Vice Incognito
An Exploration of Disguise
Throughout much of the literary works we have covered thus far, there have been a plethora of instances where disguise has been used as a method of deception. What do these examples of disguise show the reader about the nature of the characters represented? In many cases we are able to find out a great deal from the way that players act within the confines of their masks, their own inner dialogue, and their motivations. The circumstances that come about from these cases of disguise are sometimes tragic, often funny, but always revealing.
Daniel Defoe uses disguise as a method of developing character several times in his novel Roxana. The title protagonist is a skilled performer, and thus is able to manipulate those around her for her own means with ease. Examples of her trickery can be found many times in the text, but the first we will address takes place while Roxana is holding a masquerade ball in her apartments in London's West End. We enter on Roxana's first dance in a Turkish dress she purchased with a slave girl in Italy. Having only used the dress for private entertaining before (i.e. her gentlemanly providers), the lady Roxana decides to take the gown out of hiding to dazzle her guests: "The Company were under the greatest Surprize imaginable; the very Musick stopp'd a-while to gaze; for the Dress was indeed, exceedingly surprizing, perfectly new, very agreeable, and wonderful rich"(216). The dress extracts the adoration Roxana desires, every person in the room stopping to give her their attention. It is in this need that we are able to relate to Roxana, her deep desire to be admired. Having spent a large part of her life as a housewife, then in ...
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... your care to extend to the summer-house, and her dressing-room."(XXIV/104-105) Referring to two other incidents in which he tried to take advantage of her virtue, Pamela is able to thoroughly outwit her master (and then goes into a rage). It speaks volumes to the intelligence of the girl: although she is quite self-righteous, she still manages to play the game at hand well by anyone's standards.
Roxana and Pamela are both terribly different characters, with greatly differing circumstances. The thing that unifies them is their ability to make the most of their situations, and with a great dear of acuity and wit. Through their experiences in disguise, we are able to understand this ability that much more clearly. Weather the character is running from an unwanted past, or from unwanted advances- a great deal can be gleaned when we look just beyond the mask.
A facade is a type of lie where you present a completely different personality to the public. Abigail Williams is a wonderful example of a facade, as she spend the whole play pretending to be a devout christian girl who is afraid of specters. As the audience we know this isn’t true, but the puritan town of salem has such a fear of the devil that they eat it up. In reality Abigail is a vengeful girl who has seen her parents murdered. When Mary Warren tries to confess what they’ve been doing Abigail using this lie tactic to
Deception as an element can be presented in various forms. One may choose to hide their true self for specific intriguing motives in life. A theme identified in "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson and "A Bolt of White Cloth" by Leeon Rooke is appearance can be used to deceive ones true self and morals for an intriguing motive. In both short stories, that were examined, both main characters use their exterior appearances to deceive their true morals, they deceive the people around them and lastly their deeds show their true intentions which distinguish their compelling motives which are viewed through a sense of morals.
Behind a Mask is a book that demonstrates the power a woman possesses. During a time in which those who are not rich are considered mere human beings, Louisa May Alcott creates a character by the name of Jean Muir who surpasses the society she lives in. Muir is a woman who seeks to have a prestigious title that will give her the recognition she desires. As governess to the Coventry family Muir puts in play a plan to marry Sir John, the old uncle in the family, whose title she wants. In the process of getting sir John’s tittle Jean causes controversy in between the family which results as a positive thing for the family as a whole. While stepping over the boundaries set by her society, Muir takes a journey which she must face with intelligence and courage.
1. William Shakespeare, the most popular playwright of all time, experiments with comedy, mystery, betrayal, romance, and tragedy in his play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The author uses a variety of characters from different social backgrounds to give us an elaborate picture of deception. From the opening line of "Who’s there?" the reader gets the impression that people are not what they seem in this play. The interrelationships between the royalty and people of the court are well-developed to illustrate the major and minor similarities and differences between the characters. Shakespeare reveals the deceptive nature of man and the ruin it causes through his use of foils. [Many of the other essays did not follow the directions and used the definition of foils as the introduction. This writer understood that the essay was to be about the use of foils in the play. The introduction, therefore, is about the play, and it leads up to a thesis which briefly states the function (meaning) of the foils within the play. The thesis, in other words, does not simply state that the essay will discuss foils in the play, but rather that the essay will show how the foils help reveal the deceptive nature of man and the resulting ruin. This is, I believe, also the only writer who alludes to "Who's there?" and thereby nicely connects the essay -- and thus the foils -- to much of what I emphasized in class discussions of the play.]
