Superficiality in Literature

A widespread misconception is that a person’s “genuine” self is who he is when he is alone. I beg to differ. In fact, who that individual is when he is alone is only a portion of his "genuine" self, which leaves who he is among his peers—his superficial self —as the dominant portion of his “genuine” self because the majority of a person’s life—given he is not a hobbit—is spent around society. The superficial self begins as the unconscious part of the mind that is what some psychology enthusiasts may call the Id, where as the true self creates the foundation of the conscious mind parallel to the ego of one’s psyche. Multiple personality disorder is a result of an extreme case of the development of the Id or different drives comprising the Id as seen in Flora Schreiber’s Sybil. The preponderance of humanity either goes to school, work, or mingles with the populace almost every moment of their lives. If one’s Id is the dominating persona altogether, then the Id embodies the “genuine” nature. One who spends exuberant amounts of time portraying the Id will soon have his superficial identity encompass the ego in a swathe of deception. Thus, the ego diminishes to a mere sub-character. In short, the whole of the "genuine" self consists of both the predominant id and the ego. This theory is typified in Shakespeare’s prominent work Othello, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, and also Tina Fey’s Mean Girls with the characters of Iago and Roger Chillingworth and Cady Herring.

Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello pushes the limit upon the superficial self vs. the “genuine” self conflict. He illustrates the conniving, baleful, and evil quintessence within Othello by lying to Roderigo, Othello, and Cassio to facilitate his own selfish desir...

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...o infinite possibilities. Humans unconsciously know this fact and try everything to protect such a precious treasure. If the mind is weak so is the person standing on the tumultuous of decision in any aspect of life. A person is only as strong as their mind’s will power. It is naïve to believe that a mind shares no doubt in its capabilities, but that doesn’t mean humanity has to submit to that doubt. Profound matters and things are born from the womb of doubt. The ego of any individual must make a decision to control the line of the superego. The ego must rise and know who and what it is in order to fight the status quo of falling beneath the feet of the Id. The ego…the real person inside must and will find a way to conquer both the fear of inadequacy and the distance of an unseen path.