Decaying One's True Identity

The figurative language in a given poem usually correlates to the theme and, nevertheless, gives it personality in some way. In “We Wear the Mask,” the figurative language is darker, ordinarily connecting it to the theme of hiding your true feelings behind your “mask”. The writer, Paul Laurence Dunbar, uses personification the most in his poem, moreover, creating an image that correlates with the theme. Personification most easily creates an image that the writer can shape to connect with the theme. Dunbar uses this personification in a darker way, to connect with the more serious theme of hiding your feelings behind your imperceptible “mask”. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,” is personifying the mask (Lines 1-2). Since this poem is mainly about hiding behind our alleged mask, it seems reasonable that Dunbar would personify the mask. Since he did so, the mask is given another level of depth that allows us to see the mask as the main object of the theme. The theme is developed by using this personification of the mask. Although diction and figurative language are important for developing the theme, they are not the only structure elements that can do

A mask is a covering for all or parts of the face, worn as a disguise, or to abuse or terrify other people (merriam Webster n.p). In the novel The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald use mask like a covering to hide each characters true emotions. Even today the use of mask can be found on just average people. A mask, we’ve all worn them for a variety of reasons, whatever it may be. It disguises who we are for at least a moment and can bring a sense of continuation for the time being. In this novel, the masks used by the author are most evident on three of the main characters, Myrtle, Daisy, and Jay Gatsby. They are looking for something else, because what they have just isn’t enough. We often wear masks to disguise who we are for a moment and

Throughout the essay “Our secret” by Susan Griffin, Griffin talks about a few characters’ fears, secrets and she gives us insights into these “secrets”. Griffin comes to realize her own secrets and fears by examining others. She relates to a few of the characters such as Himmler, Leo, Helene and everyone else even though she is different than all of them. The only thing that all of these characters have in common is that they all represent human emotion. Susan Griffin reveals that everyone has a hidden side to them and anything being showed on the outside could be fake or a false representation of themselves. “I think of it now as a kind of mask, not an animated mask that expresses the essence of an inner truth, but a mask that falls like dead weight over the human face.” (Griffin 237) This quote explains what she means about secrets being the barrier to others’ feelings and having this mask hides what you really feel on the inside.

Determined to find exactly what altered masks can do to an identity, an experiment involving 18 female college students and a clinical trainee was conducted. Gergen’s intentions were to “find the factors of an individual’s choice

Sometimes things are not as they seem. People often choose to hide their true self in hopes to protect themselves from the wrath of others.

In today’s society masks are used depending on the specific social group we interact with. Most people tend to have various masks or personalities when they are with specific people; such as with their friends, family, and during work. In Kenneth Gergen’s essay “In Defense of Masks,” he claims that people are not apt to find a specific mask to which they can be true too however, having various masks could be important because it allows people to adapt to various social groups . I disagree with Gergen’s claim and counter argue that utilizing only one specific mask with whomever we interact with will help anyone live a genuine lifestyle. There are various categories that fall into masks; for instance, makeup, clothing, religion, and appearance. Many individuals acquire masks because they seek approval from others or simply because they are mimicking someone. Once someone adapts to having multiple masks, it is difficult to figure out our true identity due to the variety of personalities that are being portrayed.

“Like circus performers, we smear on makeup to become someone else. Far beyond applying a little lip gloss or hair dye, our mask attempts to cover up who we really are. Our mask attempts to cover up who we really are […] what we’ve been through, what we know to be important, and what we are afraid to share with others”. (O’Leary, 36) John O’Leary focuses heavily on the concept of taking off our masks in his inspirational book, On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. What O’Leary means by this analogy is that we should all break the barriers which we have erected to protect ourselves from the world, walls that were built after being hurt, experiencing something traumatic, or perhaps after being betrayed. However, such walls oftentimes do not benefit ourselves in the way that we may wish. Instead, more often than not, our masks do the opposite, and they isolate us from what we as humans need most: friendship, companionship, and love.

Different people put on a different mask depending on what “part” they are playing . Whether that be with peers, friends, teachers or parents you change because of the surroundings. Masks make you feel untouchable while you wear them, but when you take the mask off you feel monstrous about the acts committed while wearing your disguise. The power masks hold cannot be explained, they can turn the innocent into the barbaric. Masks have been worn throughout history. A good example is the German Nazi Swastika that symbolizes World War Two. The Nazi’s Swastika resembles their mask of genocide, deception, and tragedy. They wore this on their left arm and felt domination. They did not feel remorse for the inhumane acts they committed while hiding behind “their masks.” Once the war had completed, many Germans felt disgrace for their actions. The novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding was published at about the same time World War Two was occurring. Golding took ideas from the annihilation of the war and put it into the context of his story. Some of his ideas were inspired from the cruelty of war. William Golding was a British novelist, playwright, and poet known for his award winning book Lord of the Flies, published in 1954. In Lord of the Flies, most of the boys abandoned the civilized society they had always lived, and resorted to being savages.

The poem We Wear the Masks by Paul Dunbar is an example of how people hide their feelings due to what others think of them. Like in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the colored people in town are stereotyped due to their color and looks. The poem states, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (Dunbar). When people are stereotyped they hide their feelings to make others happy. Wearing the mask is a symbol of how people cover themselves to get away from their feelings.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” depicts the world as a deceitful one. It shows society as one that often hides behind things to prevent reality from showing. It gives examples of how people attempt to hide their feelings and illuminates what is actually happening inside of them. The author uses symbolism, sound qualities, and figurative language to support the theme of people hiding their true self from the world.

Everyone wears a mask at some point, some of us are just better at hiding it. In the book “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald many challenges are being faced. Many fake people are being discovered. Lying is a common aspect faced for many decades to hide what we don’t want others to know to gain or keep their respect/reputation . Gatsby, Daisy, and Myrtle all wear masks to try and hide their superficiality so that people can like them.

One way masking is beneficial is saving people’s lives. Specifically, in Alex Rider: The Story of an Assassin, Yassen Grevovich concealed his identity to make it to the train without being killed. The text says, that Yassen’s town was destroyed by the government for an unknown reason. He was the only one that escaped from his town. Everything else was demolished completely by bombs. His parents, friends, and family were killed. Nothing was left in him but himself. He was lucky enough to make it to town, but he had nowhere to go. He decided the first thing he will do is get out of Russia. After what seemed like an eternity, he made it to the train stations. He was about to walk inside, until he saw a lot of security guards inside. He knew clearly

We all mask something; everybody does. Think about actors, dress up, students, or criminals. They all mask something and it helps them disguise their real character. Most people just jump to the conclusion that masks are harmful, but some masks worn are for others sake. They are worn to cover yourself from the community or the world. Masks are more beneficial than harmful.

In conclusion, people covering their identities due to social pressure destroy authenticity. Authenticity is important because originality is what enables people to maintain their lifestyle and behaviors, and if we lose authenticity means we lose true parts in ourselves. However, People are in a conflictive situation that covering themselves sometimes makes them feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied but they choose to be unauthentic not only because of the social pressure but also because of the benefits that inauthenticity brings to them. Being unauthentic might not be a total bad thing. It helps people fluid in the society to a certain extend. However, what we need to be aware of is that not to lose our authenticity too much when trying to

hiding the truth. People should not wear the mask because their in indisguise and not showing