On p.27, Gabriel sings, "Better get ready for the judgment. Better get ready for the judgment morning. Better get ready for the judgment."
Who judges your actions--who determines if your dreams and your life is a success?
Should we worry about the judgment or just let it happen? Think about how Troy is about to be judged by his boss? How Cory is judged by Troy, etc? Who judges you but also who should be the true judge?
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Judgment is everywhere. There is not one place in the world where you are not going to be judged by someone because of something. When you first walk into a room full of people you have never met you are most likely judged by someone. Same goes for you, if you walk into a room full of people that you have never met, you look around for the people that look the most inviting and the people that are most like you. People judge you by numerous amounts of things. People judge you by what you wear; act like, what you look like, and what type of person or friend you are plus many other things. Judgment is not always a good thing. Judgment creates fences around people keeping people in or out of the fence that you create when you judge someone.
I believe the biggest thing that judges someone’s actions is society. Society judges everyone and everything. If someone looks different they are judged by society. Society is the one that judges people of different color. Society decides what is right and wrong and shapes its people around their thoughts and beliefs. Society has taught each generation to judge people and question there different looks and there different opinions. Judgment is not always good. It can be hurtful and wrong because you shouldn’t judge people until you know who they are. Even after you know who someone is you still shouldn’t judge them. They are who they are and they shouldn’t have to change who they are because of peoples judgments towards them.
Everyone has felt judgment at some point. There is not one person who hasn’t been judged or judged someone. In utopia judgment should only be felt by a person who judges themselves. People judge themselves to make themselves better and to improve their being. I believe that people should judge themselves and be hard on themselves. I believe it only makes a person better and only improves who they are and what they do. By saying that I believe its good to judge yourself, I think this is the only exception for judgment. I think that judgment is not acceptable at any circumstance except for when someone judges themselves. People are who they are because that’s what they want to be. Many people feel like they have to change themselves because of judgment. People shouldn’t have to change themselves just to satisfy someone else’s beliefs about them. People should be who they are and not let judgment bother you. We can’t just let judgment float by us. We can’t just let judgment find its way into our lives. We have to fight against judgment and show people that we can be who we are and that we don’t need judgment to live.
I agree with Halley in that judgment is an omnipresent force that comes mainly from society and from the people around us. We encounter it every day, but I don’t think that all of it is negative. It’s likely an unfortunate truth that most of it is, and yes, someone could judge you by your appearance, your race, or your personality. But aren’t we judged every day in school? Our homework, our tests, class participation, (even this blog) are judged by our teachers; that judgment isn’t a negative one.
At first glance, it is society, as Halley points out, that judges you. It decides who you are, where you belong, and what you can do with your life. It gives you an identity that you may or may not want, based upon its decision of who you are. Society will try to define you because of race, religion, physical appearance, gender, intelligence, and anything else people can find to judge. Society identifies Troy as an African-American. However this is the underlying issue with the labels that judging forces- that one judgment cannot define a person. To define someone with one word is nearly impossible, so how can the quick judgments of society be accurate or fair? I don’ think that they are. Especially in the case of such a complex character as Troy, one word is not enough to define him. This is something that Troy himself needs to realize. He forces Cory to get a job, to find a trade, even though doing so would destroy everything else that Cory wants to do. He continues to judge his son’s dreams and aspirations as inadequate and foolish- the same dreams and aspirations that will give Cory the opportunity to go to college, get out of poverty, (and away from Troy’s life, as Troy wants him to) and make something of his life, by both his and his father’s standards. Troy sees his methods of raising children, the way he treats his family, the way he provides for them as the only way of doing so and refuses to see any other avenue. He judges his way as the best and the only way and rejects anything else.
Judgment is inevitable- whether speaking in a religious context, or referring to that which we see and experience every day, there is no way to avoid it. That isn’t to say it is acceptable or it should be overlooked- the unfairness of judging someone based on appearance, race, religion, ect. is something that should not be tolerated. Society will judge, and it will decide every aspect of your life for you if you let it, and I think that’s where you have to slam down your metaphorical gavel. Society defines Troy as an African-American. He defines himself (or did at one point) as a baseball player. Troy decides that Cory is an A&P employee. Cory decides he is a football player. They both have the labels forced upon them by society and by one another, but they also have those that they decide for themselves. They determined who they were and did not let anything else influence them.
Troy calls a trade something that “can’t nobody take away from you” (p. 35). I don’t think he’s entirely right here; a job can be taken away in an instant. Troy and Cory have their own identities, ones that they found for themselves, and those are not so easily erased. Furthermore, even when they can no longer do what it is that defines them, the fact that they determined who they are is an identity in itself.
In life people are constantly being judged by both themselves and those around them. I think that the true judge though, is yourself. Since I was little I have looked to my parents to teach me right from wrong. Before I did anything I would check with them to see if it was okay. The thing I have had to realize over the years, from experiences, is that my parents are not always going to be there and that I need to judge whether my actions are right or wrong on my own. I think Troy needs to allow Cory to decide what he wants to do and learn from his mistakes. If my parents had of stopped me from doing all the things that might have not “worked out” I would have never learned how to make decisions on my own.
I also think that if you only listen to the judgments of others you will never be happy. Only I can determine whether or not I am happy. Of course my parents or friends could say, “Yes, you’re happy” but anyone can put on a face, the true emotions are deep down. I remember last year my teacher asking me and a couple of classmates if because we excel we owe it to society to be successful. Honestly I think that if we can get up in the morning and say, “hey, I am doing a great job” then we are successful. It may not be what someone else calls success, but that is why I say we are the true judges of ourselves. Though people may not say Troy is successful, he is proud of his family which he determines his success by.
When Cory goes to Troy and asks if he likes him, Troy says no. Though it is hard I think Cory needs to get beyond caring and understand that no one can be perfect and there is always going to be someone judging you. Troy needs to realize this as well. Though I think that he knows he is being judged in life all the time he seems to deny that entire people say which is not the best way to handle judgment. He should ideally take the judgment and learn from what people say. People just need to know that just because someone says it is true it may not be, you need to learn to take what people say and form your own judgments with help from them. I definitely understand as do most teenagers. It is hard to know that a person does not like you, it is hard not to wonder why. I have learned though that someone is always going to dislike you and there is nothing we can do about it.
