Analysis: The Lies That Define Us

In discussions on the topic of lying, a controversial issue has been whether there is justification of lying or not. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of if there is ever a time when a lie can be told for the good of someone else. Whereas some are convinced that lies should never be told, others agree that there are certain instances where lying is acceptable because the liar protects the one lied to. In the essay “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she explores the types of lies and how they affect everyday people. In Anton Chekhov’s fictional story, “The Lady with the Dog,” he displays two characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, lying for love and to avoid consequence by their spouses. I stand against lying for the benefit of oneself because I think that it has the ability to ruin relationships or friendships and is hard to keep up the lies which leads to creating more lies. Although some people think that there are circumstances that warrant lying, I claim that no one should lie because lies end up hurting both people involved: the liar and the person lied to.

Over one hundred years ago, transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson declared, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Throughout time his message remains applicable as society attempts to conform everyone to its standards. The secular population tends to wrestle with the idea of individualism, like Emerson, alongside the idea of amounting to society’s uniform expectations. Today’s society sends out mixed messages; one encourages each person to embrace their uniqueness, and another message promotes the similarities between everyone. By establishing conflicting viewpoints, many people struggle to find an identity. Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey,” explores the inner

A person’s identity is influenced by how you view yourself and how society views you. In Jonathan Lykes poem This is a Siren, and the short story The Bear that Wasn’t by Frank Tashlin, both authors shine a light on how great of an impact society can have on an individual’s identity. Society has already established different stereotypes for each individual which causes everyone to perceive others in a certain way without truly getting to know them. This can cause an individual to change the way they perceive themselves in order to be accepted by society and to fit in it’s expectations of that individual. “This thing called perception, that gives people the opportunity for acceptation, or on the flip side, to be a circle of rejection…” (Lykes 2010) Here, Lykes talks about how we perceive each other can either make us accept one another or reject one another. However, in the end, it is up to the individual to decided if they are going

We all need to see our version of our reality reflected back to us by others. It takes an exceptional person to retain their understanding of their identity when others question it, deny it or even set out to destroy it. Many of us cannot withstand such an assault on our sense of self, submitting to the strong, dominating personalities who want to shape the world in their own image. However, it is not only others who have the capacity to bring our fragile sense of reality undone; maintaining one’s self belief also requires withstanding the doubts of self.

In society, people are made to believe that they are what they are, that what they become is not their doing, but an inevitable product of living. I don't believe that. People are who they want to be, what they make themselves. They can let themselves be made by the masses, assimilating to the norm because “that’s what everyone else is doing”. But I don't want to be that, I want to be the person that I want to

A quote by the author that highlights this idea of not being able to be who you are is, “I wanted to be a princess and a prince; but I would never have said so, then”. This emphasizes the underlying fear many have of being judged by the outside world. It is very unfortunate that so many are still unable to say the things they wish to say and dress the way they want to dress because society perceives it to be unacceptable or wrong.

People are continually being influenced and moulded by the immediate world, through different forms. These forms are developed through a singular perception and attitude towards life. This makes it complicated because people naturally influence others with their own views that makes it hard to retain individualism with in society. I’ve grown up with being pressured by people, the media and my surroundings to be a “copy” of someone and or something else. However I never conformed and are continually fighting for my own individuality that creates my own identity. I’ve portrayed this subjectively throughout my three paper cut sculptures “Fighting Conformity”.

At times, some of us are raised in environments where it might be dangerous to be ourselves. Taught to believe that we are not good enough, worthy or accepted, we fear being ourselves. Other times we create our own insecurities and fears, convincing ourselves that we have to meet other people’s illusive standards. Despite the fact that we accept ourselves, we believe that our imperfections will stop others from loving us. To embrace who we have to acknowledge that not everyone will accept it and that the only one that has to love our persona is us. Realizing that our intrinsic worth is greater than anything superficial means understanding that who we are will always be more valuable and powerful than the mask we wear in public. Once we embrace ourselves we can start living a good and wholesome life, appreciating the “little things” in life because a weight that was preventing us from holding our head up has been removed from our shoulders. As Wallcott writes, “Sit. Feast on your life”, because when we embrace who we are we can finally enjoy life to the fullest extent.

