Troy Maxson is the main character of Fences by August Wilson, and he is a Tragic Hero. A Tragic Hero is a protagonist who is heroic but has some flaw or weakness that leads to their downfall or demise. Troy is a Tragic Hero because even though he wanted to become a better man than his father he still hurt his own children in the same way. When Troy is a teenager, he fights with his father and runs away, and Troy’s son Cory does the same thing to Troy. Troy wanted to protect his son from the same things he experienced, but in doing so limited his son and harmed his future. Despite Troy being a Tragic Hero, the play ends off on a hopeful note with Cory being successful, meaning that while Troy unfortunately couldn’t break the cycle of abuse that his father inflicted, his son Cory might.