This is a poem i wrote about fences, and has to do with the fact that we are hypocrites and that the racism of society invades our consciousness even when we don't want it too.
Fences
Solid walls against change
Placed unsoundly
Can't see the walls
That fence you in
But you can feel them
We live in glass houses
But we throw rocks
We pretend to love
What is on the outside
Of our walls; omission
Imagination, hate
Spikes driven into the ground
In front of our walls
Traps against change
But who are we trapping?
Ourselves, with our stubbornness
Trapped in our old ways
Stuck in the ground,
Barriers against society
On the outside
A mob trying to get in,
A flood rushing over
Consuming your thoughts
You are dissolving into society
Your thoughts are not your own
A feeling of false security
The glass is fragile
But it allows us to look out
Observing, narrating, commenting
But not acting
We think we are safe, behind our fences
We are trapped in by our own judgment
And breaking free takes confessing
To a murder
Blood on pale hands,
Long ignored, begins to drip
Over the black carpet
And leaving a stain
The fences start as prejudices acquired young (as America)
First they grow deeper into the ground (slavery)
Like a seed
Then they bloom up, into an impassable barrier (racism)
Of thorns and needles
A flower garden everyone wants
The tree of knowledge of good and evil,
A bat and a baseball up against it
Guarded by the flaming sword of prejudice and racism.
A single money tree, a white statue next to it
A fallen angel…all he wants is freedom
Wow, that poem was really powerful poem, Mitch. I completely agree with what you said about how our thoughts are not our own and we're trapped in our old ways. I think this is exactly how society builds fences around us, through influencing our opinions until our opinions become the majority consensus, not what we truly think. I think that this happens unintentionally, but I also think that people have the ability to recognize that they are giving in to the pressure of society to act the way the majority believes you should act.
Going back to judgment, I think that what people think of you and what they think you should be are irrelevant to who you are. Although everyone feels pressure to be accepted by society, the only person who can truly decide who you are is yourself. Other people's opinions ultimately don't matter and you must decide who you want to be and how you want to act. I think achieving this is one of the most difficult aspects of life and also the hardest to realize. You might think that the only way to feel confident in yourself is to adhere to what others expect of you and to do what they think you should do. But when you begin to believe that society's judgments about you are correct, then you lose your individuality. No one can stop society from judging you, but you can stop society from affecting how you judge yourself. I think when Gabriel sings, "Better get ready for the judgment", he means that you have to prepare yourself to deconstruct the fences of judgment that others build around you. You have to learn how to not only get past how others judge you, but you must also learn to focus only on what you think of yourself and how you think you should judge yourself. For Troy, I think that he learns judgmental behavior from his boss, and thus discriminates against his son because that's all he knows. He has the ability to be his own judge, but he refuses to realize that, and he continues to judge his own son as a result.
Judgment is one of those major fences that people have. Most people judge other people because they are no fully confident with themselves. They find it easier to put down other people instead of facing their own problems; I myself have a couple friends that do that. Most people are afraid of what they are being judged upon so they try to look exactly like society wants them to look like so that they don’t be judged. I say not to worry about judgment and just live life being yourself and enjoying every minute of it. I let judgment just happen and ignore it completely because there is no way around it, every day you are going to be judged it can be good or it can be bad, but why should it bother you? Most people judge me as a very sweet and quiet person; but after talking to me, you can see that I can be very pessimistic. In judging people, your peers are always first to judge you, but for me I feel like I should be the only judge about what I should look like and act like, I feel as though the persons judgment of oneself should be the only judgment that matters to them. In Troy’s case being judged upon his skin color, is obviously racist, but I sometimes find myself looking at colored people more; even though I try not to notice the difference I still do. I know that they are still the same as me but not regularly being around them they stand out more compared to white people. But now it is not as bad as troy had it. I somewhat feel sorry for him, but he shouldn’t put pity on himself because of his skin color, it is who he is and it can be an advantage or a disadvantage, it all depends on how he uses it. But I think that Troy should get to know his son more before he makes life altering decisions for him, I feel as Troy is judging Cory as himself and not letting Cory have his own personality and individuality. He is trying to act too much like his father and he isn’t even listening to what his family and friends are telling him. By ignoring them he is just building the fence between him and his family much higher and thicker. He needs to realize that he isn’t the only one in the world and that everyone is there to help him out.
A deconstruction of Fences (the poem): I will deconstruct my poem stanza by stanza so everyone else can better understand it.
"The solid walls against change/ placed unsoundly" refer to our prejudices that we unconscious throw up before us to hold us in against change. We can't see these walls since they are unconscious, but we can feel them as they impact our lives and decisions. We don't always choose to admit these walls though.
"We live in glass houses/but we throw rocks" is saying how we are fundamentally insecure people, but we take pleasure in trying to ruin other people's lives, even though our lives really rest on foundations of sand…they can be destroyed be others very easily. "Omission/imagination, hate" refers to the fact that when we don't have experience with something in our lives (omission), then that leads to imagining what they may be like, then we begin to hate what we have imagined. This is the fundamental reason for racism and discrimination.
"Spikes driven into the ground" has its roots in the police spike traps, to trap people try to flee. This refers to Troy in the book that Rose wants the fence built to keep Troy in, as well as our fences are built to keep us from harm. Like when Rose is signing "Jesus, Jesus, be a fence around me" she wants protection and security. "Ourselves, with our stubbornness" means that we don't want to change, because that would be admitting that we are wrong; like the passage further down the poem "And breaking free takes confessing/ to a murder", the murder of rational and logic, as well as other people's hopes dreams and desires. This also refers to racism.
Stuck in the ground refers to not being able to move up in the societal and economic scene, you are stuck where you are if you are colored. "Barriers against society" is saying the same thing; we have barriers in our society against other parts of our society. The flood is the flood of ideas from society, "your thoughts are not your own" is how the society is influencing us a huge amount in everything that we do.
"We are trapped by our own judgment" is referring to the fact that when we judge others, we set up walls (fences, barriers) against both other people and change. This closes us in mentally, but it also contains us, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. If you are not acting on what you want, then it is closing you in too much, until you are suffocating. But if they are more guidelines then a container, like pong, you want to have freedom, but also have boundaries. These boundaries we set are fragile though, and easily broken by others; and our hypocritical nature of throwing rocks at others…we will eventually get rocks thrown back at us.
