Comparing Linda And Rose In Death Of A Salesman And Fences

Troy cheats on his wife, Rose, in Fences by August Wilson. Throughout the play, Troy and Rose go through obstacles created by Troy cheating on Rose and the problems faced by African Americans during the 1940s. Unnecessary boundaries, such as those created by Troy’s ethnicity, dishonesty, and inability to be loved destroyed his quality of life, and therefore his will to live. Examples of lack of honesty, loss of love, and hatred show and enhance Wilson’s theme that ethnicity, dishonesty, and inability to be loved can destroy one’s will to live. The author conveyed the truth that unnecessary boundaries can lead to problems that eat away at one’s quality of life by using examples of boundaries created by hatred, lack of honesty, and loss of love.

August Wilson did not name his play, Fences, simply due to the melodramatic actions that take place in the Maxson household, but rather the relationships that bond and break because of the “fence”. The “fence” serves as a structural device because the character's lives are constantly changing during the construction of the fence. The dramatic actions in the play strongly depend on the building of the fence in the Maxson’s backyard. Fences represents the metaphorical walls or fences that the main characters are creating around themselves in order to keep people in or vice versa. The title may seem straightforward, but in actuality it is a powerful symbol which can either have positive or

When it comes to comparing and contrasting two different cultures and morals the differences can be night and day. In Death Of A Salesman and Fences, these stories follow two middle-class families around the same time period (late 1940-1950’s), who are both facing problems within their own household’s. From marital issues to failing father/son relationships, both of these stories paint a picture to the audience of what life in an urban family living in that time setting was like through the author’s eyes. And even yet with all the things between these two plays that make them alike, there are also many things that make them very different.

In the film Fences by August Wilson, the audience is presented with a country that is fast evolving, with oppression, prejudice, and poverty remaining a common factor. Most scholars argue that sexism is the dominant theme in Wilson’s plays due to the portrayal of female characters occupying the stereotypical, male-fantasized roles of the domestic, powerless, or submissive mother figure rather than an empowered, complex, or realistic woman. However, a closer review of the character of Rose in Fences shows that Wilson has not embraced these stereotypes. In fact, he has aimed at subverting them by allowing domestic behavior,

Troy thought that he was a good husband to Rose because he provided her with food and a house. He wasn’t a good husband because he didn’t give her love and compassion. These two things are needed in a good marriage. She centered her whole life around him and he gave her almost nothing. When she had a problem, she couldn’t go to him. Troy also wasn’t faithful to Rose. He went off and had an affair with another woman. Rose was heart-broken by this. She couldn’t believe Troy could do this to her. She devoted her life to him and he goes and stabs her in the back. On top of that, Troy had a child with his mistress. The woman died giving birth. Troy asked Rose to take care of the baby. Rose did, what else could she have done? Troy was not a good husband.

The fence Rose asks Troy to build for her is a representation of the walls that arise between characters throughout the plot of the play. One example of this is the wall that comes between Troy and Cory when Troy does not allow Cory to play football. In Act 1 Scene 3, Troy and Cory’s relationship experiences a complication when Troy refuses to let Cory play football:

Rose Maxon is the female character in the play ‘Fences’ by August Wilson. She is married to Troy Maxon and together they have a son named Cory. The play takes place in the 1950s and it focuses on racism, oppression, family problems, unity, and infidelity. Particularly Rose, who is a Black woman in the 50s, without an education, a housewife, and is expected to behave as the caretaker for everyone. Rose Maxon: duties include being a mother/caretaker, house taker, wife. Puts herself aside for everyone else’s needs. She experiences the struggle and constant wariness of her family’s safety. Troy, is a garbageman who witnesses much of the racism and segregation that occurs during the 1950s. He provides for his family, and he is considered the

When Troy sheepishly says, “...we can figure it out” (Wilson, Fences, 68) when it comes to him impregnating another woman, she boldly fires back, “All of a sudden it’s ‘we.’ Where was ‘we’ at when you was down there rolling around with some god-forsaken woman? ‘We’ should have come to an understanding before you started making a damn fool of yourself.” (Wilson, Fences, 68) Rose is a strong woman whose definition of a Good Life is one dedicated to protecting her family so even though she can boldly tell Troy everything he has done wrong she still puts family first and helps raise Troy’s baby and lets Troy live in the house.

