The American Dream In Fences And Willy Loman's Death Of A Salesman

Troy is clearly venting his anger at the racial inequality at his job. The white men get to do the easier work for the same pay and there is nothing he can do about it. Even if he mentions it to the proper authorities, they will do nothing about it. This leaves Troy feeling powerless, and it shows him that even if he tries to move up in the world, he will always have to work a lot harder than everyone else. It is evident why Troy would want to stay with his current back-breaking profession and not move up, thus keeping the Maxson’s in a cycle of poverty and preventing them from living happily. Again, it is crucial to understand that this kind of injustice was going on all across America, sometimes even crueler. The Maxson’s were one of the numerous

What is very significant about this time and Troy is his last name. Troys last name is Maxson is a combination of Mason and Dixon, after the Mason-Dixon Line, was the name that was given to the imaginary line that separated the slave states from the free states. This name is significant to Troy because it symbolically shows Troy's character as a man who lives on a thin line of two opposing beliefs. Troys past is both rooted in the north and the south, one half is full with hope and the other half is filled with disappointment. Troy once had an excelled career in baseball but that dream had fell off the table into a more depressing life in a dead-end

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman offers a distinct commentary on the American Dream, best explored in the death of its protagonist, Willy Loman. Almost immediately before Willy and his wife Laura are to make their final payment on their twenty-five year mortgage and take full ownership of their house, Willy, crazed and desperate, commits suicide. As his family mourns and praises him, Willy’s eldest son, Biff, bemoans, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong…He never knew who he was” (Miller 111). This occurrence sheds light on the truth Miller hoped to convey: The American Dream – what should be equated with home, family, and happiness – may all too often be corrupted into something much more superficial. It may be warped into the

Troy’s personality is very conservative. He is an angry man who has been a victim of racial violence and allowed his bitterness to become a barrier to new opportunities that opened at this time. As a child Troy wanted out of his abusive father’s relationship. His father barely looked after his 11 children and had always puts himself first before anyone else. Instead, young Troy escapes north to Pittsburg ending himself in jail due to theft, which is where he meets his ace

Moving forward to another conflict in this play, there are the generational clashes between Troy and both of his sons. Troy holds onto the past and clearly lets that influence how he raises his sons, with Lyon for example. Troy being in jail for fifteen years of Lyon’s life meant that he was not there in the very influential time for a young boy. It is safe to assume that this is a contributing fact as to why their relationship is so rocky. We can also see the generational clash between the two of them with how Troy reacts to the career path that Lyon has chosen for himself.

Both of them have the racism, discrimination, the generation conflicting. The hard period time in which Troy Maxson in Fences, he is an African-American. He has his dream to be a player in the Major Leagues. The racist segregated society destroys the dream of a man. The big suffering which he has to be from his child life until he has a family and the relationships in the rest of his life. A father of his children, a husband of Rose, he volunteers put the big responsibility on his shoulder. He is proud of his protection on his family to be safe. However, the conflict between Cory and Troy, that is a big picture of interculturalism in the relationship between father and son. Troy put the bad thought in his son's head about him by accident. Cory thinks his father never likes him because Troy stops Cory to play football and attend to college. Cory thinks Troy want Cory to be a stupid one, just working for a supermarket. Troy tries to explain the problem and make it clear to Cory. Troy wants his family to be safe. Troy wants to protect all people in his controlling because he knows this feudal society, is never fair and equal to African-American. The fear of Troy is so big to blind to see the future of his son. He is scared of people around him, the White people, America society. The fear of the Black American. they are always the lowest stream of this society. They were exploited labor, they being held as

Although there were a couple of mistakes he made, he made sure he did not make the same mistake his dad made which was not providing for the family. Rose was Troy’s wife who respected him as a husband and made him and her children dinner every night. According to what he says, he truly loves his wife; "I love this woman. I love this woman so much it hurts. I love her so much...I done run out of ways of loving her" (1.1.173). This quote allows the reader to realize that the Maxson family does have a foundation of love. Cory and Lyons also admired their father because in their eyes he was an excellent father figure. Bono was Troy’s best friend whom he met at a correction center and has known him for 30 years. Troy was a role model to Bono and he admired Troy's leadership and responsibility at work.

Troy took care of his family as a man should. He took care of his sons with all that he had, but the love for his family was not evident in his character, especially with what he did to Rose. Cheating on Rose was a very selfish, and disrespectful act that showed no love towards his family. Troy’s behavior does not derive from racism, but stems from the relationship he had with his father when he was a teenager. Without him knowing, Troy was very similar to his father. His father “stayed right here with his family. But he was just as evil as he could be” (Wilson 905). Troy’s description of his father was the same person he was. In his conversation with Cory he says to him: “like you? I go out of here every morning…bust my butt…putting gup with them crackers

Troy fits a character who would have lived in the 1950’s, having experienced discrimination, an abusive father and a changing society towards African-Americans in that period.

The struggles Willy and Troy face in achieving success call into question the legitimacy of the American dream. The American Dream perpetuates the notion that all people in America, regardless of their background, can achieve success. The two patriarchs, Willy and Troy, have very different and contorted philosophies regarding this dream; both spark fury and imminent failure when it comes to communicating that dream to their families.

He is the center of both small and large conflicts. His ability to believe in self-created illusions and his inability to accept the choices of others in life that differ from his own philosophy is what causes him to instigate conflicts. His philosophy is mainly based on experience, this experiences stem from his rough childhood, prison life, his baseball career and the discriminative hiring practices employed by his employers at the sanitation department. During this time frame, the segregation between blacks and whites was at its peak and this influence was the major governing factor to which Troy’s life was built upon. Throughout the play Troy is mostly seen as an average African American bowing down to racism and segregation. In the beginning of the play though (Act 1 Scene 1) Troy stands up to his white employers and questions them on why only white people are driving trucks and not the black people too. This is the first time Troy is seen standing up against racism and eventually becomes the first black truck driver.

Summary Life has never been easy for Troy Maxson. He grew up on a sharecrop farm and was constantly living fear of the abuse of his father. Troy now lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Rose and their son Cory. Cory currently plays football for his high school team and aspires to play in college and even beyond. His father, a former professional baseball player, presses Cory to give up football as when Troy played professionally, he was mistreated because of the color of his skin.

One of Troy’s major flaws is his obsession with having a practical career and a steady income. He claims that, although he does not “like” his son, he will always work hard to provide for him because “It’s my job. It’s my responsibility… A man got to take care of his family.” (Wilson 38). He cares very deeply that his sons are also able to guarantee income, even if it costs them their passion. Troy disapproves of his son Lyons decision to pursue

Troy becomes so wrapped up in his own misfortunes and bitterness that he fails to realize what strength his family really has (Zirin). They are trying and willing to help him but he is unable to fathom the possibility of that because he is so far gone. Troy says “…Come on! It’s between you and me now!

Troy and his son Cory have a really heavily impacted love hate relationship. Troy and Cory both view racism and white people in various types of ways. Firstly on page 2 Troy states “ Why you got the white mens driving and the colored lifting,” this already shows a discrepancy that Troy has towards white people. Troy views him and his friends unequally to the white people in the society during the time period. Now Troy sees that he has a lack of equality compared to white people. Did white people feel they had more privilege compared to blacks? It’s just a perspective that Troy has about white people right off the back, now he later runs into some conflict with his loved ones.