"And breaking free/takes confessing to a murder" is in my opinion one of the most powerful lines of the poem. Breaking free of our constraints and racism is like confessing to a murder both literally in figuratively. Literally; if we haven't ever given different people a chance, then we have killed any hope of getting to know them. This leads back to the "omission/ imagination, hate" line. Also, when we judge people, then we may have killed their ambitions. Figuratively; breaking free from anything is hard, especially something that is both unconsciously taught by the media and we deny vigorously, like a murder. You wouldn't want to say; yes I killed that person, as we have done by not giving people chances and getting to know them. By putting people in common stereotypes we put barriers around them and barriers up in our minds.
"The tree of knowledge of good and evil,/ a bat and a baseball up against it" are two lines that both speak religiously and to Troy's decision making. In Troy's desire to get power, he claims to know the difference between good and evil, and claims to act good, but the truth is he does nothing of the sort. He has become the evil that he deplores. He claims to know the truth, and how others are treating him unfairly, but he turns around and does the same thing to his son and wife. The tree is "Guarded by the flaming sword of prejudice and racism" in that whatever someone tries to do or claims to know or do, they are still affected by prejudices that they have acquired towards or against others. As Albert Einstein put it; "Common sense is a collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." Troy has prejudice against his wife because Troy thinks he owns her because Rose needs Troy, and Troy feels power over her. And over Cory because Troy thinks that because Cory is his son, he has life or death power over him. The dictionary definition of prejudice is: an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. This defines how Troy treats others, not allowing him to be near the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The first part of knowledge is know, and this Troy lacks. Troy thinks he knows, but he really has no clue how he is treating others.
"A single money tree, a white statue next to it" is saying how the white people have all the money. Everyone wants this money, but only the whites have it. The white statue stands for this. "A fallen angel…all he wants is freedom" the fallen angel is Gabriel. He fell from heaven to earth, and just gave. He gives his sanity and almost his life to his country; but they are racist towards him and try to control him through that. When he gets money for his injury, he gives it to Troy so that Troy can build his house and support his family. The white people like to lock him up for disturbing the peace, because then Troy has to give them 50 dollars. While this is nothing compared to what Gabriel has given for him, he can't stand it, and so uses Gabriel again. He 'sells' Gabriel into the mental institution for money. Even though Gabe has given pretty much everything in his life, people still find ways to take advantage of him. All that Gabe really desires is freedom from oppression. He gives his life for America, and America treats him horribly by making fun of him and locking him up. This destroys his freedom completely, as all he wants to do is stretch his wings and fly up and away. He stands for oppression and liberation. Gabe in heaven was how the African-Americans were when they were in Africa. Then they were taken across the ocean into slavery and into a 'hell' that is similar to what happened to Gabe. He went from heaven into slavery of Troy and white people. Even though, like a slave, Gabe provides Troy with a house and money, Troy is completely apathetic to this. He treats Gabe just like a slave, and when Gabe is becoming more of a liability than a help, he sells him as a slave to the white people and what they stand for: the loss of freedom, aka liberation.
Judgment is someone looking at you. Judgment is someone's opinion about you. Most importantly, judgment is how you perceive the people around you. When Troy cheats on Rose, Rose could have been judgmental and chosen to refuse to help him raise Raynell. She could have thought of Troy as a bad person, and been harsh on his reasons. Although she leaves Troy mentally homeless, she does not judge his child that ultimately represents Troy's disloyalty. As she says, you cannot judge an innocent child on the wrongdoings of their father. I think this tells us a lot about the character of Rose. She judges people fairly, in a way many people cannot. She holds so much kindness in her heart, that she cannot let Raynell be raised motherless. I know I could not have such a kind’s judgment of character. If I gave my whole life to someone, gave up my everything for them, I could never fairly judge this child of his affair. I may blame her, or more likely, say she is his problem and make his raise her as a punishment for being disloyal to me. I would leave. Sometimes, when you love someone, or have given someone everything, you feel you can't leave them, or owe them something, even if they are no longer worthy of you. Even if they've betrayed you, doing something on a much more minor scale makes you feel terrible. Rose takes in this child to show her love for Troy. He struck out, lost the game with her, but to show she had loved him, she took in his child. The one weak judgment she may have made comes here. Sometimes you have to love yourself more than someone else. Sometimes you need to leave to love. More importantly, you must find the strength, the dignity, inside oneself, to do what is best for yourself, although it isn't what you want. Rose should have left Troy, but her judgment, distorted by love, left them alone together in their home. Raising this child, and dealing with the painful memories of being cheated on every time you looked at that child's face, she did it for the bond of love. Rose never could fully let go of this love. However, she did stand up for herself on a smaller spectrum. She never really forgave Troy. She mentally left him on his own. She took on his child for both her love for Troy, and for her compassion and non judgmental attitude towards the child. There are some important lessons here. One is to be compassionate and non judgmental. Another is to stand up for your self. Believe in your love, and do what is best for it. Though this seems to clash with the last lesson, they can almost be fit together. Rose metaphorically took the child and left Troy alone for all the love she gave him, all the love inside her that she had always given to him. Ultimately, Rose made the decision that would affect the most people beneficially. This is the true meaning of being an honest-to-god caring loving person.
I think the people around us shape who we are. Our parents, friends and the society we live in ultimately judge us and most people conform to those judgments. It is much easier to do this than to look or act different. For example, Troy was judged unfairly by his boss because of his skin color. He was made to ride on the back of the garbage truck and it had nothing to do with his ability to be a garbage collector. Troy did not rebel or complain even though he was unhappy because he knew his place in society. Troy understood that he could lose his job and jeopardize his family. He took this frustration home where he judged and mistreated his family. Troy judged Rose and controlled her. He would verbally and physically abuse her if she was a “good wife” or not.
There is a law that is called a reverse discrimination law. It allows people other than whites to get good jobs. These would be jobs traditionally for white people. This breaks the color barrier and gives blacks a chance at higher paying jobs that would allow them to escape the culture of black society. Sometimes though a black person gets a job just because he is black and a white can not even though he may be better qualified.
