Happiness (Prompt 3)

In the latest part of Fences, it is revealed to Rose that Troy has been cheating on her. This is obviously a very big issue and to make matters worse, the woman that hes been cheating with is now pregnant and expected their child. Troy is already at a point in his life where he's barely getting by on a little luck and really hard work, now he has to worry about another woman and another child. While explaining this to Rose, he starts talking about the feeling that the other woman gives him- something that Rose doesn't. Troy even goes as far as to say "She gives me a different idea... a different understanding about myself. I can step out of this house and get away from the pressures and problems... Be a different man. I ain't got to wonder how I'm gonna pay the bills or get the roof fixed. I can just be a part of myself that I ain't never been."(69). This sounds like a man that is unsatisfied with how his life came to be. I think this because of the fact that he needs to run away from his problems and sneak off with another woman, the scary part is that he finds solace in it. Everyone needs a break every once in a while, but living a double-life is not very respectable and definitely shows his dissatisfaction with the world he lives in. Looking from the outside in, we can see that not too many people in this book are actually happy. Troy is obviously unhappy, Cory is also unhappy and a lot of it is because of his dad’s unhappiness. Rose is now not very happy I’m sure, and even Troy’s side-woman can’t be too happy at this point. The one person I do see is happier than the rest is Gabriel. Why? Because he’s not fully there in the head, but the interesting part is that neither is Troy. As you can tell, he has a lot of struggles mentally, and it’s just like the real world. The more pressure and responsibility you put on yourself (in Troy’s case it’s having another child while hardly being able to get by now) it causes you more stress, and drains you of energy and happiness. Whereas, the less stress and responsibility you have (Gabriel is a good example, because he has almost no responsibilities) the happier you are. I think everyone is born happy and has the right to be happy, but biting off more than you can chew can cause you to lose that happiness.