From reading the text I would say Fences view happiness as having fun and enjoying yourself. I think
this because both of Troy’s sons and Rose support this idea. Cory shows this by
playing football, the only times in the book Cory is peppy is when he is going
to, or coming from football. “Cory: Did you tell him about the recruiter? Rose:
Yeah, I told him. Cory: What he say?” For Lyons his happiness comes from his
musician lifestyle. To me Rose supports the idea of happiness comes from having
fun and enjoying what you are doing, because every time Troy tries to shoot
their dreams down Rose stands up for each of the sons. “Rose: Let the boy have
ten dollars, Troy” … Lyons: Thanks, Rose. Look… I got to run... I’ll see you
later. (Wilson 19) and “Rose: Why don’t you let the boy go ahead and play
football, Troy? Ain’t no harm in that. He’s just trying to be like you with the
sports.” (Wilson 39)
I think our society views happiness of when you get and/or
do what you want. People try to say that money doesn’t bring you happiness, but
we all know that we would be at least a little happier if we had more money. I
think the reason for that is because you can get more of the things you want.
With money you could also go on vacations, or do more of what you want. This
shows that happiness comes from the idea of doing and getting the things you
like. No I don’t think that happiness is a right. But I do believe you can
create your own happiness, so if you want happiness you can achieve it. It’s
the law of attraction, if you truly believe and do all that you can to make a certain
dream come true it will.
I believe that these two definitions of happiness are very similar.
The idea of doing what you want is supported by both the book and our society
today. Getting the things you want isn’t really shown in the book because for
Troy and his family money is tight. But maybe if they could buy the things they
wanted it might bring more happiness, who knows.
Good job, and I feel that your right, one of rose's happiness is her family and her happiness lies within her family and so I think defending the boys just really shows how she wants the same happiness for them to
ReplyDeleteI like how you approached this prompt in the beginning and took all the character’s happiness as examples. I never thought of it like that. For me, I just took Troy’s point of view and I said that Troy’s version of happiness is freedom and no worries. I took that route and talked about how he ran from his problems and when he doesn't have to worry about bills and money then he is his happiest which is why this other girl makes him happy. This correlates to your overarching idea of happiness from the play. You said, “From reading the text I would say Fences view happiness as having fun and enjoying yourself. I think this because both of Troy’s sons and Rose support this idea.”
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph is almost exactly what I said. You said ” People try to say that money doesn't bring you happiness, but we all know that we would be at least a little happier if we had more money” and I used the quote “money can’t buy you happiness”. I like how you said that happiness isn’t a right by you can create your own happiness. I said something along those lines. My response is really similar to yours.
You said that you believe they are very similar. I also agree with that. One difference I noted in mine was that Troy tries to run from his problems when in reality you can’t run from your problems. You have to face them and deal with them. Whether you are financially stable or not, you can’t just leave to another house and pretend it didn't happen. Maturity takes place and one must behave as an adult and take responsibility.
I have to say, you make some interesting points, but I believe that it just Cory and Lyons who find happiness in doing what they want or getting what they want, when Rose is most happy when she supports other people's dreams, yes Cory loves football, and Lyons loves his musician lifestyle, but when their dad tries to shut them down its Rose who lifts them up. that's where Rose's happiness comes from in my mind.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have a hard time seeing that Money can really buy happiness, there are many people out there who have so much stuff and so much money that they just waste it, and they don't have much joy in their life, but on the other hand I have met and talked with homeless people who have nothing but clothes on their back and they are just all smiles and just pleased to talk to someone. money doesn't buy happiness, you find happiness in others, of course you have to be sure who they are before you just let them in.