Society judges us by our wealth, possessions and careers. In these ways it determines if your life is a success. My parents judge me by my grades and by the number of goals I make on the field. They say they really judge me by the amount of effort I put into any endeavor and by the kind of person that I am. But I think success should be measured by individual goals. In an ideal world you would be the only one who determines if your dreams come true and your life is a success.
I think that our society and culture is built around judgments of what is right and what is wrong. Society judges people by looks, education, profession, and their actions. Fences are built to keep out people that are considered taboo. Many people who have a certain profession are generalized as a stereotypical lawyer or banker for example. I think that society could be more productive if people weren’t judged by how they look or what they do because then everyone would be able to be a productive member of society.
All judging isn’t bad even though much is. Our teachers often judge our work in a constructive manner to help us improve and learn. Their judgments give us a platform on which to improve off of. By constructively judging us they help us realize the faults in our work so that we can fix them. Not all teachers’ judgments of our work are helpful though. If a teacher just fails a person but doesn’t explain what that person did wrong than that didn’t help that person at all.
Although some judgments are helpful ultimately only we should judge ourselves. I think that our judgments about ourselves and our work helps guide and alter the course of our lives. Others judgments about us should be taken into consideration but when it comes down to it I think only our judgments about ourselves, although affected by others judgments, should be completely followed because it is our lives that are affected by them. No matter what we all judge others even though we may not like the judgments made about us. I think that these judgments are born out of insecurity or jealousness. Not all of our judgments about others are necessarily bad. If we are judging their work in order to help them than that is good. I believe that society’s judgments shouldn’t stop anyone from doing what they want to do because our personal judgments of ourselves should be held in the highest regards.
Who is the correct person to judge oneself? People may question themselves and find different answers. Maybe it’s a best friend, a family mate, a teacher or the person themselves. Judgment is nearly unavoidable and omnipresent at the same time. Everyone is being judged at the same time or moment. People just cannot seem and help to judge someone at a first glance. But first perceptions may turn out wrong and people can change those judgments that were previously made. As soon as people seem to view a person judgment is made, weather talking about the clothes, the person’s looks, or personality. However what a person wears or looks isn’t important. A person is important by their specific qualities of who they really are. One cannot judge someone just by looking at them. You have got to get to know who they really are before it is really proper to judge them.
If you were to walk into a room filled with people, you will find that you yourself will be looking around the room trying to judge everyone. You can tell who looks like they want to be in that place just by looking at how they are acting even without speaking. It is in people’s nature to judge someone and you are likely to be judged multiple times in your life. Its human nature and its nearly avoidable to look at someone just by looking and seeing and thinking something like they look nice, they look mean, or perhaps something like they look different and unfriendly.
Who should be the one in the end to judge weather the dreams in life were accomplished or not? Who should be the one to decide weather their life was fulfilled enough? It should be no one but the person themselves. People have to be the judge of themselves and figure out if they gave life a good run for its money? They have to realize how they lived their life. Did they do everything they could? Were they the best person they could be?
Judgment given by other people can help too. It can help shape a person to become a better person. The judgment can help someone realize what they are doing in life. If they are making a mistake they can realize from other people what they are doing. In a way judgment is very helpful and something that is good. The biggest place to be judged in life is the way someone is acting or personality. A person is constantly judged in life but are they ever judged only by their personality? Have people actually been able to put aside appearance and past gossip and realize for themselves the type of person someone is?
In a perfect world judgment would not exist. People would be able to go anywhere without worry of what someone will think of you. You could enter school or work without the worry of what will people think of how I’m dressed or how I look today. Even in the working world you wouldn’t be judged by how much money you make, in school how good your grades are, and in sports how well you perform. Your life should be about what makes you happy not what makes others think something of you. Our world is nothing like what I mentioned of a perfect world. People are judged no matter where they go whether walking into a place where you know people or a place where you know no one judgment takes place. The true place where you should never be judge is in your home. I know there are people who don’t have a comfortable home environment and in many cases have no family. With your home and family I think you should include your close friends. But when with your family or friends I think it is the one place where you should never be judged or judge. Your family and friends are something you will always have and can’t get rid of. It doesn’t matter what some random person on the streets thinks you more than likely will never see them again, but your family and friends are someone you see almost everyday and should be happy when you’re with them. I don’t think that anyone other than you should judge if your dreams and life are a success. You are the one that makes your life a success. Success doesn’t have to be what society labels it as money, fame, etc. Success in your life should be what makes you happy. If you really want to live a happy life then you should just let judgment happen and just ignore it. Judgment has been around forever and it still hasn’t ended. If you start to ignore it and not care about then maybe others will catch on and ignore also until maybe it improves. There always will be people who are judged and judge but they can do what they like all that matters is what you do to make yourself happy.
Whether you know it or not, you judge people. Whenever you meet someone for the first time, you look at them and judge on if they are preppy, trashy, rich, poor, sloppy, athletic, etc., depending on their clothes or hair or skin color or weight or the way they act. Judgment is impossible to maneuver around; it is also impossible to stop yourself from doing it. Judgment also acts as a fence. For example, if a person enters an office for a job interview, they will most likely not get the job if they are wearing a stained t-shirt and sweatpants and look sloppy and un-kept, even if they are truly driven, intelligent, and determined. This is because of judgment, which surrounds us wherever we go. It prevents us from making friends, or perhaps keeping them. If you walk into school for your first day, people automatically judge you based on what brand of clothes you’re wearing, or something as equally shallow. They will unknowingly form an opinion of you, until you yourself are willing to shape and mold that opinion by your actions.
Unfortunately, I believe that while you are able to determine your success, it is also your peers, coworkers, family, or friends that are also there to decide if your life is successful. While their perception of your achievement may not be accurate, it does count, since these are the people who act as a stepladder for your success. It is nearly impossible to succeed all by yourself; others must help you, no matter how independent you are. If your peers perceive you to be ineffective, unmotivated, and lazy, you will probably not get anywhere in life. Isn’t it your boss that decides your future? It’s inconvenient, but it’s true: if your boss doesn’t believe you will ever be successful, they will not promote you, and you will be stuck in the same position for a long time.
However, you are the true judge of yourself. Even if you feel successful being a McDonald’s cashier, then why would you care if others believe your life is pointless? It is also true that you do not always need higher authority such as bosses or teachers in order to become a success. Although it may be hard, you can make your life a success by becoming your own boss. You can control your actions, therefore you can also control your business decisions, which lead to achievement.
