Rose

=All About Rose: =

Here, Rose is telling Troy to move on from the past and that things have changed since Troy was young. By doing so, Rose is seen as the more reasonable of the two since she is acknowledging the fact that the world is changing for the better and that it is free of almost all the previous obstacles that blocked Troy's dreams but because Troy still insists that the world was the same, he denies his son the chance to become a real football player and also a proper education in college while Rose sees the world as it is and tries to change Troy's mind on the matter. --**Roy:**  "All of a sudden it's "we." Where was "we" at when you was down there rolling around with some godforsaken woman?" pg. 68 This line shows how quickly the relationship between Rose and Troy has changed with the news of his affair. Rose is shown to be defensive and strong not giving an inch to Troy who before in the play is portrayed as the strong member of the family. Her use of the word "we" as a way to show that they are no longer together shows how one second they were together and then the next they are apart. --Andrew
 * "Times have changed from when you was young, Troy. People change. The world's changing around you and you can't even see it."** (40)

**"I been standing with you! I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you" (II.i.pg70).** In one of the climaxes of the play, Rose finally expressed her frustration about Troy after their eightenn years of marriage. Looking for a peaceful and stable life, Rose had ignored or forgiven Troy's many flaws and continued to put faith in her family, believing that things will eventually turn out alright. However, Troy's affair with Alberta had gone pass Rose's tolerance. She has sacrificed her dreams and has been loyal to Troy all these years and for her husband to come and tell her that he has a child with another woman, Rose has lost her patience with Troy. --Jacky

 **"I took all my feelings, my wants and needs, my dreams...and I buried them inside you. I planted a seed and watched and prayed over it. I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom [...] I gave everything I had to try and erase the doubt that you wasn't the finest man in the world**" (71). Here, Rose seems to display her true emotions about loving Troy. Although she finds many flaws and difficulties in their relationship, Rose "took all [her] feelings...wants and needs, [her] dreams" and planted them inside Troy. She was able to stand firm and faithful beside Troy even though she knew that he "wasn't the finest man in the world". This characteristic suggests that Rose is able to withstand obstacles and adversities in her life, as opposed to Troy, therefore making her the stronger of the two. --Vickie


 * "I am your wife. Don't push me away." (II. ii. 77)**

While Rose appears as a kind and soft woman throughout the book, this line portrays her as a stern character. These two lines, although short and concise, illustrate two clear messages Rose conveys to Troy. Firstly, she is his wife, not Alberta. It appears that after the shock of learning that her husband impregnated another woman, Rose has become stronger, with a firmer attitude. Secondly, she issues her final warning as Troy debates over whether to take care of Alberta's affairs. Before this event, Bono has pointed out to Troy that he will have to let go of one of the women. Here, Rose further reminds him of the dilemma he faces. Therefore, while Rose is a loving woman who often attempts to resolve conflicts, she possesses an inner spirit, which strengthens her in times of need. --Angus


 * "Okay, Troy...you're right. I'll take care of your baby for you... cause... like you say... she's innocent... and you can't visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time."**

In this quote, we see just how strong Rose's character is. Taking in a child is a big decision that requires a lot of thought, but Rose is immediately able to see how Raynell needs a parent figure. The pauses in the quote show how she is somewhat hesitant about taking care of another child, however she is able to push herself to take the baby. This shows her practicality and how she can push herself to make the right decisions, no matter how difficult they are. --Jimmy



**"From right now.. .this child got a mother. But you a womanless man."** (79) This quote also shows Rose’s strong character. Even though she agrees with Troy that a motherless child is innocent and desperately in need, she still does not forgive Troy for fathering a child with another woman. She is determined to teach Troy a lesson and make him regret for something he has done morally wrong. Perhaps she is trying to change his stubbornness or at least make him rethink his actions. This action and taking in the baby both show her determination and strong will. --John

This quote shows that Rose’s determination to keep a close relationship in the family. Although Tory has died, Rose is still tries to convince Cory to forgive his father and move on in life as she has. Although Troy is dead, Rose still tries to act as a mediator in the strained relationship between Cory and Troy. This quote also suggests that Rose was able to move on with life and forgive Troy. This illustrates that Rose is a strong and mature character and realizes it was time to move on with life, where as Cory doesn’t. --Neville
 * “Just take it and set it over there on the shelf and forget about it. Disrespecting your daddy ain’t gonna make you a man, Cory. You got to find a way to come to that on your own. Not going to your daddy’s funeral makes you a man.” **

