Alan Nadel in May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson states “August Wilson’s female characters are represented as nurturers” (6-7).This is exactly how August Wilson presents Rose to his readers. A key element is that Wilson names her after a flower just as his own mother; whose name was Daisy. It is apparent that through Rose, August Wilson wants us to see his mother. He intentionally portrays her as the caring, ideal woman, and one who stands by her man no matter how difficult this may be.
Nadel also mentions:
“What differentiates them is how they interpret the concept of nurturing, and what sacrifices they have to make in the process, for Wolfson’s world is always necessarily one of scarcity and limitation” (6-7).
Evidently, Rose is submissive, powerful, caring and very nurturing. This is how women were anticipated to be in this era. Although Rose is submissive at the beginning of the play, she becomes a powerful woman at the end. Rose proves this when she decides to raise Raynell and by becoming involved in the church.
Rose first marries Troy because she knew he would provide for her and the children they would have someday. Rose is determined to make her marriage work, even if it means giving up a little bit of herself in the process. She was certain she would be able to make Troy happy. The fact that Troy is older and confident is an important factor. Troy provides the stability that she needs.
Rose was willing to be submissive as long as Troy remained faithful. Her kind-heartedness was profound. Rose took care of Troy for many years. Her nurturing ways were what made her who she was, the always caring wife, mother, and friend. Everyone who knew Rose knew s...
... middle of paper ...
...right for her family. Rose rarely thought of herself. Her dream of a happy marriage would no longer be. Could she somehow relate to this poem?
What happens to dream deferred? By Langston Hughes
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore¬¬¬¬¬---
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over---
Like syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Fortunately for Rose, she did not explode. At the end of the play she still has her pride.
Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. What happens to a dream deferred? Poem, 1951.
Nadel, Alan. May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson. Iowa City: U. of Iowa Press, 1994. Print.
Wilson, August. Fences. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2007. Print.
...hand Rose wanted the fence built in order to keep the people she loved and cared about in it. These two different perspectives served to symbolize the difference between Troy and Rose in the story. At the end of the play you see Rose’s fence brings her family back together, showing that if you plants a seed, the idea of building the fence, and take care of it, building the fence, in time it will bear the fruit of your work and love, the family coming together.
He said he had an affair with another woman to escape reality and his responsibilities. Troy and Rose had somewhat of a perfect relationship in the beginning of the play. They seemed happy and it didn’t seem like anything could make them apart. However, when Troy told Rose about the affair they immediately tore apart. Troy didn’t apologize to Rose nor showed any regret for what he had done.
Next, consider the text trying to express her frustration with life: “She wants to live for once. But doesn’t quite know what that means. Wonders if she has ever done it. If she ever will.” (1130) You can sense her need and wanting to be independent of everything and everyone, to be truly a woman on her own free of any shackles of burden that this life has thrown upon her. Also, there is an impression that her family does not really care that she is leaving from her sisters to her disinterested father. “Roselily”, the name is quite perplexing considering a rose stands for passion, love, life; while the lily has associations with death, and purity. Still at the same time the name aptly applies to her because the reader knows she is ultimately doomed to wilt away in a loveless marriage in Chicago. Even though she is convincing herself that she loves things about him it is all just a ploy to trick herself into believing that this marriage could be the answer to all her problems. Now on to the men of Roselily’s past most of which are dead- beat dads that could not care about what happens to their children, or where they go.
Wilson, August. Fences: A Play in Two Acts. New York, NY: New American Library, 1986.
The diction used in this scene shows the strength in Rose’s voice. “I’ll take care of your baby for you… cause… like you say… she’s innocent… and you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time. From right now... this child got a mother. But you a womanless man.” This scene is very emotional and climatic. The bluntness of Rose’s words and the lack of sympathy she has for Troy shows the reader how little love Rose has left for him. The last sentence of the quote is really what leaves the reader’s jaw dropped. Wilson allows Rose to say so much with so little. In addition, her strength in this scene is very admirable. For me, I see my own mother in Rose. Most people admire their mother and see them as a mentally strong person. That being said, I am able to empathize with Rose because I am able to relate her to my own mother. I think that if my mother was in the same situation as Rose, she would have taken the baby in as her own as
Creon felt sympathy when he realizes that his wife killed himself following the death of his own child, and Rose feel sympathy for the baby that Troy has from another women. Rose says, “ Okay, Troy...you’re right. I’ll take care of your baby for you...cause...like you say...she’s innocent...and you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time. (She takes the baby from him.) From right now...this child has a mother,” (Wilson, 38). Rose feels bad that the baby will have to grow up without having a mother figure, so she steps up in return. I feel like Rose became the bigger person just like Antigone became the bigger person when she didn’t let the king just disrespect her brother so she stepped up and let her dead brother soul be in peace. They are both strong
...e he ruined his marriage by cheating on her. Rose takes care of Troy’s newborn baby Raynell because she believes that Raynell needs a mother figure in her life and not a worthless man; she then kicks Troy out of the house. After Troy dies, Rose forgives him. Rose married Troy after he was released from prison. Troy knows that he is unsuccessful in accomplishing what he wanted for him and his family. Troy is a garbage man who feels that the white man kept him from doing a lot of things that he wanted to do in life. Troy does not have many goals in life. Troy is in own little world and does not like to be judged.