Judgment is a huge part of our lives and our society today. Everyone is constantly judging or being judged, whether it is on ones appearance, their personality, or their actions. This judgment is created by society, and our personal perception of things. Judgment often creates fences between people that are hard to overcome. If you judge someone immediately upon meeting them, you are automatically putting up a fence. Unless you are willing to change that judgment the fence is hard to break down. Because this judgment is all around us it really is not something anyone should worry about. No one can control what people think about them, and you shouldn’t let it affect your life. That being said, it is sometimes hard not to care. Everyone has felt the judgment of someone, and often times the judgment is harsh or unfair. It is hard not to listen to these people, but sometimes it is necessary not to. In the end I believe the true judgment of a person should come from yourself. Your opinion of yourself is the only one that should matter. In “Fences” the main characters face many judgments. Troy faces judgment in baseball because of his skin color and Gabriel face judgment from society because of his mental state. In the case of Troy and baseball he is forbidden to play in the Major Leagues because he is black. Although he is a great player, he is held back because of the racism and hate that existed in society during this time period. Gabriel faces judgment from society because he is mentally unstable. Society is uncomfortable with this, and therefore he is sent to a mental hospital so that society does not have to deal with him. Although he received this injury serving his country and the people that are now locking him up, he is being sent there so that society does not have to see him. Like the characters in “Fences” people today face judgment over things they cannot change on a daily basis. Even though it may be unfair, it is a fact of life and society and something that will not change.
Anywhere you go, no matter what, your actions and looks are always judged. If you walk into a room full of people that you don’t know anything about yet, I’m sure every single person in that room will judge one another. This is a bad habit that people should get rid of because it is only going to create barriers in their life. I think that there is only one true judge in life and that is you. You are truly the only person who is capable of setting standards for yourself and deciding if your looks or actions are “right” or not.
People often make actions or change their looks due to what they think their society will appreciate. Judgment, in this situation plays a huge role because it influences people to not do what they really want to. In a way this is wrong because society judges us to make actions or look a certain way that we might not agree with. Yet we do it because of the fear of being judged in the wrong way. People shouldn’t care about what other people think of themselves. If another person is judgmental, you can’t stop them. All you have to do if be comfortable with yourself and accept who you are.
In the example of walking into a room full of people who you have never met before, what is your first thought? Do you think of which person you will most likely be friends with and who you won’t be? A person who looks like you and one who doesn’t? These thoughts aren’t wrong because you are only thinking, but once you put these actions into play, that is when they are harmful. If you refuse to talk to one of these people based on just looking at them and not liking how they look, that is wrong. It is not fair to judge someone who might end up being really good friends with you in the end.
Troy is judged by his boss and is therefore given the place as a lifter instead of a driver. He is given this position because Troy’s boss doesn’t think he is capable in doing work that is harder than lifting. His skin color also plays a part. Since his skin color is different from those who are usually drivers, Troy’s boss does not give him the position of a driver.
I’m not saying that judgments are always considered bad, but they can also open up a door to people for improving. A person can improve their actions or looks if they aren’t the greatest by the feedback given by the people who made the judgment, but it is not necessary to completely change them. Judgment is only destructive if it is used to such an extent that it can be harmful to another.
First off let me say I am who I am. Though I have been shaped by society and great people around me I have picked and chosen little pieces of each part of our society that best define me to create a self image and identity. Yes Martin Luther King Jr. was great, but it was all of those people around him that he took characteristics and ideas from that made him a legend. What I’m trying to say is he did what so many have struggled to do. He took the puzzle pieces of a society and combined them together to create a great human being that encompasses all of the qualities that we find in our lives so appealing. Yet, in life there will always be a judge who tells you if you’re a good baseball player or the right image for a CEO of their company. They will not always be right in their judgment, but we have to continue to be who we are to succeed. If we try to throw away our identity we will not succeed in our lives. Michael Jackson is a clear representation of this. People loved his as he was when he was an African American. He then decided to change his appearance to break racial boundaries holding him back and failed miserably. This proves the point that you can only be who you are in life. The judge won’t always be fair, but you have to stay true to who you are.
Unlike Troy who is overly worried about judgment, Cory stays true to who he is and doesn’t worry what others think about him. We are the judges of ourselves, we determine if we are winning or striking out in life, no one but us can make our lives a success. This brings us to the main focus of the book fences. Troy judges that in his life he is not winning or enjoying himself. He decides that to win he has to enjoy himself and cheat on his wife Rose. Never should we let ourselves abuse this power of judgment as Troy did. There will always be fences that we cannot cut down so we must retrace our steps and go around the fence instead of over it. You only have one life so you must live it to the best of your ability. John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. We must not wait to be judged by others (our country), but we have to step up and take action to make our lives a success and in doing so building a legacy as a true contributor to our country.
Judgment is a force that surrounds each and every one of us all the time. Whether we like it or not, we are going to be judged by someone around you. I believe that everyone we meet judges us at one point or another. However, the most important thing that we must not forget is that you have the ability to judge yourself and live by your own morals and standards. Needless to say, this does not change the fact that there is a much more powerful Judgment force present in everyone’s lives: the people in our society. People in society are very judgmental towards the person you are and the decisions you make. This judgmental attitude can come in both a positive and negative manner. The way a person reacts to this criticism can either build you up or bash you down. In order to succeed in life, you cannot let society determine if you have reached your dreams, you must be the decider in whether you have reached success in your life.
In my opinion, we should not worry about judgment, for it is bound to occur. This does not mean that we should just let it happen either. However, we should be aware of this judgment, but not allow it to change the way we lead our lives. Troy is a prime example of this. Troy does not care what his boss thinks of him. Recall after Troy got his position driving the garbage truck Bono asked Troy if he had a driver’s license and Troy sharply replied: “he ain’t got to know. The man ain’t got to know my business. Time he find out, I have two or three driver’s licenses” (46). This shows that Troy doesn’t care about what his boss thinks. Troy does not give in to some of the judgmental powers of the people around him. To me it is clear that every person I meet has the ability to judge me but more importantly society as whole judges who I am. In my opinion, I am the most important judge of my decisions and successes in life.
