Troy's Identity In Fences, By August Wilson

Identity is the fact or being of what a person is. Each person searches for his own identity unique to himself alone. In Fences by August Wilson Troy struggles to find his own identity. While doing so he forces his past self onto Cory and disrupts Cory’s own identity.
The imagery Cory uses to describe Troy indicates the loss of self that Troy has experienced. Rather than using a Troy’s name Cory simply refers to him as that shadow. A shadow is something that doesn’t have a true shape or existence; this indicates that Troy does not have his own identity. This is evidenced earlier in the play when Troy mentions, “She gives me a different idea… a different understanding about myself” (68). Up until that moment Troy is “ standing in the same place for eighteen years” (70). This shows the reader that Cory is so rooted in the same place that he does not have a true form.
In addition, the use of the word crawl indicates the unsteadiness of Troy’s attempt to find himself. Crawling is usually done by babies because they are not fully developed; thus, this indicates that Troy is unsteady in who he is, and when he attempts to himself it is comparable to the actions of a baby. When Cory describes the attempt Troy makes to control

Cory’s life as taking infant like steps to find his place, which shows the lack of development in Troy.
The destruction done to Cory’s own identity is evidenced by the word digging.

When someone digs something up he is unable to replace everything so that it is exactly how he found it. So, when Troy digs into Cory it is assumed that Cory will never be able to return to his true self. Digging is also a deliberate action, which shows that Troy is purposeful when he tries to change Cory’s identity while his own is lost. This is exhibited when Rose tells Cory, “Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn’t… and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was” (97). Someone’s unique sense of self is lost when he is influenced by someone else’s perception of how they should be. In this way Troy ruined Cory’s identity by digging into

him.
But Troy did not cast his identity onto just anyone. He personally chose to manipulate and influence how his own son would grow up. His own confusion caused the destruction to be intensely personal. This is evident by the use of the words your flesh. The your implies that the flesh is personal to Cory and Cory alone. Flesh is also what a person is made of, so when someone is digging into someone else’s flesh it is intensely personal and specific to that person alone. Cory indicates that he was the one so intimately hurt by saying, “I don’t want to be Troy Maxon. I want to be me” (97). This shows the reader that Cory is the one hurt, and he is no longer himself because of a personal violation.
While Troy is trying to find his identity in someone else, his efforts are futile. Even though Troy makes an impact on Cory and ruins Cory’s sense of self, he does not necessarily find himself. This is evidenced by the word trying. The word trying does not show whether a goal is achieved; it simply measures whether steps are being taken to achieve a goal. Despite the loss of self Cory endures, Troy’s attempts to find his identity never concretely succeed.
Because he has been in the same situation for so long, Troy is never really able to attain his own true identity; this is what leads him to harm Cory’s own sense of self. In Fences by August Wilson Troy’s lack of identity not only causes his own confusion but it leads Cory’s pai. Without a true sense of self one is lost and does not have a true form which leads to outward action and harm on others.