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The Struggle Between Rose And Rose In August Wilson's Fences

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Kelly Rowland once said, “Living in someone else’s shadow is not living at all. You have to find your own light.” Fences by August Wilson revolves around the life of Troy Maxson whose one goal is to survive, and many themes begin to pop up as the play follows Troy around. A key theme is living in one's shadow and Rose is used to exemplify that theme. Rose, the stay-at-home mother and wife, is wedded to Troy because she believes that she will not succeed without him. However, in doing so, Rose is engulfed by the shadow of Troy as she cares too much about him. In his play Fences, August Wilson uses Rose to symbolize how one’s choices can lead one to be trapped in another’s shadow. Wilson illustrates the theme of being stuck in one’s shadow through …show more content…

Wilson has used hyperbole to allude to the massive shadow that Troy casts over his home; a shadow that Rose will eventually become caught within. Wilson is using this conversation to expel Rose’s real emotions about Troy and how she felt about being forced to stay so close to him, showing how Rose feels free now that Troy is deceased. Although Troy is dead and Rose partly feels free, Rose is still engulfed by Troy’s massive shadow. She feels this way as she “took on Raynell like she was all them babies [Rose] had wanted and never had. Like [she’d] been blessed to relive a part of [her] life” (Wilson 98). Wilson includes this metaphor to say that Raynell is a blessing to Rose. Many times, parents say that their kid is a blessing, but in this case, Rose says taking care of a child without Troy is a blessing. There are two contrasting sides present in this line. Firstly, Rose remains a part of Troy’s shadow as she is taking care of his baby which is something she cannot give up. On the other hand, without Troy, Rose would gain new, free will where she can lead a new life and take care of a baby without the overpowering presence of Troy. The circumstances surrounding Rose’s situation can be looked at far greater and compared to the circumstances of the Great Migration. The Great Migration was a

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