In the movie Fences, how does Troy feel about Cory getting recruited to play football in college? Why does he feel this way? What is the role of...

In Fences, Troy is against his son, Cory, playing football in college because Troy believes that the white players and coaches will never allow Cory to succeed in football, just as Troy was kept from playing baseball in the National Leagues years ago. The movie (and the play on which it's based) are about how race/ethnicity can prevent people from living the American Dream or having access to the American Dream, as Troy was...

In Fences, Troy is against his son, Cory, playing football in college because Troy believes that the white players and coaches will never allow Cory to succeed in football, just as Troy was kept from playing baseball in the National Leagues years ago. The movie (and the play on which it's based) are about how race/ethnicity can prevent people from living the American Dream or having access to the American Dream, as Troy was denied a chance to pursue his dreams because he is African American. However, Troy's sons, Lyons and Cory, the members of a younger generation, hope for something better. For example, when Troy asks Lyons if he wants a job working on a garbage truck, Lyons says that he wants something better than picking up other people's garbage. Lyons hopes to become a musician. Troy simply tries to survive, and he always feel that death is around the corner for him, but Lyons and Cory, his sons, believe that their lives can be better and more meaningful. 

Rose's dream is to keep her family together and to create a loving place for them. She even adopts Raynell, the daughter of Troy's mistress, Alberta. Rose sees Alberta's death as a misfortune that has benefited her, as it has allowed her to have the children she always dreamed about. 

Troy is not really a villain. It is implied that while he does not understand his children's dreams and can be insensitive towards his loving wife, he has always tried to care for them in the way he knows how. Having survived rough times, he sees survival as his goal, and he wants to protect his children from the racism and difficulties he endured. The real villain of Fences is racism and the way in which it curtails people's dreams and makes them bitter and resigned.

Troy is similar to Gatsby because he clings to the dreams of his past, such as playing baseball, and thinks that everything stays the same (much as Gatsby does when he believes Daisy can still love him). Troy believes that American society has not evolved since he was growing up—not with regard to the chances it gives African Americans. Troy does not believe, as Rose says, that "times have changed." Troy is also similar to Gatsby in that his dreams are deferred. They come from very different backgrounds. Gatsby is a wealthy white man who comes from the working class and Troy is a poor African American man whose main victory is to ask his boss if African American people can drive garbage trucks rather than just do the lifting. However, Troy and Gatsby are similar in that they are both unable to access the American Dream that is accessible to the very wealthy born into the elite. They both find that hard work and drive alone do not allow them to achieve the American Dream.