The Legacy of a Common Man

We see the legacy of a common man who has created someone of great power and stature. It is more in what he left behind than his actual life he had. We can see that as a person, Troy lives a common life during that time; being discriminated against for being colored while trying to help his family to live in a house along with helping his friend Bono. we can also see the strictness Troy used on his youngest son Cory to be a better man, so Troy can leave him as his legacy. We can see the strictness Troy used on his son Cory had made Cory into a strong adult who has picked the best path for him that his dad wanted him to take. this is first seen in scene 4 of act 1 when troy reprimand Cory for quitting his job to play football when he wants to see Cory with a steady job to support his family. We can also see this in scene four of act 2 when troy is telling Cory to leave the house and Troy says “you go on and be a man and forget this house.” He is trying to get Cory to live for himself and not have to worry about the family. When Troy dies, he leaves behind someone Troy wanted to be but never could for his family. Rose mentions this in the last scene of act 2 of Fences where Rose is talking to her son Cory and says “Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't…and at the same time he was trying to make you everything he was. I don’t know if he was right or wrong…but I do know that he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm.”  showing that Troy meant everything to be helpful to his son, so Cory can bee a better person than his father who ended up cheating on his wife and drinking everyday. this culminates together to Cory, who has become Troys greatest legacy after his death.

Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness in Fences means doing what you want without anyone stopping you. We see how many don’t get the happiness they want, like when Cory is not allowed to play football because his father wants him to work, Cory feels his father took away his one happiness in life. We can also see this with Troy as he tries to find someone that can make him feel happy. But rose is married to him and feels betrayed because he is cheating on her with another woman and having his baby. We can see how this effects Troy’s “happiness” because now he can’t do what he wants anymore, he needs to be responsible for his wife and kids. But if we look at Gabriel and roses definition of happiness, happiness is being around those who love you the most, but he can get others to see the same. We see how rose is not happy because Troy is never coming straight home from work.

 If we compare this to society’s definition of happiness, it doesn’t have that much of a difference. Society has taught us that “happiness” can only be achieved when you get everything you want or do whatever you want with no one to stop you. But happiness doesn’t work like that, it is much more complicated. There are many who have everything and are still not happy, and those who have nothing but can always smile. We see happiness shared through the kindness of others as they share their stories with us. There are many who searched for the definition or meaning of happiness, but it cannot be described as a single act, but how an act makes others happy. So, no matter how hard you pursue happiness, it can only be found once you stop looking so hard.

Men: how society has changed its viewing

The society during Troy’s time expected men to lead the family and get respect for making money for the household and supporting their family, but times now required that they play a part in work along with women while having good relationships in society. If we look at the relationship of Rose and Troy we notice the common setting of that time when the women as stuck at home while the men go out to work or drink. We can see they get along like a couple but the way Troy speaks to Rose would not be tolerated nowadays. Throughout most of the play Troy seems to call Rose “woman” in many occasions while talking to Bono and Rose herself instead of calling her by name, and also in one occasion said “  you go on and powder it up”(Fences,6), and then excludes her from certain conversations based on gender stereotypes. These comments used today would be considered insults compared to that time due to the change in roles for women as they got equal rights and are allowed the same as men have. If troy had said the same thing to Rose in this time he would be considered sexist or rude to women of equal standing and would not receive as much respect. Some women in the past were used to such comments due to the influence of others perspective of women in the household, since the perspective has changed; if people were to bring back these stereotypical roles into modern society, it would cause a negative impact on their reputation and respectability.

Social impacts of Wilson's legacy

If we were to describe the legacy of August Wilson we would look at the physical awards he left behind, like the August Wilson theater and his cycle of 10 works. But if we named the social changes he made it would span through almost everyone who has seen his plays, met him in person or heard his life story. He bring to light the topics no one really want to talk about, the racism we see throughout the US, the power we give words, and how that language separates us. He shows we give power to language to determine how people are in our eyes, which can affect how we see different races so we tend to form groups based on color. We can see this in almost all cases brought up in the news, like Brown vs Board, the modern version of it when brown said the n-word in front of Mason the principal. We see how one words use can change our view on people and how words can hurt us. But it can also make it so we are treated as equal, like brown says “I had to show them I was going to stand up for myself-”. Some people would have never seen this power we give to words so they can hurt if they hadn't seen Wilson’s plays or heard his life story. The people closest to him understood that, like his wife. She says that “I lived long enough with August to feel I know what he wanted done with his work”. She even continues helping with his plays even after his death.