Prompt - Troy turns out to be a reflection of his own father in terms of the harsh treatment he gives his own son, Cory. Are Troy and Cory locked into a cycle of abuse? Why or why not? If so, then do you think Cory will be able to break this cycle in his own future?
In Act II, Scene 4, when Cory and Troy were having an argument, Cory expressed both his and Rose’s fear towards Troy. He also claims that Troy would abuse him and was terrified as a child, but decided to confront his fear; now he’s older, he knows he can overpower Troy. Both Troy and Cory had most likely entered in the second stage at the confrontment during that scene. Cory would usually wouldn’t go against Troy verbally, but in the end he did after Troy couldn’t handle Cory’s absence for baseball. In the third stage of abuse, the Reconcilation, was determined through Troy’s death. His death represents the end of the conflict between them, but doesn’t seem as a sold “reconcilation”. The last stage was in the last scene, Rose suggested to Cory to forget all the past events and conflicts that caused such tension between him and Troy. Letting it go willingly, the “honeymoon” phase was idicated through one of Troy’s songs as Cory sang with Rayndell.
Personally, I think Cory will be able to break this cycle in his own future because Cory represents the new generation. Unlike Troy, he was offered a better future at a young age and can go to college with no concern for discrimination. Troy, representing the older generation, faced the hatred by the “Devil” or in this time period, I pressume mainly the KKK. Facing both abuse from his father and the discrimination, Troy has viewed the world as “against the colored”. However, in Cory’s future, segregation was outlawed and his sports opportunity was offered at a young age compared to Troy’s, who began his career around his 40’s. With his strong desire to be different from Troy, Cory would most likely ensure himself to stay away from the cycles of abuse.
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