“We are part of all we have met. Everything we have seen, heard, felt or thought has had its hand in molding us, shaping us. “-Orison Swett Marden. This quote gold evident to both Troy from Fences and Richard from “Shame”. Both characters had experiences at young ages that had crafted the type of people who they are today. While both of their events occurred around 1900’s and were both very tragic the two men became two very different types of people. Troy from Fences is very outspoken, opinionated, and proud. Troy’s characteristic as to being proud and accepting towards his economic status is one major difference between Richard and himself.
Troy and Richard both are low income and struggle to get ahead. While this is a similarity between them the way they handle these situations is where they differentiate. Troy uses his deprivation of things to push him to obtain more and progress. The readers sees this when Troy says’ “Right now, as soon as I get two hundred and sixty four dollars, I’m gonna have this roof tarred. “( Wilson 33) Troy shows no hesitation to provide the fact that his roof is leaking and no shame in providing the fact that he can’t afford to pay it at the time.
On the other hand Richard is ashamed of his low income, and the weights that had dragged him down with it. The reader sees this when Richard says, “There was shame in wearing the brown and orange and white plaid mackinaw’ the welfare gave to three thousand boys. “(Gregory, paragraph 20) Showing that Richard is mortified by his jacket due to the fact that it is just a symbol of his poverty,and incapability to afford it on his own. Troy and Richard are both very perceptive. Richard looks at simply what people have, and then uses it as reasoning as to why he would be more lucky to e them.
For example Richard saw that Helene Tucker had wealth, popularity, and a father, all things in which he lacked. Due to this Helene Tucker became,” a symbol of everything you want. ” (Gregory, paragraph 3) On the other hand Troy does not only look at what people have. Troy also looks at what they do with their opportunities. For example instead of Troy being envious as to someone being lucky enough as to win the lottery and sorrowing in the fact he could not be in that man’s shoes he instead observes what the man then does with his luck.
The reader sees this habit of Troy’s when he says, “I seen niggers hit the numbers and go through two thousand dollars in four days. ” (Wilson 22) Using the other man’s stupidity as a reminder of his proper use of possessions that are given to him. As children Troy and Richard were both abducted of their childhoods. Troy when his father had attempted to rape a young girl his age right in front of his eyes, and Richard when his teacher had exposed to the whole class that he did not have a father whom had given him money for the Community chest.
Richard after this event used it as yet another excuse to feel ashamed. First for his poverty and now for not having a father. Richard “spent a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. ” (Gregory, paragraph 20) On the other hand after Troy spent no time feeling sorry for himself and instead used it to create his characteristic of being opinionated. From this event he found that kids do not become their parents which you see when Troy says,” Part of that cutting down was when I got to the place where I could feel him kicking in my blood and knew that the only thing that separated us was the matter of a few years. (Wilson 53)
Meaning that Troy knew even at a young age that he could not portray such evil on another human being and the only thing that connected him and his father was an age difference. For this very reason Troy would tell Richard to not let his misfortunes in his life tear him down, but instead make him persistent for change. When bad things happen to you in life you have two choices. One can either learn from them and move on, or they can allow them to tear themselves down. Troy and Richard both had rough childhoods in which they endorsed things that no child should have to.
However This does not makes them weak. Troy learned this a little faster than Richard, and it made Troy become the man he is today. Strong Willed, opinionated, and hard working. Richard also let his experiences crafting him although he did become numb after many of the tragedies had happened to him. Richard generated a strong sense of morals, and a stronger tolerance to share his tragic event which Troy had barely talked about. Although a person cannot control what things happen to them they can control how they shape them.
