Troy Character Analysis

It is obvious to the audience that Troy and Cory simply do not get along. The two are constantly bickering, mostly about Cory's dream to play football at the college level. Since playing baseball did not get Troy anywhere, he feels that football will not benefit Cory and that Cory should "get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living" (8). Troy constantly denounces Cory's dream and pressures his son to quit the highschool football team so that he can work at the local grocery store. The verbal abuse of Cory by Troy is enough to make Cory question whether or not his own father even likes him, but it is not until after Troy's affair with Alberta is out in the open that Troy and Cory's unhealthy relationship reaches a whole new level.

That setback early in his life carried on with him. Troy is often angry without any reasons. He often takes this anger out on his son Cory. He doesn’t take the role of a good father figure; he sees Cory as a responsibility. His childhood affected the way he is as a father.

Due to the fact that Troy does not want Cory to play sports sets a boundary between the two of them. On page 5 Troy tells Cory “I told that boy a bot that football stuff. The white man ain’t gonna let him go nowhere with that football.” Troy does not want Cory to play football because he feels like he will not get anywhere with it. Another thing that puts a fence between Cory and Troy is jealousy. Troy is jealous of Cory because he actually has a chance to live out his dream and play a sport. When Troy was young and he played baseball it was back in the time of racism so he could not make it to the major baseball league like he wanted to even though he was a great player. On page 27, Cory says to Troy “Just cause you didn’t have a chance! You just scared I’m gonna be better than you, that’s all.” The relationship between Cory and his father is not very good. This could be because Troy is jealous of his son for getting a chance to do something that he could not. This could also be because Troy loves his son very much and does not want to see Cory get his feelings hurt if he does not make it where he wants to with playing

Cory is very aware that his father is envious of his athletic accomplishments. Troy also has no respect for Lyons and he does not support his dream to be a musician.

     Troy took care of Gabriel after the war. This made him think that he was a good brother. Troy wasn’t a good brother to Gabriel. He stole the war money that Gabriel got. He used the money that he got to build himself a house. Gabriel couldn’t take care of himself, so Troy oversaw Gabriel’s life. After a while

This argument between Cory and Troy makes their relationship start to crumble because Troy does not allow Cory to do what makes him happy. In my own opinion, parents and their teenage children have very difficult relationships because teenagers seem to think they are the adult and are capable of making their own decisions. When Cory wants to be an adult and make his

After understanding the protagonist’s heroic side, it is necessary to understand that he also had a tragic downfall and that he has certain weaknesses. Troy made sure to provide for his family materialistically, but unfortunately did not expose too much of his love to his children. He was able to reluctantly give Lyons ten dollars a week but that was not enough to help him make a living. Lyons states "I just stay with my music because that's the only way I can find to live in the world" (1.1.153). His dream is to be a musician. But maybe he needed more than ten dollars a week to conquer his dream? Maybe he needed some father to son affection?

Almost everyone Troy encounters in the play, he betrays, for example taking away his son's dreams, and locking away his brother. One person Troy betrays is his son, Cory, out of spite and jealousy. Since Troy is Cory’s father he feels he can control his life even if it means hurting Cory, one way he does this is by taking away his dream, “Papa done went up to the school and told Coach Zellman I can’t play football no more.” (Act 1 Scene 4) Troy knows that this is what Cory wants to do, he wants to play professional football. Due to the fact that Troy’s baseball dream did not come true, he pulled Cory out of football, claiming that it was for his own good when in reality it was out of jealousy. Troy also betrays his brother by locking him in a mental hospital. In the beginning of the play, Troy claims he wants his brother to be free and explains that nobody should be locked up. Then towards the end of the play Rose tells Troy, “I said send him to the hospital, you said let him be free… now you done went down there and signed him to the hospital for half of his money.” Troy claims he wants his brother to be happy but truthfully he wanted half of Gabriel's money, and just did not want to admit it. In order to receive half of the money Troy took away Gabriel's happiness and betrayed

Gabriel is a wise, observant, and slightly delusional. Troy uses Gabriel disability checks to pay for his house while Gabriel lives in an apartment. When Troy says, “Don’t nobody want to be locked up, Rose. What you wanna lock him up for?” (Act 1, scene 2, Line 174) in a way he his turning down the idea of getting Gabe into a mental hospital. Troy is controlling Gabe’s life by not even considering the chance at a better life for gabe. The hospital could provide for him, but Troy believes Gabe can take care of himself. By the end of the play, Gabriel is admitted into a mental hospital. He ends the play by opening the “gates of heaven” for

Where Cory has aspirations of playing football, Troy says that he must continue with his more practical job at the A&P.

When raising children, everything you “learn” on how to be a parent comes from your own parents or the ones that took care of you. Troy’s behaviors or attitudes towards his two sons are reflections of his own experience with his father when he was younger. He had a very rough childhood growing up, to the point where he wishes he never met his father. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't known my daddy. He ain't cared nothing about no kids. [...] But I'll say this for him...he felt a responsibility toward us." (I,iv, pg 50). His father had the same attitude that Troy has with his two sons. They viewed caring

This situation makes me wonder if he is actually scared that Cory will be an amazing athlete and will be better than him. Troy maybe jealous that his son has opportunities to succeed that he never had, no matter how great of an athlete he was, he could have never made it to the pros because of his skin color. Now his son is being recruited by professional teams to play for them. Troy may be against this because he doesn't want his son to be able to live the dream that he was never able to live. This makes their father son relationship very interesting. It is said that fathers typically want their sons to be better off then they are, especially not very wealthy people. You would think in this situation Troy would support Cory in what he wants to do and be happy for him that he has such wonderful opportunities. Troy maybe be acting like this because Troy still lives in a dream world and still thinks he a great base ball player. He has trouble accepting that his

All Cory wanted was warm love and affection, but Troy doesn’t know how provide that to him since all he ever got was tough love. When Cory started to fight against Troy, Troy said, “I done spent the last seventeen years worrying about what you got… you a man… turn your behind around and walk out this yard (Wilson 1177). On one hand, the line is pretty heartwarming because Troy admits that he cares about Cory enough to worry about “what [Cory] got”. On the other hand, Troy is blinded by his own experiences that he forces his son live in way that he thinks is right without any consideration for what

But you a womanless man”. Troy accepts this ultimatum because he is willing to sacrifice his own needs for the needs of his child. Around the same time, Cory shows support for Gabe when he stands up for him against Troy. “It ain't your yard. You took Uncle Gabe's money he got from the army to buy this house and then you put him out”.

Rose noted that Cory was trying to imitate his father. She begged her husband, “Why don’t you let the boy go ahead and play football, Troy? Ain’t no harm in that. He’s just trying to be like you with the sports” (Wilson). Troy belittled his wife’s counsel and prioritized his own desires.