Is Troy Maxson a “Tragic Hero?” Essay

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A tragic hero is a character who used to do good deeds in the light of others but allows for his flaws or inner struggles to overcome him. As a result, this downfall leads to the character’s death. In the case of Troy Maxson, main character from the play “Fences” by August Wilson, it is clear that he constantly struggles to keep up with good deeds for his family, but unfortunately allowed his inner flaws to lead him to his lonely and tragic death. Therefore, Troy Maxson is indeed considered a tragic hero and there are pieces of evidence throughout the aforementioned play that further proves my point.

Troy Maxson is a man with two sons by the name of Cory and Lyons Maxson. He had Lyons before he went to jail with …show more content…
Regardless of the lack of emotional support from Troy, he continues aspiring to reach his goal. Troy can also be considered a hero because he allows Lyons to be an independent man.
Troy was known to be jealous of Cory because he got the opportunity to play a sport without discrimination against his race. Cory expressed his feelings to his dad in this quote:
"Papa done went up to the school and told Coach Zellman I can't play football no more. ...Told him to tell the recruiter not to come....Just cause you didn't have a chance! You just scared I'm gonna be better than you, that's all." (1.4.158-1.4.166)
Cory is clearly stressing the fact that his father said no and blames it on his jealousy, but what he does not realize is that his father is also trying to protect him from discrimination. The reason why Troy has this mentality is because he grew loving sports, just like his son, during the time of the Negro Leagues. He was discriminated against and he thinks that that is what Cory would go through. He might have been jealous, but he also played a heroic figure by protecting his son.

Towards the end of the play Troy seems to be continuing his path down “tragic lane”. He betrays his wife by cheating on her with another woman, Alberta, and impregnating her. Alberta has her daughter but dies in the act of giving birth. Troy is left with no choice but to care for his daughter. Rose cuts it off with Troy, but not
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