Transformation by TryonNorman Vincent Peal once observed: When a person changes his thoughts, he changes his world. Unfortunately, too many people don't want to make this change. Human nature is to stick to what you know, be cautious, and stay within your boundaries. Some people, however, accept differences and embrace change; they may not know what to expect but they are ready to change. In The House Behind the Cedars, Charles Chesnutt writes about George Tryon, who is capable of taking such a step. Tryon, a young white man who has lived a very sheltered upper-class life, is a very self-centered and racist man, who finds extreme pride in his race. Chesnutt describes this character as someone who doesn't want to change a detail of his own life, but is willing to completely alter the lives of those around him for his own benefit. When he wins Rena Warwick's heart, he discovers that if he truly cannot live without her, he must change his lifestyle. Although Tryon has trouble choosing love over status, he ultimately realizes what matters most. He then transforms from a racist and closed-minded man to a more open and welcoming individual. Tryon's prejudiced personality doesn't show up until he takes his first trip to Patesville. While courting Rena, he never mentions or speaks ill of a black person; if she had, perhaps she would have been more cautious. When Rena tests Tryon's love, asking “[he] would love her…if [she] [were] Albert's nurse,” Tryon joyfully responds, “If [she] were the nurse of Albert… within a week [they] should be married” (59). He does not pay attention to the nurse's race but rather to her occupation. It is later that he realizes what Rena was trying to tell him with this question and of how oblivious he was to reality. Of course Rena is white; Tryon doesn't care about her background and ancestry. To Tryon, "[Rena] represented... the most beautiful flower of the most beautiful race that God had ever created. .. the flower would soon be his, why would he have to worry about digging up the soil in which it grew" (66). Tryon feels that he is about to marry the most attractive white woman in the world, so why should he worry about who his parents might have been Ironically, his ancestors mean so much to him that it breaks her heart once Tryon sees Rena's true identity, he knows he must choose between the life he lives or the woman he loves..