I think that people judge others on their outside appearance and behavior. When you meet new people you tend to go to the ones that look or act like you or who you are friends with. People normally don’t go to people who look or act different then what one’s used to. I think this is because people feel most comfortable with people that are like themselves, people want to stay within their comfort zones; if you are a shy person then you wouldn’t feel comfortable being with someone who acts loud and crazy. Also, if you have people always judging you then they will keep breaking you down and pointing out your flaws to lift themselves up. This can make people self conscious and lower peoples self esteem. Judgment also creates fences between people who are different, and this makes a divided society.
I don’t think that this is right at all. I don’t believe people should be judged by others and one shouldn’t have to meet someone’s standards just to be friends with them. I believe that you should be your own judge. You should set the standards for yourself and then strive to meet your own standards, so that you are being the best that you can be. If you are always looking for others to judge you then you will never grow as a person, you won’t be yourself or the person you want to be, you will become what others tell you to.
What I think you should be able to judge is whether something is right or wrong. Like Mareesa said, you always look to your parents to see if something is a good idea, but there will come a time when you wont be able to ask them and you will need to judge whether it is a good idea or not. I believe that you must learn if something is right or wrong by mistakes, you must make a mistake to learn from it, and once you make the mistake you won’t make it again.
Judgment is constantly bombarding us from all angles. We judge ourselves and we judge each other, some more than others. Often times that fear of judgment is what fences us in. There are things we want to do but the fact that they aren’t in conformity with everyone else stops us. Why do we allow other’s judgment to affect us? Because of fences, because of fear. Fear of being an outcast and fear of not having anything.
There is no way to evade judgment of others and of yourself. By looking at someone we subconsciously form an opinion of them. My perception on judgment is that it is inevitable. We may not be able to stop it but that doesn’t mean we have to let it influence us. Other people aren’t meant to be the ones that dictate our lives. We are the ones that should have the say if we are doing or wearing or saying the right thing. If something happens in my life I like to be the deciding factor on weather it is good or bad, sad or happy, successful or abysmal.
In Fences Troy judges Cory, Cory judges Troy, Troy judges Rose and so on and so forth. The point is that that these judgments put up fences between the people. And these fences create conflict. Cory and Troy have a falling out that lasts up to Troy’s death and Rose and Troy separate as she takes on his illegitimate child. Tory judges Cory for wanting to play football and expects that he will fail just like Troy did. Cory judges his father for being the way he is and treating him the way he does without taking into account the situation he was in growing up. He grew up similarly to Cory but wasn’t strong enough to break away as Cory did. Cory judges his father for this weakness and for becoming host to the sins of Troy’s father. Their inability to break down the fences built by judgment, in the end is what makes them that much taller.
I agree with Halley and Sophie that judgment is omnipresent impact on everyone’s lives. Judgment has driven us to frustration and satisfaction. The greatest judging force is the individual. A jury, although acting as a whole, is made up of individual judgments and opinions. No matter where we turn we will be judged as Halley said. As John Lennon openly said, “It is for others to judge. I am doing it. I do. I don’t stand back…I do (judge).” We are judged by everyone, and we are judging everyone. Judgments vary due to a large amount of things. For Troy and other blacks it is for their skin color. It could be skin, accent, anything having to do with appearance, voice, manners, attitude etc. Troy judges Cory as just dust in the wind. Another person like himself who feels they have the talent to succeed but wont. It isn’t because he lacks the talent, but rather because he’s black.
I have always felt that judgment is a problem in society. It is because of judgments that people are rejected and injured mentally and physically. Once people realize the results of judgment they fear it and become fenced in. Judgment robs them of freedom and spits out disparity. We are too fearful of others judgments to realize how little they actually mean. The unknown locks us with anxiousness. As John Lennon puts it, “It’s fear of the unknown…And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that…Accept [the] unkown and it’s plain sailing.” In other words, since everybody worries about others judgments we go insane and fence ourselves from freedom. But it isn’t until we discover others judgments; once we are judged we get fenced in. Not only us, but dreams, hopes, and opinions, are all fenced in.
Many people can label your dreams or life as a success or failure. But it all depends on what you yourself think. For example, in my opinion being a performer doesn’t need to be based on talent. To be a musician, for example, shouldn’t always be judged by talent. Those who have the passion that is able to overcome the fear of judgment are musicians. They may cause headaches, but if they feel satisfied that’s all that truly matters. Sure talent greatly benefits judgments and opinions, but it shouldn’t completely.
Lennon confidently goes to say “If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or my music, then in that respect you can call me that. . . I believe in what I do, and I'll say it. You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are! I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything.” Once WE can accept ourselves and rid judgments from our mind, we can tear down the fence restraining us. The only road to true freedom is the thin line escaping judgment.
Judgment should only come from yourself, but sadly it doesn't. Judgment happens to everyone and everyone judges. If you do not think that you judge people then you should think about it, judging doesn't need to happen with someone you know. You can be walking somewhere downtown and see someone (you do not know this person) and you know nothing about them at all you are not sure if they are nice or mean, happy or sad, but you judge this person on their looks, how they walk or something stupid that doesn't even define that person as a human. Judgment is unavoidable, its everywhere. Everyone judges too, your parents, your best friends, your worst enemies no matter what there will be judgment.
You should be the only one who decides where you want to go in life. Others might put in some helpful input to push you towards your dreams but when it comes down to it, its your call. When I was looking at other schools for highschool I was not interested in leaving my friends at all, my parents sent in my applications for me. Even though they did not choose for me and did not put pressure on me to make a choice they helped me in making the right choice of coming to Berwick which was helping me towards my dreams. But you have to be the one to sit down and think about what you are doing and if you happy doing it, because life is to short to be living with regret.
You should not let judgment control your life but you have to realize that it is there, you can not live in denial of its existance even if people that you love judge. In order for judgment not to affect you, you have to be comfortable with your self. People have to realize the damage that judging can do, it can change people lives in a positive or a very negative way.