This is the reason why Troy fights against his family and himself, because he feels like he is the only one who can protect them. To Cory and Rose, Troy is destroying the family because of his stubborn thoughts but to Troy he is saving the family from falling apart and this distrust causes the family to eventually fall apart. Troy really does try his hardest to be a good father and is bothered by the fact that Rose and Cory do not see it as him trying to protect them but more of him destroying the family. This hurts Troy because his family is his everything they are what he “fights” for he works day end and day out to put food on the table and try to give them a life he thinks the deserve. August Wilson in “fences” Troy says, “ I love this woman, so much it hurts. I love her so much… I done run out of ways to love her.”(1.1) Wilson uses to show how much Troy actually cares for his wife, to Troy Rose is his everything, she is the light in his darkness, she try’s to guide him back to a sane man. Another Way Wilson shows how much Troy loves his family is when Troy is talking to his family and says that “ You all line up at the door, with your hands out. I give you the lint from my pockets. I give you my sweat and my blood…”(1.3) Troy is saying that he will give them everything until he has absolutely nothing but the lint from his pockets. He will go out of his way to make
Rose’s loyalty to her family showed a load amount of strength in character. Even though she was not the mother of the child, who would eventually be named Raynell, she still stepped up to the task, even if it was against what she wanted in life. In the play Fences it states, “Okay Troy.. you’re right. I’ll take care of your baby for
First off, she was submissive to Troy because she felt he gave her opportunities to live a better life. He gave her the chance to have a husband and a son: the family she always wanted. Rose feels a sense of responsibility towards Troy because of this. What Troy does not do, however, is give her the chance to her raise her child. Cory was mostly raised and influenced by his father. It is clear that Troy controlled Cory’s life, responsibilities, and punishments, while Rose’s thoughts and ideas were overshadowed by Troy’s wishes. For example, while Rose pushed for Troy to let his son play football, Troy had the final say. As hard as Rose pushed for Troy to allow their son to do what made him happiest, Tory is relentless and refuses to listen to Rose at all. She is silenced by his dominance. As the marriage progressed, Rose tries harder and harder to make their relationship work; she even had Troy build a fence around their yard as a metaphorical attempt to keep their family together. This is Rose’s final attempt of having a perfect family and love. She is afraid of losing what matters most to her, her family, and this is her way of keeping them close. This dynamic lasted for eighteen years, until Troy cheated on Rose and got another woman pregnant. His true character shows through in this scene, because instead of trying to apologize for what he did, he tries to justify his actions. He is even close to getting physically violent with her. Rose will not accept his excuse. For the first time in eighteen years Rose stands up for herself and does not back down until her voice is heard. Rose finally realizes that Troy only has power over her because she lets him. From this moment, she refuses to be a part of his life anymore. She does, however, agree to raise his child, Raynell, after her mother dies in childbirth. Troy, on the other hand, will no longer be a part of her
Rose was disheartened hearing the news of Troy’s affair with Alberta, and have not talked to Troy for six months. During these six months, Troy has been coming home late and made no further efforts to mend their relationship. Rose becomes very frustrated living like this, so on an early afternoon, she tries to talk to Troy and convince him to come home directly from work. Troy’s response is not something you would expect from someone who did wrong in their relationship. He said, “‘All of a sudden, after all this time, you want to talk to me, huh? You ain’t wanted to talk to me for months. You ain’t wanted to talk to me last night. You ain’t wanted no part of me then. What you wanna talk to me about now? ”’ (Wilson 73). This quote tells us that Troy said Rose did not want to talk to him months and days ago, so why does she wants to talk to him now. He responded very rude and brazenly probably because his pride was hurt when Rose didn’t want to talk to him and he was not able to control his “woman”. Another reason could be that he doesn’t know how to make himself subordinate or apologize for cheating in way to show regret or his fault. Instead, he learned from his father to be tough, and that pushed Rose away. This adheres to gender roles of
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
August Wilson uses the symbol of a 'fence' in his play, Fences, in numerous occasions. Three of the most important occasions fences are symbolized are by protection, Rose Maxson and Troy Maxson's relationship, and Troy against Mr. Death. Throughout the play, characters create 'fences' symbolically and physically to be protected or to protect. Examples such as Rose protecting herself from Troy and Troy protecting himself form Death. This play focuses on the symbol of a fence which helps readers receive a better understanding of these events. The characters' lives mentioned change around the fence building project which serves as both a literal and a figurative symbol, representing the relationships that bond and break in the backyard.
Her father died and left her and her mother in a hard situation as he made most of the money. She must marry into a family with a lot of wealth to continue the type of lifestyle she was use to, the abundance of valuable possessions and money. Cal, Roses fiance is one that makes it clear on her place in their relationship. Gender stratification is also a big role in their relationship. Cal makes it exceptionally clear that Rose must obey and reflect well on him, and if she doesn 't not violence could be in place. Gender Stratification shows that Cal is the higher between the two according to their gender. Cal felt that he had prestige over others like Rose and Jack. That his achievements and his high class and being a successful male made him much more qualified to be with Rose, even if Rose didn 't agree. Rose didn 't care about her fiance 's achievements and prestige, as her feelings for Jack were growing. They snuck off to hide from her fiance and because their relationship wasn 't accepted for many
The rose is very fragile and needs constant care. Love is not a matter of choice; it is a matter of consequence; indeed, it is a matter of survival. Men must learn to love one another or expire. Love is what gives life meaning. The little prince's love for his rose is so important to him that his love gives the author's life purpose and direction.