Don't Strike Out

What is a legacy? A legacy is what someone leaves behind when they are no longer present on earth. While reading through Fences you learn a lot about the idea of a legacy and how a persons actions and personality can effect it. Troys legacy was to put everything that you can into your life to make sure you are secure and satisfied and to never strike out. When reading about Troy in the beginning of the play we start to learn a little about Troys life and how much work he has to put into his life. He faces discrimination in the work place, an abusive father, a mother who abandoned him and getting a women pregnant that wasn't wife. He faced a lot of things that turned him into the man he was. Although some parts of Troy aren't the best and he can show a lot of tough love towards his sons, its all to give them a better future than he did.

I believe that Troy left the biggest impact on Cory. This is because Troy saw a lot of himself in Cory, they both had similar dream of making sports a priority in their lives. This is one of the biggest reasons why Troy was so hard on Cory. Troy wanted to teach Cory everything he could so that he knew how to take care of a family and to have a steady job in life. Although there were things that Troy did wrong in his life he always had the best intentions for Cory. I truly think that Cory realized at the end of the book how much of an impact his dad had on shaping him into the man he is. No matter what the situation was for Troy and Cory, Troy always wanted to make Cory a better man than he was. "Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't…and at the same time he was trying to make you everything he was. I don’t know if he was right or wrong…but I do know that he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm.” (Wilson 97). This shows that Troy had nothing but good intention for Cory his whole life and that will live on with Cory and shape him to take the good parts of what his dad taught him but also to learn what not to do from his dads actions in the past.

Troy legacy was also shown when the women he got pregnant died giving birth and he was left with the baby. He took on the responsibility of the child and took the baby into him home because she was his daughter and his morals would not let him leave her behind. "Shes my daughter, rose. My own flesh and blood. I can't deny her no more than I can deny them boys"(Wilson 79). He knew in his mind that it would be a huge responsibility in life but he also knew that in his heart he couldn't leave that girl without a family to support her

Overall, I believe that Troy left a very positive legacy into the whole family. Without Troy giving everything he had in life to make sure his family was well feed and secure, they wouldn't be the people they are. Troy made sure to not let the boys be who he was but also make sure the boys had the strong realization of what it means to be a man and step up to the plate when it came down to life is throwing you a fast ball and to not strike out.