Although it may appear as though Troy has control over Rose, Rose is a strong character that in fact has control over her own life. She is self-sacrificing and realistic. As a black woman living in a society dominated by whites, she is not only able to sustain her strength, but provide strength for Troy. Instead of complaining about the injustice of life, she accepts what is thrown at her and even “grabs hold of it with both hands”. Rose’s strength is also demonstrated through accepting blame for unjust things that have happened to her that are not actually her fault, yet she takes blame and explains that they were //her// choices. -- Niuniu
 * "I didn’t know to keep up his [Troy] strength I had to give up little pieces of mine. I did that. I took on his life as mine and mixed up the pieces so that you couldn’t hardly tell which was which anymore. It was my choice. It was my life and I didn’t have to live it like that. But that’s what life offered me in the way of being a woman and I took it. I grabbed hold of it with both hands.” (p. 98)**

Rose shows her strong love towards Troy, and her wish to keep the relationship close and nice. She shows that she wants to rely on Troy as much as she could, and depend on him, be at his side and provide him with all there she has to give, provide him with all that he needed...There's no doubt that she has a strong character, which can be seen from throughout the book, but from this particular point Rose displays her very soft side toward love and family relationships. --Linda
 * "I gave everything I had to try and erase the doubt that you wasn't the finest man in the world. And wherever you was going.. I wanted to be there with you. [...] "**

This quote shows that Rose is able to move on in life, unlike Troy who is still stuck in the past. Rose to me seems to be the most mature out of all the people in the family, since she is able to realise when it is time to move on with life. Even though Troy is very stubborn about the past and his bitterness towards the MLB and people around him, Rose is still very patient with Troy which shows her kind and strong personality. I think Rose has a very strong control over her feelings because she is always talking to Cory and Troy and never seem to be mad at them. Perhaps she is hiding hatred within herself but I think it's because her love for her family and her sense of duty as a housewife suppresses most negative feelings she might have. --Jerome
 * "Times have changed since you was playing baseball, Troy. That was before the war. Times have changed a lot since then."**

I chose thise quote because it supports the image I chose to symbolize Rose below. - Henry
 * "That was my first mistake. Not to make him leave some room for me."**

=More about Rose: = ==//Attach a visual aid (photograph, painting, shape, color, etc) that represents a character trait of Rose. Be sure to label your contribution and explain the connection. Also, include your name. //==

Rose's role in //Fences// resembles that of an anchor. When one thinks of an anchor, they often will associate it with the word sturdy or strong, much like Rose's character. Moreover, the effects of an anchor are not that apparent and can't be seen just by looking at the surface. However by taking a delving deeper we can see that the anchor is what holds everything in place. In this case, the anchor, Rose, is what keeps all the characters in control. --Jimmy

Rose is like the metal ion in an ionic bond. She was attracted to Troy because she saw a the frightening possibilities of her life without him and she believed that with Troy, she can have a peaceful marriage, just like how metal atoms are attracted to non-metal atoms because they want a stable number of electrons on their outer shell. However, in the process, she has sacrificed her dreams and put faith in Troy, believing that his illuminating spirit will lead the family to a better life and ignored his flaws, which is similar to how metals atoms give up their electrons to the non-metal atoms. For a long time up until Troy's affair with Alberta, Rose remained positive about her marriage despite the poor state of the family, like a metal ion with a positive charge after losing its electrons. On the other hand, Troy, the non-metal ion with a negative charge, always complained about his stagnant, unjust life as an African American. -- Jacky 

To me, Rose was a bridge in the family. She usually connected the family together and tried to hold everything together. She is quite strong and rarely give herself up to her feelings. She is the strongest one in the family in my opinion because she can handle things quite well herself while taking care of others at the same place. Her emotional stability gives me a sense that she is a great iron bridge since she is a stable person yet connecting people and helping people at the same time. --Jerome

As an African-American woman of that time period, Rose seems to be insignificant due to both her exterior complexion and her gender. However, as the play progresses, it is evident that Rose has an essential role in keeping the family together. For this reason, I think Rose represents a screw. She may seem small and unimportant at first glance, but is actually the basis or foundation of holding the Maxson family together. --Vickie <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">