Sipiora states that, "Characters often perceive (or fail to perceive) the context and implications of the circumstances and relationships they are in. Some characters act in good faith, whereas others do not. As we examine literary personae, it is especially important to judge them in terms of how they react to others" (77)
Hidden information in a novel or play is common. The secrets and unknown are what keep a work interesting. But sometimes an author does not reveal his/her true motive or the actual meaning to a hidden article. In Hamlet, Shakespeare conceals ideas and actions to the naked eye. In my paper I will talk about what Hamlet hides. Among other things, Hamlet hides behind his title, his words and feeling, and also he is hidden in some of his actions. I found him to be the shadowed character in this tragedy.
Both the play and the film use disguise as one of the main comedic elements. In The Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio is disguised as a Latin tutor in order to 'woo' Bianca, as he falls in love with her the moment he sees her. As Lucentio is disguised as a Latin tutor, there will be no Lucentio, but as Lucentio is an important man, people will notice if he's gone and will wander where he is. For this reason, Tranio, Lucentio's servant, disguises himself as Lucentio. Also, Hortensio is disguised as a music tutor, as he also falls in love with Bianca.
All humans wear a mask of some kind; whether it is a false representation varies from person to person. This reality is revealed in poetic fashion in the piece “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar; the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the play Othello by William Shakespeare. While all in different genre’s, they all contain the similarity of deception and creating a mask for the rest of the world to see in order to hide their true self. In the story “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown experiences everyone around him wearing the mask of Christianity and holiness, and he therefore loses his own faith. In the Shakespearian play Othello, the antagonist, Iago, deceives the Othello by maintaining a mask of honesty
Dunbar begins his poem by introducing the idea of deception through a symbolic “mask”. In the first two lines, Dunbar states “we wear the mask that grins and lies, / it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (1,2). These lines portray an image of a dishonest face partially because of Dunbar’s word choice and partially because masks have been used as tools of disguise throughout history. However, the lines
Everyone has lied at one point or another in their life. Whether it is a small white lie about an outfit’s mishaps or something that ruined a relationship, lying or hiding the truth is a universal theme that everyone could relate to. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the theme of deception to develop characters and cause their ultimate downfall in the play. Deception is not only woven in the plot but also portrays through the characters’ action and personality, such as Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet.
In the film Luhrman uses costume and makeup to portray characters’ personalities. Such as Shirley Hastings. Shirley’s costume and makeup shows the audience a great deal about her personality. Shirley always wears pink, puts ‘over the top’ makeup on and wears a lot of jewellery. This tells the audience that she is ‘over the top’ and maybe insecure about herself or her past. Liz Holt is another character whose personality could not have been portrayed if it wasn’t for the costume and makeup used. Liz is a drama queen and exaggerates everything including her costume and makeup. She nearly always wears yellow and also exaggerates her makeup with bright colours even when she’s not dancing. Luhrman also used costume and makeup to show the development of one of the main characters, Fran. At the start of the film, Fran is introduced with acne, glasses and baggy clothes, which shows the audience that she is not comfortable with herself and not confident. But when Fran starts dancing she slowly becomes more confident and her costume and makeup changes. Fr...
A mask is a covering worn on the face or something that disguises or conceals oneself. All the characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet hide behind masks to cover up who they really are, which contridictes a main idea, expressed by the fool, Old Polonius, "To thine ownself be true" (Polonius - 1.3.84). All the characters share strengths and triumphs, flaws and downfalls. Instead of revealing their vulnerabilities, each of them wears a mask that conceals who they are and there true convictions. The masks brought about feelings such as fear, hatred, insanity, indecisiveness, ambitiousness, and vengeance all of which contribute to the tragic ending of the play. Shakespeare reveals the idea of the masks in the first lines of the play, "Who's there" (Barnardo - 1.1.1). "Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself" (Fransisco - 1.1.2).
Hanlon, Christopher. "Eloquence and "Invisible Man"."College Literature. 32.4 (2005): 74-98. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/25115308 .>
William Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy, Much Ado about Nothing and tragic history, Macbeth revolve around the theme of deception, trickery, and concealment. There are portrayals within these two plays that depict deception and trickery as merely harmless and even beneficial. In some cases the characters are thoroughly masked in their lies; for ill or well, they are hiding who they truly are. In other cases, the person they attempt to hide is merely obscured, the masks being only a slight deterrent from their real personalities. Sometimes they are harmless diversions; sometimes they are even beneficial tools to be utilized for one's friends. There are times when the masks have only been used to deceive the wearer, and other times when they serve no effective purpose at all, yet remain.
To conclude, I believe that the characters do reveal themselves through disguise but not entirely. The personality of Rosalind was revealed through the way she enjoyed to trick people, the personality of the courtiers was revealed by their playful attitude in the forest and the personality of Orlando was shown by the fact that he did not disguise. To him everything is in the open and he has no secrets. Love is the only disguise. However, by looking at the different aspects of the characters’ personalities in their different roles, their behaviour is fully revealed.