Wilson/Frost Differences Between Realism and Imagination
When I was a child, I often passed the time by playing imaginary games in which I was sometimes a superhero, sometimes a pirate, sometimes a teacher. I played these games all the way through elementary school, and when I was ten, I invited a friend over to my house, in the hopes that she would want to play my silly games with me. But when I mentioned it to her, she told me that imaginary games were “dumb”. If it is not real, what is the point of pretending? I was completely taken aback by what she said; obviously I preferred to live in the imaginary world, and she in the real world. This situation was a classic example of the struggle between realistic points of view and illusionist points of view. Correspondingly, the husband and wives in August Wilson’s Fences and Robert Frost’s “Home Burial” represent the differences between realism and imagination.
Rose Maxson views the world in a “realistic” fashion. Rose prefers to look upon the world as it truly is, without any pretense. She tells no tall tales and instead accepts the way of the world as is. When her husband recounts a false story, she refutes it with fact. For example, when Troy tells Bono about his encounter with Death, Rose cuts in with the truth: “he had pneumonia” (Wilson 151). When Troy claims to have met the devil, Rose replies, “You ain’t seen no devil” (Wilson 152). This shows that Rose is a no-nonsense woman when it comes to spinning imaginary tales. She prefers the truth of matters to falsities. Furthermore, she holds no illusions on how the world has changed or what consequences an action may have. When discussing sports with Troy and Bono, Troy claims that “the white man” would not allow Cory to progress in football, Rose asserts that “they got lots of colored boys playing ball now” (Wilson 149). She goes on to state that “times have changed” since the Second World War, which contradicts Troy’s argument that times have are still the same. This demonstrates Rose’s acceptance of the movement
Rose Maxson views the world in a “realistic” fashion. Rose prefers to look upon the world as it truly is, without any pretense. She tells no tall tales and instead accepts the way of the world as is. When her husband recounts a false story, she refutes it with fact. For example, when Troy tells Bono about his encounter with Death, Rose cuts in with the truth: “he had pneumonia” (Wilson 151). When Troy claims to have met the devil, Rose replies, “You ain’t seen no devil” (Wilson 152). This shows that Rose is a no-nonsense woman when it comes to spinning imaginary tales. She prefers the truth of matters to falsities. Furthermore, she holds no illusions on how the world has changed or what consequences an action may have. When discussing sports with Troy and Bono, Troy claims that “the white man” would not allow Cory to progress in football, Rose asserts that “they got lots of colored boys playing ball now” (Wilson 149). She goes on to state that “times have changed” since the Second World War, which contradicts Troy’s argument that times have are still the same. This demonstrates Rose’s acceptance of the movement
Cited: Frost, Robert. “Home Burial”. Literature and Ourselves. Sixth Ed. Pearson Education, Inc., 2009. 396 – 399. Wilson, August. “Fences”. Literature and Ourselves. Sixth Ed. Pearson Education, Inc., 2009. 144 – 197.