Personal Narrative: Representing The World

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.

This mask holds back all the sorrow, protects you from being further destroyed by others words or actions, and covers up the real extreme problems people are facing such as suicide and drug overdose. Both texts use these “masks” metaphorically to show how the people protect themselves.

Masks portray a sense of mystery. “No one could see me clearly. No one could see my face.” Lucy, Grealy. Masks. Print. The unknown is often intriguing. Generally their worn to portray a character or someone other than yourself and symbolize an imaginary life. For Lucy, it portrayed a sense of freedom. The freedom from being stared at, teased, lonely, and occasionally envious of others. Halloween is the only day that Lucy experience’s an ordinary life. Unlike the majority of other days’ mask are customary and her disability is masked. Providing her with the confidence to express herself freely by asking questions and making comments. “Studies show children with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their non-disabled

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.

My contrasting mask was Creon. This masks opposes Antigone´s, and is full of darker colors, scary features, and words with a negative connotation. The dark colors are for his control, and love for power. Creon´s picture in my mind is a very scary person, therefore skulls and fire were included on this mask. Words such as control and power were added as well. Creon had all the wrong ideas about ruling a kingdom, for he was controlling and

Every paper, no matter how well written needs to be revised and edited as time goes on. In some ways, life is similar. We all go through changes that influence us and shape the direction we are headed. Some of these changes come from our own prerogative while others are inspired by friends and family members. I know that my worldview has gone through this revision process. Even looking back to freshman year I had many of the same ideals, same focuses on values and hard work, but over time they have come to manifest themselves in different ways. For instance, I am much more willing to share my beliefs and opinions on controversial issues. This developed as I came to realize my ideas are worth arguing for and I gained a knowledge of

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 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

When given the thought, one makes the comparison that masks are used to describe our

An ideal display of the mask is found in Charles Chestnutt’s, “The Passing of Grandison.” In this story, Colonel, the slave master thought that his servant Grandison would on no account try to escape if permitted to go on a journey with his son, Dick. In fact, the Colonel recommends that Dick take Grandison along on his travels rather than Tom, who Dick was trying to take at first. “What’s the matter with Grandison?” suggested the colonel. “He’s handy enough, and I reckon we can trust him. He’s too fond of good eating to risk losing his regular meals; besides, he’s sweet on your mother’s maid, Betty…” (594) This passage shows the Colonel’s confidence in Grandison as a faithful servant, and illuminates the

An example of Burton's use of masks is in the film Edward Scissorhands. Edward’s heavy makeup and costume makes him seem to be the monster of the film, but it is Jim that looks like a normal guy who is the monster. Burton signifies that just because you look a certain way, in this case evil, doesn't necessarily mean that you are. The most obvious example however of showing the duplicity of the human nature is in the film Batman Returns, both Batman and Catwoman have split personalities and with the use of literal masks they are able to transform in to their alternative selves and create their own rules inside their own world. Characters like Batman and Catwoman are outsiders because of their dual personalities that are too complex. When Batman becomes Bruce Wayne he also wears a mask in a way, as a way of protecting himself. Tim Burton really looks at the idea that we wear masks to either show or hide the many facets of the human

Their masks hide the evil dwelling within their innocent souls, waiting to be set free. It emits human personalities and behaviors, allowing it to be impenetrable by visual perception. With these masks as a cover, Jack and his tribe members interact nicely; chaos rips through their society when they allowed their masks to fall off throughout many sequences of events.

The character that I have chosen to design a mask for is Hamlet. In my mask design I have chosen the colour blue, a noose and a dagger. I chose the colour blue because blue represents depression; throughout the play Hamlet shows many signs of being depressed. After Hamlet’s father’s death, Hamlet went into a mode of not having anything to live for. He himself would rather have died than live in a world where someone who is so corrupted ruled.

Interpretation of the symbolism behind the mask varies, however the rings are thought to invoke both the ridges of a black moth chrysalis, representing a girl’s transformation into a woman, and the ripples of water created as a leader rose from the water, the home of female spirits. The masks elaborately braided hair and scarification also refer to the appearance of this leader and what was considered ideally beautiful. The expression on the face is to convey the wisdom, grace, and self control that the young women would hopefully inherit.

People are like nesting dolls, as we all develop from deep inside into our outer shells, reflecting what we have become based on our life experiences. Not many people are able to peel the experience of life because it is the part deep inside that no one really knows about. The most outer layer portrays how the world sees me, and what judgments and assumptions arise when they look at me. While the second layer is just beneath the surface, the place for the things that are kept in reserve or hiding. The next one represents the way is I protect myself and the protective mechanisms that kick in when obstacles or challenges arise. The second smallest layer exemplifies the people and events that have most significantly contributed to who I am today. Lastly the smallest figure is “my center” and what I bring to the world. Everyone has the one quality that defines them. I have many sides that not many people know about, and all of my layers make me, me.