“In Defense of Mask” by Kenneth Gergen, he states that it is “normal for a person to develop a firm and coherent sense of identity, and that it is good and healthy to do so and pathological not to (196).” So the idea of developing a “coherent sense of identity” makes us act a certain way to please the wish of others since we want to find an individual 's choice of mask based on their inward and outward sense of identity. As where “multiple identities” is extending on what they like to do, since any human receives different messages to show who they really are. Therefore, the “coherent identity” versus “multiple identities” is detrimental to many individuals when they are trying to perceive into someone that they wish to become. I agree with Gergen, because having a mask hides the identity of an individual as we get to learn more about ourselves. Everyone gets to experience change, we can’t just be consistent with a coherent identity but rather have multiple identities. …show more content…
Masks gives us the opportunity to express ourselves with various kinds of people. We are given different occasions and have to act a different way since every person has a different expectation of behavior. For instance, when having a guest visiting for the first time, we tend to look our best and choose the best way to make them feel welcome. We tend to hide things that don 't seem “appropriate” and take out things that seem new. We probably don’t notice, but we create a mask since we want to be well representative. However if it was a close friend we probably would mind since they seen “our
On the other hand, ideally one should be true to one’s heart, if Disney’s Mulan is to be believed. But these are neither solid pieces of advice nor wise counsel; they are at best hand-wavy, wishy-washy statements that offer no guidance on traveling the minefield that is remaining true to oneself. In fact, given the wide swath of human experiences, it is difficult to imagine a panacea effective for each and every trial and tribulation people may encounter in maintaining the integrity of their identities; personally, I don't think one exists. Just as there are myriad events, emotions, and memories from which one’s identity develops, it surely follows that there are just as many ways social norms act to compromise one’s individuality, ostensibly for the worse. Therefore, it seems that an indirect solution would best serve individuals filled and bombarded with doubt about who they really are; namely, the unwavering support of a community would allow individuals to resolve, on their own terms, their inner conflicts stemming from outward
The mask’s purpose to teach young girls about proper womanhood. While worn in ceremony, the girls learn through observing the mask wearer dancing and taking in the stories, types of dances, proper way to care for their families, and providing for their family like
...le knowing their identity, so that they do not have to face the judgments of others. "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person! Give him a mask and he'll tell you the truth!" (Velvet Goldmine).
In William Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies”, a group of boys is stranded on an island that completely changes them. The boys turn totally different from how they act from society as if they were putting on masks. It’s not just the boys that wear masks, but a lot of people try to hide from other people. What a mask does is that it hides a person’s trait and shows something completely different. I have made a mask like one of the boys, Ralph, that tries to show that he’s a leader, but hides a different personality. Here are some of the qualities of my mask.
When the characters are all choosing which mask they would put on, Jason gives Emily a mask that has the face of a “self-centered coward and a gutless flab” (Twilight Zone). Jason picks this mask because it is the the opposite of the figurative mask that she wears everyday. The mask that Jason picks for Emily is her true personality that is under the figurative mask that she puts on to hide her darker traits. Eventually when the night is done and Jason passes away, Emily and her relatives take off their masks only to realize that their faces are stuck looking like the masks that they were given. This exhibits that you can not hide your true personality by acting like someone that you are not because the truth will always come out in the end. Jason is the only character in, “The Masks”, that does not put on a figurative mask. When Emily, Wilfred, Paula, and Wilfred Jr. try to hide their true personalities, Jason knows
One’s identity is influenced by many things. It’s something that one has a choice of what he wants to become. One has a personal choice as to what identity he possesses; for instance, he can choose what he likes, who he wishes to be friends with, and what he wears. After all, “Fashion is an expression of personal identity” (Latterell 11). Queen Latifah states, “All things start inside your soul and work outward” meaning that it is one’s choice as to what he lets work its way out (Latifah 34). People have even made personal choices that affect their identity by changing their name. Just as Firoozeh Dumas describes in The “F Word”, “Thus I started sixth grade with my new, easy name and life became infinitely simpler” (Dumas 86). People made fun of Dumas’ name, Firoozeh, and thus made her want to change her name to fit in; she changed her identity. An identity is mainly comprised of personal choice.
