Happiness: In fences, and in todays world

What is happiness? In Fences, happiness means different things to each character. They all define happiness in different ways. Troy, found his "happiness" with another women behind Rose's back. "I can step out of this house and get away from the pressure and problems....be a different man. I ain't got to worry how im gonna pay the bills of get the roof fixed. I can just be a part of myself that I ain't ever been" (Wilson 69). Troy often gets caught up in the pressure and the stress that comes from life, so his way of creating happiness was stepping away from that, and betraying someone who loves him, Rose, in order to feel that freedom. He says that he locked himself in a pattern trying to take care of her, and he forgot about himself. Rose defines happiness as having dreams and hopes. When she finds out about Troy's affair she rants about how she has always wanted things to make her happier, and someone to make her laugh so she could feel good. But she always stayed with Troy, because he is her husband and she owed him everything she had.

 

In today's society it is obvious that  many people think that everyone is entitled to their own happiness. I also believe it can be over glamorized and people find happiness through silly things such as how many retweets they get on Twitter, or likes on Instagram.  I do believe that happiness is a right, but people often have flawed representations of what happiness should truly look like and be. I don't think happiness can easily be found, and someone has to look into their own lives in order to achieve happiness and realize what is keeping them from getting it. In addition, people often hurt others in order to create their own happiness, just like Troy hurt Rose. I don't think it is okay to be selfish when creating your own happiness, I have experienced first hand the pain that one can cause another during their journey to reaching their definition of happiness.

 

What happiness means in fences is similar to what it is like in society. For example, Troy is selfish with reaching happiness and he hurts someone who really cares about him. This is very apparent in our society because some will do almost anything for their own happiness.  Rose also views happiness through her dreams and goals in life, and I think that it also a big part to what happiness is in our society as well.

 

Overall, happiness is important and everyone has the right to it, but people should be careful in the things they do to gain it.