Essay on Fascades of Current Society

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.

In today’s society we have created this sense of identity that we can either reveal and or hide behind that can include either a computer screen, our skin, or even who we want people to think we are. In John Berger’s essay Ways of Seeing, he breaks down the misogynistic view we have on woman by comparing what it is to be naked versus being simply nude. In Neal Gabler’s essay Our Celebrities, Ourselves, the idealized celebrity is brought down to human level and formed into a never ending narrative that categorizes them into the people they are seen as versus the people they actually are. Berger criticizes the disguise a woman must wear as being surveyed by men in the form of art yet Gabblers idea of a disguise is more like a role a celebrity

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.

Masks are a covering for parts of the face that are worn for a disguise, pleasure, or to scare people. Greek theatre utilizes masks innumerable times for evident characters in their plays. The actors/actresses who position their masks on, become divergent people. The denotation the boys’ have behind the mask is unique from when they have the mask off. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the mask is used as a disguise from their normal society and civilization. Jack, Ralph and Roger prove that this statement is true throughout the novel. Golding once said that civilization is “the mask which enables the individual to hide his primitive nature.” This illustrates how one will disguise himself as someone or something that triggers their primal nature. William Golding’s purpose in writing this novel is to present to the readers when an individual loses connections with society they can regenerate one's true self to become someone they are not. The masks are utilized by these three characters to shield their nefarious doings. Jack, Ralph and Roger all have measures that delineate the diabolic and shadow within all humanity.

We wear masks to hide our real personality from someone. In the stories we read in class everybody masks something from a family member. In Charles by Shirley Jackson it states “Charles?” She said “We don’t have a Charles in the kindergarten.” (Jackson pg.11). Laurie is a good kid at home, but at school he gets into all kinds of trouble. Every time Laurie gets into trouble he blames it on a kid named Charles. Another story we read was Fatal Flower by Laurence Yep. In the text it states “She blinked when she saw the beautiful stranger gazing up at her. The stranger’s face had eyebrows like the leaf of the

The idea of masks as well as people as animals leads right into the next idea. Spiegelman is attempting to communicate very interesting ideas with this artistic choice. He is using specific animals in order to represent different ethnicities or types of people; for example, Jews are represented as mice. Spiegelman is building off Nazi ideals showing that Jews are dirty and bothersome people that need to be exterminated. By using this symbolism the author is amplifying a certain mentality in order to attempt to understand the Holocaust. Through the art in Maus the author is able to use illustration in order to make a much more interesting story, but it is not only about the art, it is also about certain

“I feel like the word ‘DIVERGENT’ is branded on my forehead, and if he looks at me long enough, he’ll be able to read it” (164). When Tris gets attacked by some of her fellow initiates, Four gives her advice to stay safe. “‘You think I have to pretend to be vulnerable?’ I ask, raising an eyebrow. ‘Yes, I do’“(285). Lord of the Flies shows that people hide behind masks to liberate themselves of shame. Jack is an excellent example for a character who uses masks to cover his true self. When Jack makes himself a mask made out of mud, he becomes a different person. “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger” (31). “He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (33). When the boys kill the pig, they are all somewhat horrified that they did it, but Jack makes a joke out of it and puts on a mask. “He giggled and flecked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks” (195). Social media allows people to also use masks.

Masks have held countless uses and meanings throughout history. Masks have been used in plays, like those of Shakespeare, traditional dances, social gatherings, even as a form of casual or corporal punishment. Although masks have several different uses in different cultural situations, the meaning of the masks is generally the same. Masks are used to conceal an appearance and assume the identity of another. Metaphorically, masks can be used to hide feelings, to protect oneself, and to block out the outside world. Many of these examples are shown in Art Speigelman 's Maus.

The purpose of this paper is to construct an essay and define the sociological perspective. To be able to explain how my knowledge of the Sociological Perspective has helped me to understand the social world on both a macro and micro level. This essay will include the definition, discussion and application of specific sociological terms, concepts and theories.

Contrary to his belief, the narrator does not have a mask on. Although the narrator believes in a misconception that he is ‘playing the role of a boy,' when in fact, what he considers to be a mask is simply his body and his male appearance. The narrator is never in a real need to ‘play a role' because nobody really actively tries to find out who he really is. His peers, based on his appearance, all assume that he shares the same sexual orientation as they do.

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