I don’t normally admire those who wear masks, and I especially don’t like wearing one myself, but sometimes, it’s the only option, as you’ve already seen. So I drift off into another trance to picture a place where nobody wears a mask. It’s becoming frustratingly hard to do so. People keep asking me about my friends, whether I have any, whether I made any new ones, and even whether I am romantically involved with any of them. Honestly, they should not worry about it because it’s not their business. Unfortunately, it seems they too are concealed, looking for acceptance in the miserable anxiety of others. I have friends. Some friends. They’re in my head. Yes, they are not real. They are these perfect apparitions, made out of the best pieces from the people I
Edward Brown II conceptualizes Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear The Mask”, and uses it to define his study. “Contemporary African American gay men wear many masks as a means of survival, but beneath the mask lays no vestige of a healthy identity.” Brown tackles black masculinity and the oppressive and crippling parts of black culture that keep black gay and bisexual men captive. Edward Brown II, a research consultant, holds a Master of Arts in African and African American Studies and specializes in psychology and gender theory. His case study asks if contemporary African American gay men are complicit and in many ways the case agents for the same homophobia that oppresses them. Brown questions if America’s history of racism and homophobia has robbed them (black gay men) of the possibility of self esteem and self
Think of a stacking doll. Each outer doll removed reveals another; smaller and more volnerable than the previous. With each section combined there is a whole, but with only a section you cannot see the doll in it’s entirety and it is impossible to see whether another is hiding inside. Ones identity is similar. With little knowlege of a person it is impossible to know what is inside and whether there is more to see. Identity is broader than one word definitions, different aspects such as feelings and memories contribute. In order to get the full sense of who a person is, the inner layers must be revealed.
Huff, Randall. ""We Wear the Mask"." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 13 Apr. 2014 .
Though a mask may just be a paper cut out, a molded piece of plastic, or in the Lord of the Flies, a painted face, they all have the same ability to create a feeling of freedom from responsibility. They may make they wearer feel more important or powerful and too good for work, leading to a lack of fulfillment of their responsibility. This belief in freedom from responsibility is best exemplified by Jack, the first one on the island to begin wearing a mask. He used a mask because he felt it gave him power and skill, giving him reason to take up hunting as a prime responsibility, opposed to keeping the fire going. In their...
When people create different identities, it may be to distort reality. People may create identities to fulfill fantasies or just to impersonate others(in other words, distorting reality). Everyone has done it whether it was from acting in a skit or creating a false photo identification card or just giving someone a fake name. All of those above are different ways of distorting reality and different ways of changing an identity.
When attending a masquerade, a person is expected to wear a mask. In fact, it’s looked down upon if a mask isn’t worn. But, what if for some people that mask never came off? In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, each character has constructed their own metaphorical mask that they set firmly in place every morning when exiting their bed. Each character: Nora, Torvald, Kristine and Krogstad all have masks that they put in place when speaking to each other. Throughout most of the play, it is clear that all of the aforementioned characters have multiple facades that they use when speaking to one another; often switching quickly as they begin speaking to someone else. Henrik Ibsen’s use of the masquerade serves as an extended metaphor to show the masks that the characters use in their everyday lives.
...can go through an entire lifetime and not really know how to define their own identity. In many cases people suffer through a great crisis to discover who they really are. If someone doesn?t know the meaning of their own identity, how can society apply a definition to the word? It leaves people to ponder whether or not there are some feelings and parts of life that simply cannot be explained. When defining the word identity scholars and common men alike must agree to disagree. It is a word so diverse in context that it is seemingly impossible to take it down to a simplified definition. There are some things in life that just aren?t meant to be completely understood, and one?s identity is among these things. Not until a person has a lived out their live could they sit down and tell you how their adventure has shaped them into the person they became in the end.
Lines 14 and 15, “But let the world dream otherwise, we wear the mask!” shows us that the worldly responsibilities of these people are just being brushed to the side and are being dreamed upon like it doesn’t matter. The speaker is showing us once again that it is easier for them to just accept the mask and avoid the truth rather than just facing them and accepting them as who they are unselfishly. Whereas the people wearing the masks are not dreaming at all, they are more so in a nightmare than a peaceful dream.