In today’s world, it would seem that everyone around you judges you and your actions. Though only you can determine your own dreams and whether you feel you have achieved success, it appears that society plays a large role as well. We all are concerned about what other people think of us and think success depends on whether you are rich and how good your possessions are. However, I feel that while money and possessions may be nice, success should be measured in happiness, family and friends. One can live without luxuries, but it would be very lonely and unsatisfying to live without happiness and companions. Everyone’s definition of success may be different, and therefore it is only up to that person to judge themselves. The world is far to stereotypical and judgmental, which makes us think that it is up to others to judge you when truly your right alone. If you have a dream or an aspiration, then you should go for it. If you want that dream enough and achieve it, then you can consider yourself a success no matter what others may think. Unfortunately today, society seems to be the true judge but it should be ones own self. Not only does society judge you, but it can also be the people you are close to. One such example is between Cory and Troy.
Troy holds Cory back and judges him unfairly based on his own past experiences. Cory tries to attain his dream and get successes by playing football, but Troy just holds him back. Troy thinks of Cory as someone who is stupid to play sports and considers him this way just because he did not have a good experience with them. He creates a stereotype about all whites being unfair to all blacks and he is just bitter about himself not getting chances. Perhaps the best example of Troy unfairly judging someone is his treatment of Lyons. He judges Lyons as a worthless person who is throwing his life away just because he is more interested in music than he is getting a job. He thinks musicians don’t feel like they should work and categorizes Lyons as one of these. By lumping people together and being unwilling to accept people can be different, Troy unfairly judges people through stereotypes. However, the only reason for Troys stereotypes is because it is his defense mechanism against people stereotyping him. He feels his boss and the world judge him by the color of his skin, so he feels it is ok to judge other people by outer aspects. He needs to not worry about other people judging him and only let the judge of his actions be himself. Troy thinks he is oppressed because of his skin and feels he is constantly judged, but he needs to ignore that judgment and continue living his life. If he is upset about the way others think about him, he needs to not act that way towards others; he only fuels the problem by continuing the judging of others. If society accepted people for who they are and did not judge them, there would be no prejudice or discrimination. Everyone would be able to freely set their own goals, standards, and measures of success without the fear of others harsh judgment.
No matter what we do, we will always be judged by those around us, and we will always fail certain expectations. No matter who we try to impress, there will always be faults in our effort. People are always judging so regardless of whether they are important to you or not, their judgment should not be what dictates your action. The only one who should be deciding and making your future is you. You are the one who controls your own destiny. Other people can and will help, but ultimately your happiness is up to yourself. If you succeed in your goals and dreams then you can be happy. But if you fail to meet your own standards you will have no one to blame but yourself.
People have no right to judge you because they don’t know who you are, and why you do what you do. Unless you were with me for every second of every day, you have no place condemning me. In my life, I am judged by my parents, my teachers, and my friends. Although I have to pay attention to all of them, I cannot let their judgments influence my overall decisions. I should still pay attention to them because if I let down certain people then I will let down myself too. But if I only act because of what other people think then I am no longer my own person. I am what the people around me want me to be.
No matter how I feel I always want to stay true to myself. I don’t want to do things that I don’t believe in or agree in. Sometimes to reach goals you must do things that you don’t see the point in or agree with, but the dream can only be accomplished through the minor parts. I think that a persons overall goal is to become the best they can be in their own view. When you are lying on your death bed you won’t think about who you let down and what certain people think about you. You will ask yourself if you lived your life by being true to yourself in every action you did. If you were true to yourself, then you can die with a smile on your lips knowing that you did your best to be a person you would admire.
In my opinion, judgment shouldn’t be as worrisome as it is. Although people are constantly judging, it shouldn’t be on the top of people’s priorities list. Even if you don’t know somebody, if you see them for a split second, they can already have formulated an opinion of you, without even talking to you.
If people stopped worrying about being judged all the time, their lives would be so much easier. If you’re persistently worrying about what people think of you, you’ll never be able to enjoy life. If you asked a high school student right now, what matters more to them, acting like they think people want them to, or acting like themselves, I guarantee you that most people would say what people think of them. It’s sad, that the prospect of being honest to yourself is dead to most kids in our generation.
Am I the only person who wishes people were more like they were in elementary school? When the only things that mattered besides school was who you were playing with at recess or when Sesame Street was on? It might sound stupid, but I feel like life was so much easier when we were little kids and nobody cared how you dressed, or who you hung out with, because everyone wore jellies and jean jackets, and everyone thought everyone else was their best friend.
Having to worry about what everyone will think about you when you get dressed in the morning isn’t going to help you dress any better. Being more concerned with who likes who than your Western Civ homework isn’t going to get you a better grade. Having to balance between your social life and your academic life shouldn’t be as exhausting as it is. By the time you get home in the afternoon, you’re head is buzzing from all the gossip that you can hardly focus on your homework. Although our gossip consumption may not be as high as it would be if we were a public school, it’s still a lot.
The point I’m trying to make is that people should worry less about what people think of them, and more about things that really matter.
In life, people face all sorts of judgment wherever they go. No matter what, they can’t escape it. No matter how old or how young, it’s always there. In school you’re judged by your friends and enemies, and at home it’s by your family. Not only are we judged using words, but also by numbers. Report cards and grades are simply just numbers. The words written on it don’t matter, it’s just purely the numbers that seem to state how worthy you are in a household and in a society. People’s insults and comments judge you on how you act, how smart you are, what you wear, your interests, your life, and what makes you what you are. We can’t stop judgment in a society that has so much of it.
We shouldn’t worry about these judgments because even though the comments, numbers, and insults can be soul crushing at the time, they don’t make a difference later on. There’s no one person that is in charge of judging because everyone judges the people around them. Not necessarily in a bad way, but everyone does. Society is set up on judgment. Judgment about how worthy you are as a human and as a citizen of your community. Your judgment of yourself should be the only one that matters to you.
Cory is judged by his father because he doesn’t trust Cory’s judgment or his choices. Troy doesn’t approve of him playing football and because of that he takes control and doesn’t let him play and makes him work instead. Troy’s judgment of Cory, ends up running Cory’s life and ruining his opportunities to play football in college. Though Cory doesn’t really think much of Troy’s control and judgment of him, he still is forced to work when Troy doesn’t sign the papers and talks to the coach. Cory doesn’t let Troy’s judgment hurt him mentally, but he cant stop it from taking over his life and taking away his decisions.
