Seeds+and+Growth

 = =   **  In the play //Fences// by August Wilson, seeds and flowers as a reoccurring theme is shown  throughout the book figuratively to show planting, taking roots, and growing of characters usually in the form of speech and actions, which is most obviously emphasised by Rose who is kind and compassionate, unlike her destructive and quick tempered husband Troy. Rose, like the flower is liked by everybody in the play, as she shows patience and compassion and has a good relationship with almost if not all the characters in the play, at the same time protecting and nurturing those who she loves. Nevertheless, Troy's destructive-ness and hypocritical nature outweighs Rose's nurturing and Cory's strive to grow, thus effectively destroying Cory's potential life of luxury and fame forever. **      **Rose’s name is the name of the actual flower, and her personality shows the qualities of the flower of beauty and protection. Parallel with the flower’s traits, Rose shows her compassionate nature towards her family and is always patient even when Troy cheats on her. Also like the flower, Rose is able to protect herself from harm by never saying something out of line to provoke somebody. As the mother of a family, she takes care of her husband, her children and the house. A judicious character, Rose is known to protect those she thinks deserves a fair shot at life. A rose planted on the ground, will reach out it's roots to provide a good foundation and Rose will reach her hands out to help others grow.**
 * Unlike Ros          e, Troy is the one           who denies growth, and is the one uprooting people's future and "seeds" such as denying Cory's football dream, and cheating on Rose, is like a lumberman taking away people's dreams, even though he doesn't realise it      others do, which is emphasized on page 71 "You say I take and don't give!" because like a lumberman that destroy Earth's "seeds of life" (trees) for his own gains without giving anything in return, Troy uproots people's lives, and his rocky, unyielding nature prevents Cory from growing, like untillable land stopping a crop seed from growing becuase of lack of nutrients and arable soil so that Troy himself, don't have to look like a failure infront of his son.**


 *  "Seeds, Planting, Blooming" used by Rose to show her suppressed feeling when Troy tells Rose that he cheated on her. **

** “I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of m life to stand in the same spot with you.” (II. i. pg 70) ** When Troy talks about how boring his life was and how he wanted change and needed to get away from life, Rose tells him that she, like a unmoving flower have been with Troy the past 18 years. She’s only been growing upwards and herself have been enduring the faults of Troy for 18 years by herself. Even though she has her own life, she has invested her years of life into Troy who she thought she could spend the rest of her life with Troy by throwing her dreams and hopes away, to plant herself at one spot, but eventually Troy is the one that uproots her himself, by cheating on her. While Rose continues her release of suppressed feelings, she uses a metaphor of planting to show what she is feeling at the moment. Using a metaphor of planting, she once again show that she has given herself and sacrificed herself in order to have a family. By saying “I planted a seed and watched and prayed over it” shows that she had doubts in Troy because of his destructive and selfish nature, she still watches her “seed” in Troy, and staying devoted to her husband and family even though she knows the relationship might not be stable and what she hoped it would be.
 * “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.” (II. i. pg 71) **

Through this quote, Rose's patient nature is showed again towards Raynell while she is growing up. Even though Raynell isn't Rose's actual daughter, Rose is still taking care of her like shes her own daughter. Again, this shows the opposite of Troy, who is a man that wants to be in control of everything. Now that Troy is gone, perhaps the "seed" Rose has planted into Troy so many years ago has been revived in Raynell, and once again Rose is watching over her, and nurturing her, waiting for the seed to bloom, this time without an obstacle called Troy.
 * "I told you it ain't gonna grow overnight. You gotta wait." (II. v. pg91)**

-Troy, opposite of Rose impedes on growth and uproots other people's dreams.


 * "You go down there to that A&P and see if you can get your job back. If you can't do both . . . then you quit the football team. " (I.iii.pg37)**

This shows the denial of Cory, who is the flesh and blood of Troy. Even though Troy knows that Cory cannot handle a job and train for football at the same time, he stubbornly refuse to allow Cory to play football. Because of this act, Cory's dream of football is shattered and uprooted due to Troy's destructive nature. Rose on the other hand, encouraged Cory to play and had the patience and understanding that even if he doesn't have an income, he should chase his dream, which reflects on her nature as a person who nurtures things and strives to help things grow.