All of the characters in the play by August Wilson Fences experience a personal transformation over the course of the play. While the characters of Troy and Rose in “Fences” by August Wilson may seem to be the characters whose experiences of change are most profound, Cory’s changes provide a richer subject for analysis because his personal transformation reflects the transition between generations that is characteristic of all adolescents. As such, the changes that the character of Cory in the play “Fences” by August Wilson experiences have universal relevance; whereas, the changes of the other characters are more personal. Cory must negotiate the limitations of his father’s generation and the challenges of forging his own unique identity, and when he does so, he is able to overcome the limitations that have bound him, destroying the metaphorical fences that exist between himself and others.
As “Fences”, the play by August Wilson opens, Cory is optimistic and enthusiastic about his future. He views possibilities for himself that were not available to his father; in a certain sense, he has the opportunity to live the life his father wanted to live but could not because of the racism that plagued society. Cory is a headstrong character in “Fences” by August Wilson and wishes desperately to be independent, and he makes the decision to quit his job in order to pursue his dream of playing football at the college level. In any character analysis of Cory in the play “Fences” by August Wilson, it is important to note that Cory faces his first major adolescent battle to forge a unique identity separate from his father, but his father is resistant to these efforts at individuation, which are characteristic of the adolescent experience.
Throughout the play “Fences” by August Wilson, the character of Troy is constantly trying to shape Cory into the person he wants Cory to be, rather than permit Cory to explore possibilities and make his own decisions. These dynamics compel Cory to take drastic measures in an attempt to create the change that he wants to experience and to become the person that he envisions. The drastic measures Cory employs involve verbal and physical violence against his father. Each episode of violence changes the dynamic between father and son, but also changes Cory himself. He begins to think that aggression is the only means of creating meaningful change. While he may be correct in thinking that violence changes situations and people, he does not fully understand the implications of change for everyone touched by the conflict and this shapes his character
Throughout the play “Fences” by August Wilson the character of Cory also fails to understand how the gap between his father’s generation and his own impact their different worldviews. Unlike some of the other characters in “Fences” by August Wilson he seems oblivious to the struggles that his father had as an African American man attempting to assert his rightful place in society during a time in American history that was characterized by pervasive racism and oppression. By comparison, Cory has many more opportunities. However, he takes the simplistic view that the changes he wants to experience should automatically be affirmed and supported by his family. Cory’s lack of understanding about the changes that are taking place in society preclude him from developing in a way that might have been more functional and might have resulted in more positive relationships. Every communication with his father devolves into conflict, yet it is through their differences that Cory will ultimately establish his own identity.
Out of all the characters in “Fences” by August Wilson it is most worthy to do a character analysis of Cory because of his level of complexity and depth. Cory becomes bitter because of the fences that have been erected between himself and his dream, himself and his father, and himself and society. Whereas he begins as an optimistic, hopeful young man full of hope and opportunity, he becomes disillusioned, just as his father was. The main difference between father and son, however, is that Cory has a final chance for redemption and the recovery of hope. When his father dies and Cory refuses to attend the funeral, his mother offers him the opportunity to change. It is important that Cory has the possibility of choosing to change his attitude, and the fact that he accepts this possibility permits him to experience his character transformation. At the play’s conclusion, Cory has integrated all of his experiences and emotions– loss, frustration, conflict, hope, and possibility—to form a summary into the fabric of his life, and because of this emotional maturation, there is the potential that his life can be different from that of his father’s.
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Work Cited
Wilson, August. Fences. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2007.