I agree to be a person is to be a individual, no one is the same even if people believe they look the same or have a similar opinion there will always be a small detail that makes them a different person or an individual. We are constantly pressured to become different people even if we are comfortable if our own skin, we are asked by friends, family, teachers, etc. to change so that we can fit in society’s “rules” so we don’t embarrass them and ourselves. But there will be a time when you yourself don’t know who you are because you and many people have closed off your true personality. The dangers of letting society run your life is that you don’t

The struggle of staying true to oneself is strenuous when there is a constant expectation to become who society wants an individual to be; however, it is ultimately the decision of the individual

Why do we keep a fake facade all the time? We’re all afraid of “failure” to be accepted. We all know that it might make us look weak, or hurt. But that’s us, as depicted in “Sorrow Teaming with Light” we all have that light in us but what’s the first thing you notice when you look at the painting? The big dark monster right? We all have that in us too, and until we become who we really are we will always be expressing that fake facade. We all crave that “Life Almost Straight” so become who you’re meant to be and you can fail, and when you fail you get one step closer to that perfect

There is nothing more central to the human experience than the search for identity, no cause greater than the search for oneself, neither hunger nor peace. The core desire for every human being is acceptance: love. Because of this desire, the search for true identity is often littered with a series of varied facades; a reshaping of one’s inward perception with the changing of social currents. Despite the true nature of identity lying well within the boundaries of the human body, many query these foreign sources in an attempt to create their identity, usually one far removed from what lies within. This reliance on foreign influences when molding the perception of one’s identity creates a crucial impasse in the concurrent search for

Only have lived twenty years so far, I’ve learned that personal identity is one of the most important parts of a person. Personal identity is the basic outline of who we are and what society views us as. Sometimes society or even others around us may not like who we are or what we stand for and may try to change us. This is not our fault as the individual; society tends to dislike and fear what it doesn’t understand or what it views as different. Reading short stories such as “The Birthmark”, “A Rose for Emily”, as well as “Hills Like White Elephants” reminds me that it is essential that I not let society tell me who I am or identify me incorrectly. Even if society doesn’t accept you, you have to uphold your views of confidence and

In today’s world, people are constantly moving around from place to place. Today’s society is much more transient than generations in the past. How, then, do we as humans in this day and age hold on to our identities in the blur of people we meet and relationships we form as we try to discover the life we want to live on our travels? It is normal that we adapt as we move through life, but where does one cross the line, becoming someone completely different and losing themselves? It is my belief that one can only fully understand what the good life is if they fully understand themselves. To fully understand oneself, one must be true to oneself. I believe that people are at the greatest risk of losing themselves when they move to a new location. It is in this situation that people must adapt to the new people they surround themselves with, in hopes of fitting in and forming new relationships. People become more susceptible to changing who they are when they are trying to become a part of a new way of life. At the same time, the people already inhabiting that area adapt to the new person’s presence as well. As humans, I believe that we have the ability to find the balance between adapting to those around us and staying true to ourselves, in order to discover what the good life means to us. This ability is demonstrated in the writings by Clive Thompson and Mark Twain – “I’m So Totally Digitally Close to You” and an excerpt from “The Diaries of Adam and Eve”, respectively.

Everyone has an identity. A person's characters are the combination of their memories, thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences. If you are meeting someone new for the first time, what do you see? Their difficult childhood? Their struggles to get where they are? People can only see other’s outer identity and not their character because the components that are the core of one’s character is covered up by their external identity, the labels. The labels shape a person's social and personal identity in society and the environment they grew up in, conforming them to the norm and dispossesses the identities of those who are different.