it.

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Cory dedicates a large portion of his time to mastering his craft on the football field; a hobby in which his father Troy scolds him for. Cory has aspirations that he can make a career out of football, something he loves. As a result of his goals, he finds himself spending less time working at home and is even mocked by his father for not helping with the fence.

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Troy finds himself in a traditional work cycle; he goes to work to earn money and provide for his family. He believes that his duty should be a parallel to the duties of the rest of his family. He wants his sons to do the exact same thing, and even offers Lyons a job picking up Rubbish with him

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The time period is set in the 1950's, and women were still viewed as inferior to men. Despite this, the reader can see Rose subtly fight back against Troy. When Lyons asks for money and Troy denies him, Rose steps in and overrules Troys decision. Rose also is a voice of reason when it comes to Troy telling his stories.

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Troys stubborn mentality causes him to raise flags regarding Lyons choices. Troy never raised Lyons, and he views him as a more feminine man. Lyons would rather do something he likes then something that will keep food on his table, a decision that frustrates Troy

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Troy was raised as a traditional man; one who works hard for his money and doesn't accept handouts. This mentality has established Troys line of reasoning in which he applies to his sons. The way he lived growing up is the same way that he expects his kids to grow up

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Obstacles and racism versus hopes and dreams

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Obstacles and racism versus hopes and dreams

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The dreams in the characters are nothing more than that, dreams, what prevents them from turning them into a reality is racism and the few opportunities they face as a black society, this is demonstrated both in sports skills and musical talents.

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Troy finds himself scolding other black people who put themselves in successful positions; something first illustrated with his hatred for Jackie Robinson. Troy wants to be a figure head of sorts for the black community, and believes he is better then other people around him.

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In addition to the responsibilities at work, which were quite discriminatory, they also had responsibilities within the home, for example the men had the responsibility to provide economically at home, while the woman was in charge of the kitchen and the care of the children.

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In our group conversation we agreed on the idea that there were clearly established roles in society between men and women, where men show an air of superiority and masculine pride, while women are not even worthy of participating in conversations.

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In talking to my group about this topic, we shared the idea that Troy does not have a good relationship with any of his sons, we were also intrigued by the first of his children who is even older than his current wife, in addition,  something that  called our Attention was the guilt and frustration he felt towards himself and how he demonstrated it in front of his sons.

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In our group we discussed about Troy's past, for example, before he met Rose, he flirted and had affairs with different women without any commotion.

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After talking with my group, we agreed that during the reading it is evident the scarcity of opportunities that black people face both in the work, educational and sports areas, this being the proof of the racism that was lived at the time.

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Cory wants to live out his dreams of pursuing sports however his father is not supportive because it’s not a common occupation. Troy is also showing signs of jealousy since he was not able to pursue his passions like Cory would

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Troy wants his sons to have a typical job so they could provide for their wives since that is the responsibilities of a man.

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In society the men are supposed to be the financial support in the relationship all the women do household chores and take care of the kids. Troy also emphasize this double standard when he talks about another woman and tells his wife to get out of his conversation.

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Troy does not have a close relationship with his sons because he believes in the typical stereotype that men should be tough and have common jobs to provide for their wife. When Cory tries to pursue his dreams it’s like Troy is jealous that Cory has a choice of being able to pursue his dreams when Troy was not able to.

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Troy experienced a time period full of racism and inequality. Therefore he has been taught to and continue to believe in that mentality.

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Hopes and Dreams are addressed within the text as Tory explains his own dreams coming true as he never believed that he would eventually have commodities which are usually only associated with whites. He describes how he was fine with an outhouse even though it posed an issue during the winter but never actually thought that he would achieve something that a white person only had. He therefore surpassed his hopes by exceeding the social norm.

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Troy often uses derogatory terms especially when describing the success of African-Americans. He often put down the success of African-Americans instead of supporting them. It seems that he often does not want others to succeed if he himself does not succeed.

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A main idea over the topic of Duties/Responsibilities was that Troy believes that he is the perfect model of duty and responsibility while his sons are lazy because they don't resemble his work ethic. He describes himself to his sons as a hardworking man that provides for his family while belittling his son Lyons by saying that he does not have a stable job and is not doing right by his partner.

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Our group established how men have the most power over women in this society and therefore treat them as interior. Troy exhibits this behavior not only by objectifying women with his description to Bono but also treats his wife Rose as lesser than him when he tells her that their conversation is for men only.

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The topic of Fathers and Sons was visited in my group and made me realize how not only does Troy have a bad relationship with his son Lyons, but also tries to assert his dominance over his son Cory as well. Troy does not seem to have a good relationship with his son Lyons due to his unusual life choices compared to his own and also tries to control his son Cory's actions by wanting to force him to do work around the house instead of doing something he likes to do like football.

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With my group, we discussed how the past really shapes the ideas and mentality of Troy in the present. Although the past was very different from how things are right now, Troy still thinks of the past as the present and does not adapt to the changes that have occurred.

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After talking with my group, I was able to point out and understand how the slurs were used in the context of Troy and Bono. While those terms are usually derogatory, Tory uses it as a way to identify someone close to him that also experiences his struggles and therefore means no ill intent.

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A situation that exemplifies Troy's idea of a woman's place is when he requires Rose to give Lyons the money. This implies that Troy believes that compassion is a woman's trait, and his pride gets in the way of showing compassion to even his own son.

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Troy believes in the idealistic American dream, in that with hard work he has the ability to do anything. When Troy sees discriminatory practices in his workplace, he doesn't hesitate to file a complaint, since he believes that he is not under threat of being fired because the system will work as intended. Thus, he believes his duty and place in society is to maintain his work ethic, entirely ignoring the real threat of racism that might stand in his way.

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Troy is resentful of the success of contemporary black athletes such as Jackie Robinson, as well as his son Cory who's a budding football star, which is rooted in internalized racism. Instead of finding solidarity with black people who have overcome adversity, he is indignant because he believes that he worked harder than those who have succeeded in a world that is less exclusionary to black people.

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Troy is really against the idea of his sons pursing in an artistic career. With Lyon’s dream of becoming a musician and Cory’s dream of becoming a football player, Troy doesn’t want them to experience the discrimination he had dealt with in the past.

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By talking with my group, I realized how rooted in the past Troy truly is. As times change, it appears that he struggles to accept societal shifts and changes, which is difficult when having to raise young children.

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A majority of Troy's views were procured throughout his career. The racism he faced in the baseball world (couldn't go to Major Leagues), and now in the sanitation department (can't drive a truck) has largely influenced the way that Troy views the world around him.

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We discussed the tension that exists between father and son as Troy refuses to acknowledge Lyons' career as a musician. However, I realized that this refusal probably stems from the setbacks that Troy has faced throughout his career (specifically in baseball). He just doesn't want his son to have to endure what he once did.

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Despite all of his faults (including a child from an affair), Rose has accepted Troy and remained loyal to him. It sheds a lot of light onto his character that despite all of Rose's efforts, Troy could easily go behind her back and engage with other women.

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As the man of the family, Troy is meant to provide. We discussed how his lack of support has plagued him with guilt, which only worsens when he sees Rose playing the lotto (he can't provide financially) and when he realizes he used Gabriel's disability funds for the wrong means when he is responsible for Gabriel's well-being.

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Initially, it appeared to me that Troy did not support his two sons. After talking, though, it became clear that he wanted them to be successful in jobs that guaranteed stability & support. Rather, Cory and Lyons view success based on happiness. While they all have dreams for the future that involve success, that view of success differs between generations.