I think, ultimately, we judge ourselves, but many things go into that decision. If we base it off of what other people think of us, you can end up being someone you’re not. Like Rose, we can be shaped by what’s around us and forget about our core values. You can also be judged only by yourself and stand tall for your beliefs. This can come off as being self-centered, egotistical, and dominating. In this sense, Lyons has been forced to follow in his father’s steps in order to survive without a guiding father figure in his childhood. Lastly, you can stay true to your core values by asserting yourself, but compromise to stay close to the one’s you love. Cory compromised for seventeen years, but finally snapped before he turned into Troy and lost what he truly believed in.
The weak, pushover type, like Rose, are turned that way by the powerful, dominating force that is Troy and at one point they need to stand up for themselves. It is not right for someone to use everyone around them to build themselves up, but it’s even worse for those same people ignore it and blame it on the past. Rose should’ve left with Cory long before Raynell was born because she let the situation escalate. Rose is as much responsible as Troy is for holding Cory back. We must look at the past to acknowledge that something’s wrong, but we also must be willing to change the way Lyons has started to.
Cory is the only one who has found the balance between caring about what other people think of you and what you think of yourself. I don’t blame him for not wanting to go to Troy’s funeral because everyone was acting like he was a good man when he wasn’t. They are even worse off than when they started because they all used Troy except for Cory who broke free. Cory recognized that violence is not the way to beat Troy; he has to be who he is and not hold himself or anyone else back. The hero in this story was Cory and he has succeeded.
Everyone judges you. Your family, your friends, your parents, your teachers. They judge you on your school work, how you look, the way you act, how well you did your chores. You can’t escape it, change it, or enforce it. You can’t let it consume or control you either. That only leads to unhappiness and misery, because you are constantly thinking of how you can morph yourself into something that pleases everyone. You can’t spend your life dwelling on that judgment and you can’t let it worry or bother you. The judgment shouldn’t affect you. It happens, you can’t avoid it. If your peers determine whether your life is successful, than you will never get a consistent answer that you will be happy with. You are the only one who can conclude on whether or not you are dressing right, if your dreams are being fulfilled, and if you are happy. If you let others make these decisions, you will never be pleased with yourself.
Troy’s boss judges him as a hard-working man, but he also judges him as a black person. He lets Troy drive the truck, but with some resistance. Troy has also earned his respect, because Troy questioned the reason why no black men could drive the truck, which impacted his judgment of Troy. Cory is judged by Troy in a very harsh way. Troy judges Cory’s dreams and hopes and tells him to throw them away. He thinks Cory is lazy and stupid, because Cory doesn’t want to work during the football season. Cory does not receive this news well, but does not stop pursuing his dream.
You have to be immune to judgments. If you let them empower you, you will never reach peace with yourself. Even if everyone judges you, you don’t have to listen to them. The only person whose judgment really counts is your own.
Throughout my life, and the lives of others, we are constantly being judged by the society that surrounds us. The way we dress, act, or even learn is decided not by us, but by the people that surround us, and they are affected by this themselves. This creates a constantly evolving machine that is only escapable by complete isolation. For as we see and learn from others, we will constantly adapt to fit into this giant machine. Some may believe that they are not affected, and are completely originally in their thoughts and ideas, but society continues to shape them, if not less than others. Those who rise to the top in society are not unique, but products of society itself. Their lives are shaped by those who surround them, and those who tend to stray from the norm and pushed down and away in order to keep things flowing the way they had been. Sometimes the people who stray from the norm are able to push their way to the top, such as Barack Obama in the recent elections. Obama was able to break through the barrier of race in the elections of America, and change the standards of many Americans. There are still many who oppose the different ideas that he proposes, but he has gathered a large following due to these ideas as well. But although Obama has created much controversy, his popularity is largely due to the fact that he is supporting the ideas of society. Society has decided that it no longer wants to remain in Iraq, and Obama says just that. Obama has realized that the key to electoral success is not to go against the ideas of the nation, and society that will always remain, but to embrace them, and make them his own.
Everyone judges actions, and only you can determine if your dreams are a success. Even though we all like to say that we don’t judge, the truth is that when you see someone for the first time, the first thing they say to you, or to someone else, or the first thing they do, you judge them by that action. We even judge the people we know and are around in everyday life. If everyone worried about the judgment being directed towards them then in truth, no one could really do anything in life. We shouldn’t let judgment control our lives because we wouldn’t have lives. Most judgments made are made without any knowledge of the person being judged so therefore judgment is so highly false letting it take control of our live would push humanity to an even more absurd point of insanity. This is showed when Troy’s boss judges him because of his skin color. He doesn’t know Troy yet he already dislikes him because of his appearance. Some people judge from jealousy. They automatically assume that because a person has one quality that they don’t have they get jealous and judge them. I believe this is the case with Troy and Cory. I think that Troy is jealous that Cory is getting opportunities, and taking them, that Troy never had. So Troy is judging Cory and out this judgment holding Cory back. Everyone in my life judges me, whether it is good things, or bad things. I think in order for anyone to come to terms with the judgment they face they have to realize that the only person’s judgment that should ever effect them, is their own judgment. They should always listen to what other people think of them, however if it is negative judgment then they should look and see what they think of that judgment before being effected by it.
Judgment is inside of everyone. Judgment can be a little voice in our head which defines our character and sometimes jumps to conclusions. All people are guilty of judging others, whether it’s a first impression or still seeing a black man as a slave. Judgment puts up fences because when we judge we don’t accept people and don’t let them into their life. Judgment can keep us from being able to accept a certain person or idea. Even before we are born, society has already judged things. An example of those ideas would be that the ghetto is bad and can’t be helped, I believe that ideas like those need to be wiped off the face of the earth. Judgment within families is sometimes called a blood feud. Blood feuds draw fences around certain people or things from the beginning and some of the time the families don’t even know why the feud begins. This theme is prominent in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The blood feud is eventually broken by two lovers named Romeo and Juliet, who sacrifice their lives in doing so. They pay the ultimate price for the sake of stopping people’s judgment towards the two families. The best and most honest judge is you. You are the only person who can honestly judge your abilities in sports or academics. Being truthful in your assessment can influence the way you play or how well you participate in the classroom. For example, to be able to judge yourself honestly you need to think about all the time you spent practicing a sport or reviewing vocabulary words. Once you do well you can set your own goals to do better. Finally you can go into that setting with confidence and strive to be your best.
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