Legacy - Prompt 4

Legacy - Prompt 4
What is your legacy? In the book Fences, Troy Maxson is the main character and leaves behind a legacy. The question is: Is this the legacy he wanted? A child with two dead parents, and the only guardian she has is reminded every time she sees her "daughter" that her beloved husband was a liar and cheater who impregnated his side-girl. Troy's legacy was that he was a provider, and father who loved his family very much. On the road of carving this legacy, he made a couple of big mistakes which will undoubtedly affect his legacy in a negative way. The issues that Troy had with Cory, Gabriel, and his wife all seemed to come crashing down in the end. These issues will be remembered even after Troy's death. That's definitely a legacy, but I think Troy would've preferred it the cleaner way. Without the small things that knock him down and hurt his legacy. I think we can see a good example of him hurting his relationship, and ultimately legacy, with his widowed-wife Rose. On page 77 we can see Troy pushing away his wife even when she asks him not to. ""Who's gonna bury her?" Like I'm fixing to take on that task for myself. Rose: I am your wife. Don't push me away. Troy: A ain't pushing nobody away. Just give me some space. That's all. Just give me some room to breathe." In this excerpt from the book, we can see Rose asking Troy not to push her away after his daughter was born from another woman, and his obvious heartbreak over the fact that he lost Alberta. This must be so hard for Rose knowing the entire situation and just having to watch her husband act like this must be torture, but she stuck through it all. Even Troy's sons Lyons, and Cory have had issues with their father and how mean he was to them sometimes. Another good example of a legacy-altering situation was the fight between Cory and Troy . This is a classic father-son showdown and it of course didn't end well for Cory, but it hurt their relationship in the long run and that's something that we all agree should have been prevented. Troy's legacy came out bent, but not broken. He still was a good, caring father, but his mistakes doomed his legacy.
- Jose Enciso

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. 

Prompt 2 Blog Post - Jose Enciso

Prompt 2 Blog Post - Jose Enciso

This prompt centers around the main character of Fences: Troy Maxson. Troy Maxson is an African American man in his 50's. He works as a garbage man and makes just enough to get by. He loves and cares about his family dearly, but is unsatisfied with his life. He is also disappointed in himself. This is because of the fact that he caught an easy break and basically got a free house as a result of his younger brother (Gabriel) going to war and getting injured in the head. The product of this injury is dubbed by Troy as a "Metal plate in his head", and Gabriel now isn't completely right mentally. This bothers Troy so much because he knows that if it wasn't for the money from his brother, who knows where his family would be. Troy even says "That's the only way I got a roof over my head... cause of that metal plate."(28). I think Troy is frustrated because he is working so hard and doing his best, but still is coming up short. In our society, Troy would be just fine. African Americans are obviously treated with much more respect now and it isn't as difficult to survive anymore. I think the reason he's so upset about it is because society in that time period expected the man to work, pay bills, etc. If he can't provide, he feels like a failure but you can tell he's trying his hardest. I think Troy is a good man, but i wouldn't be surprised to see him to slip up. It seems like he's frustrated with his life and something's going to give. Also I think his effort and drive are strong, but his finances and status are weak. All in all, Troy isn't a bad guy, what do you think?