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Fences Analysis
Dreams are ongoing parts of the lives of people that are lingered to have psychological importance and might arouse inner fantasies, amalgamations, or hopes. However, one might be in a dilemma about what happens when they defer a dream. As Langston Hughes in the “Fences” play suggests, a lost dream can have lifetime impacts. In the play by August Wilsons, three characters are displayed as victims of circumstance (Wilsons, 34). They all fail to achieve their dream, which turns their lives a misery. Plus, the way they respond to the failure accomplishment deters the degree to which they can enjoy life. For instance, Troy Maxon, the gentleman whose deterred ambition and dream of being a great, famous baseball player, interfere with his relationships wildly and his life ultimately.
Cory, who is Troy’s son, always anticipated and yearned for the affection and compassion of his father, almost despairing and allowing bitterness to succumb to his heart. Rose, Troy’s wife, is different from the other family members, in that she still holds on her dream of having a compassionate family even when all seems to be lost. However, despite the traumatizing reactions of despair from each character on their dream, August Wilson emphasizes the significance of not giving the room of past failures and misfortunes to deter the success of life and faith in people (Wilsons, 97).
Wilson begins with the introduction of Troy Maxson in his play, the man who was wholly and bitterly affected by frustrations over his lost dreams. During the play, troy was presented as having been brought up by a very arrogant and abusive father. He would be overloaded with chores and be punished if he failed to accomplish them. Moreover, the father was rarely found at home, and when he did, his presence was a misery. Troy ended up not attending college due to a lack of parental support. His ambition to become a baseball player was shut since he could not join the white teams like his because “he was born on the wrong times.” He suffered bitterness and frustrations because he could not find a new dream. He chose to be hopeless and allowed his past disappointments to influence his way of living. He involved himself in crimes for income by killing a man where he ends up in jail, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Rose, alone. The frustrations affect his relationship with his closest people. He builds a house that he is ashamed of because he stole from his brother, who was mentally sick. Failure to learn how to handle the loss of his fantasies and dreams, Troy neglects the compassionate people to him and encourages demise instead of embracing his good life.
Cory allows disappointments to ruin his life. Unlike his father, he can overcome and embrace hope, new pace of his life journey. Cory was an ambitious and talented gentleman who aspired to become a footballer after growing up. He challenges and confronts his father, following a misunderstanding, and he ends up leaving home (Wilsons, 69). Unlike his father, rather than embracing bitterness, Cory creates a new technique for himself. He joins army recruitment. The son comes to understand his father more through a discussion with his mother when he tried to decline attending Troy’s funeral. After the discussion, Cory attends the funeral of his father and gets to forgive him.
Even though Troy causes many heartaches to his wife and separates with the family, Rose never despairs her dream for a compassionate family. She was committed to her marriage with Troy, although she got nothing in return. Her husband started cheating on her by having a romantic affair with another mistress that led to pregnancy. Rose was also disturbed emotionally when her son left after a misunderstanding with his father. Her dreams of maintaining a united family were shattered, but she never lost her hope. After his mistress’s death, Troy decided to go to Rose, who accepted him back together with Rannell, the child they had given birth to with the late mistress. She also had much hope for his son and supported his wish to play football. Despite losing her dreams, Rose decides to redefine herself and live a happy life, even when she never anticipated such a life.
In conclusion, as August Wilson emphasizes, people should not allow their past disappointments to hold their success in life. Just as we have encountered from the three characters; Troy, Cory, and Rose. The characters are used to portray how different people respond after failing to achieve their dreams. Most people feel desperate and end up losing themselves into stress and depression. However, successful people reconcile with their past and establish a new course in life after failing in one dream. The ultimate goal of every person is finding happiness; thus, mistakes of the past should not deter people from enjoying their happiness. Despite the miserable life that Troy lived, he settled with his wife after serving his term in prison. He restored normalcy in his life and lived happily ever.