As Bono says, “Some people build fences to keep people out…and other people build fences to keep people in.” This is why Rose wants the fence to be built. When faced with Troy’s infidelity she gets only a cursory, self-serving response from Troy. It’s hard to decipher why exactly she stays with Troy, but a very simple, valid reason would be that she has no other place to go, and feels a strong responsibility to try and care for her children. Eventually her compassion leads her to make an unspoken ultimatum to Troy: I can either take in this bastard child, or I can take in you. Troy misses this ultimatum and sees the well-being of the child, Raynell, as the only option.

Fences written by August Wilson and Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller are two plays that could be considered very different in terms of their plot. The plots of both plays contain two very different cultural backgrounds which affects each protagonist differently. If the reader or audience looks past the plot into the theme and symbolisms used they can see that the plays are more similar than they are different. In spite of the different cultural backgrounds of each protagonist they both are tragic heroes that are trying to achieve the American dream as it relates to each character; both of which fail in drastic yet similar ways. The American dream has always been an important factor in many American’s lives as it is to Troy

The members of the family that makes the most effort to keep the family level is Troy?s wife, Rose. The narrator tells us that Rose is a gentle woman. She cares a great deal for her family and her husband, despite the challenge of making her home a positive environment under the strains of a man with such impossible qualities. The author explains her reasons for enduring Troy by saying that ? her devotion to him stems from her recognition of the possibilities of her life without him: a succession of abusive men and their babies, a life of partying and running the streets, the Church, or aloneness with its attendant pain and frustration? (526; I, 1). In light of the fact that Troy is a good man and provides for their family in a way of his duty, Rose loves and supports him and ?either ignores or forgives his faults, only some of which she recognizes? (526; I, 1). Despite his love and respect for his wife, Troy acts extremely disrespectfully towards Rose. Due to the lack of love and respect that Troy was shown as a boy, he does not know feelings to his family. He talks down to his wife as if she were a child, while at the same time he declares his love for her to his friend, Bono. Troy?s fault, however, in declaring his love for his wife and family. He says, ?I love Rose? (555; II, 1), but when the time comes for him to show his love, he only disrespects her. When Rose asks Troy what he and Bono are talking about one

Through Troy’s perspective, he sees the fence as a barrier between his enemy known as; death. If death gets through the fence, it would have to come through Troy himself, since he believes that instead of loving his family; protecting them has more worth. It is clear Troy starts to build the fence to keep those who are mistreating his family out; although he himself grows distant. We can infer that Rose and Troy’s perspective of the fence had started to collide. Rose had viewed the fence to keep those she values and cherishes within the fence; while after Troy confesses he is cheating on her with Alberta a division with his family is shown. Division with their family occured due to Troy mistreating Rose and not realizing his mistake sooner. This is to show that Troy’s trait of responsibility reinforces the main symbol. Troy had acknowledged his mistakes resulting in a mental and emotional separation between the couple. “[...] A motherless child had got a hard time…. From right now this child got a mother. But you a womanless man. [...]” (Wilson,122) This confirms that even with the presence of Raynell; Rose will not acknowledge Troy for what he used to mean to her. Further into the play it is revealed that even with this rift, Rose continues to communicate with him to keep order within the house, although emotionally her ties have been severed with Troy.

In Death of a Salesman, although Linda never finds out about the Woman, her relationship with Willy is still affected by the Woman. For example, Willy says, "Will you stop mending stockings? At least while I'm in the house. It gets me nervous. I can't tell you" (1745).

    Linda, a character from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a selfish housewife. She pretends to care about her husband, but in reality, prefers that he kill himself so that she can live an easier life.

A second fence that in the play is the fence that Rose has that holds together her family. She adds more meaning to her character since she thinks that the fence is positive. This fence to Rose is a symbol of her love. She attempts to make Troy and Cory build the fence together, this is her way of trying to reestablish the bond between them. Rose thinks her family is falling apart and the fence is a symbolic way of attempting to keep the bond together. Troy doesn’t understand why she wants them to build the fence so badly. Troy’s friend Bono clears this up for him when Troy, Cory, and Bono exchange in conversation. Cory says, “I don’t see why Mama want a fence around the yard nowadays.” Troy says, “Damn if I know either. What she keeping out with it? She ain’t got nothing nobody want.” Bono explains why she wants the fence by saying, “Some people build fences to keep people out… and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on