Happiness

From reading the play “Fences” I can see that Rose doesn’t need much to make her happy, it’s actually pretty simple. She doesn’t ask for much. She only really needs two things, which are an affectionate husband who loves her and will be faithful and a kind and loving family. She had that for the most part, even though Troy and Cory didn’t get along to well. She was happy but her world came crashing to the ground when Tory came clean to her about his affair with the woman from Tallahassee, that he had gotten her pregnant and that he wasn’t going to stop seeing her because it made him feel so great.  “Why, Troy? Why? After all these years to come dragging this in to me now. It don’t make no sense at your age. I could have expected this ten or fifteen years ago, but not now.” (Wilson 67). This made Rose feel used and unimportant to Troy. She had stood by his side through the good and the bad and tired her best to be everything he could ever ask for. And then he does this her. “I done tried to be everything a wife should be. Everything a wife could be” (Wilson 67). She gave him 18 years of her life and he cheated on her, essentially ruining everything that she needed to be happy.

I think our society presents happiness as how much stuff you have or how much money you have. It’s all about what you own and the stuff you have that other people don’t. That’s not what truly makes you happy in my mind. I believe that constantly improving in all aspects of life, earning what you have, and working hard is what actually makes you happy. I wouldn’t say happiness is over glamorized, it is one of the most important things in life. Happiness is what makes life worth living. Happiness isn’t a right. You have to earn happiness and I also believe you can’t be happy all the time you have to go through a struggle and work as hard as you possible can to reach your potential. Then you’ll be happy. Nobody wants to underachieve.

In the text the characters are happy with just the basics. In the real world some people can’t deal with it if something doesn’t go their way. Everyone wants the newest and nicest things but in the play the characters are happy with what they have. Troy is happy with not having a TV, he just needs a roof over his head.