I know it is an obvious image but no one else has talked about it soo I will. I think that August Wilson chose Rose as Troys wife name on purpose. Roses are beautiful flowers that represent love, beauty, purity, Wilson wants the audience to make this association. While they are beautiful roses also have the ability to hurt with their thorns. The thorns could possible represent Roses dark past or her decision to accept Troys baby from the affair. This may be used to show that not everyone's lives are perfect and that everyone has some kind of dark past. -- <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Andrew

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Rose's characteristics are similar to those of an olive. It is undeniable that Rose often intervenes in moments of conflicts, and offers her aid in order to soothe the anger of others. She defends those in need, such as explaining to Troy he should "let [Cory] go ahead and play football", since there "ain't no harm in that". Her efforts to resolve conflicts are similar to an olive's ability to add indescribable bliss to food. The olive's wonderful taste is a blessing to cooking, as it will add endless bliss to an otherwise bland, or in worse cases, catastrophic dish. However, Rose's will to help others and contribute to their needs does not force her to become a fully weak character. At first, she appears helpless under Troy's tyranny at home. As Troy pushes her boundaries, and ultimately impregnates a woman, he manges to break her tolerance. She casts away her soft personality, meeting her husband with a strong state of mind, and even denies him as her companion. In comparison, if one is too eager in consuming an olive, one's teeth will come across the cruel, solid pit. While an olive appears soft on the outside, its core is actually hard. Similar to testing Rose's tolerance, being too eager with an olive will result in insufferable pain on the diner's behalf. Consequently, Rose's combination of loving and stern characteristics are similar to the soft and hard natures of an olive. --Angus <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Rose can be represented by glue. She acts as the glue between Troy and his complex relationships and attempts to mend relationships between Troy and his sons, Cory and Lyon. She relieves tension and even after Troy’s death, Rose tries to change Cory’s hateful perception of Troy. Rose is also similar to glue in the way that after glue dries, it is firm and stable. Rose is a realistic and stable character unlike Troy’s raging personality. However, when something is already broken, glue is unable to completely mend the object and there is always a chance of it breaking. -- Niuniu

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">In my opinion, Rose is like the backbone of the family or in other words the spine of a human. Without a spine, humans would not be able to maintain their bodies upright and it would all just come crashing down much like without Rose, Troy's family would also disintegrate and fall apart. Throughout the play, Rose is the only character who seems to actually care about keeping their family intact and not only trying to improve her relationship with the other characters but also to help and aid the relationships of others such as Troy and Cory or Troy and Lyon. Therefore she is a mediator trying to keep everyone happy and connected which in a sense is also like the spine of a human which is at the center of a person and also connects to many different other bones of the body. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">**--Roy**

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Rose is like a tree's roots and branches. She holds the entire tree standing up and all the leaves. She keeps everything in line. She is stable and is determined to keep her family together. This is shown through scenes where she tries to moderate or calm down the tension created (usually by Troy). Bono says that Rose will "keep Troy straight." Also, when Raynell was born, she was aware that the child was motherless, like a leaf without a branch to hold it and send nutrition to it, so she took Raynell into her family and raised the child. -- <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">John

Rose is like grass, the grass that can tilt to one's side for now and another side later. It's like waving in every direction when it's necessary- it's soft in this way. Rose is like grass, the grass that keeps growing and growing, like Rose and her wishes of keeping the family together. No matter what happens- winds blow, rain pour, it still keeps on growing and growing, with the belief to stand up and be strong. Just like Rose-- in her life, when Troy and Cory have this disagreement on sports leagues, she stands in and still asks them to build the fence together; when Lyron comes and ask for money, she's the one that asks Troy to give him the money, even when he's dead, she asks the children to attend his funeral- to keep the bond. Everything she does is for the family, for it to remain a family. -Linda

Rose is like a mother raising a child without any discipline. She thinks that her home will be happier without fights and arguements and letting her child (Troy) know that sometimes her needs need to be raised and are just as important as the child's. She may be avoiding conflict now when she's making her child feel like he's the most important person in the house, but its only postponing bigger troubles that will inevitably happen later as a result of the mother being too soft, lenient and always ignoring the child's faults (p. 5). -Henry