Masks And Identity Research Paper

Some of the specific observations made by Morris in the article ,"The Year We Obsessed Over Identity," that I find relevant to my own life- what I have read, what I watch, what I notice in the culture around me is that society continues to look at women as weak individuals. At the beginning pf the article, the character played by Anne Hathaway is shown as weak when she starts to think that without her marriage problems and that without her husband she wouldn’t be the successful women she is at that moment. "And weren't the problems in her marriage a direct result of her being a succesfulwoman- she was there but never quite present. (pg.1) People are or can also be said to have been afraid of change. Yet, when it came to Obama winning the

In the poem, “We Wear the Mask’, the narrator, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, expresses the pain African American experienced during the slave trade and how the slaves learned to suppress their emotions. The poem shows a contrast between African American’s social faces and their “bleeding hearts”. The tone of the poem is not a corrective tone, but rather an explanatory one. In considering the time period, it would make sense that the narrator would be careful about insulting the white community. In the first stanza the tone starts as explanatory in just speaking of the masquerade and state of oppression. Then the last two stanzas are very matter of fact. When the narrator sarcastically states, “Why should the world be otherwise”. Showing

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

This proves Gergen’s thesis, “I doubt that people normally develop a coherent sense of identity, and believe that to the extent that they do, they may experience serve emotional distress” (172). By having several masks or selves, is how we are able to adapt to changing society. With these multiple masks we are able to achieve acceptance and know who we are as individuals. Throughout life we must adopt masks when facing different circumstances; it is through these masks that we see how we change as individuals. If we spend our lives trying to stick to one mask, we can find ourselves to feel lost, depressed, or invisible. Change is good; however we must still stay true to ourselves when using masks. They are a part of us as individuals but they are not us.

Every character that travels down a path, that encounters obstacles on their journey, that makes sacrificial decisions faces each of these components as they undertake a life-altering quest. Often times the hero ventures out to save someone or solve a problem, but in fact, their true journey is a search for self-knowledge. Through every obstacle and road-block along the way, the character discovers more about themselves and their true identity. Though they may have journeyed across great lands to accomplish their mission, the thing they were searching for was inside of them all along; the journey and challenges only helped to reveal their real character. As explained in Thomas C. Foster’s literary criticism, How to Read Literature Like a Professor,

We Wear The Mask was written in 1886 with post slavery America being the significant historical backdrop. In this poem, Dunbar explores the duality of experience of African American's at this time. The outward experience presented to the world at large - “We wear the mask that grins and lies” - versus the inward truth of suffering and turmoil - “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile”.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” Author Steven Presfield denotes here that there is usually an internal struggle in us, and the resistance between what we have and what we want to have. Some people will develop more resistance than others, however. Masked heroes possess this problem the most as they have to lead lives that are almost mutually exclusive, however difficult that may be. The best illustrations of this concept come in the form of Daniel Dreiberg, better known as the Second Nite Owl, accompanied by Bruce Wayne, better known as Batman. Both of these heroes took a hiatus from hero work, and then had to struggle as to decide whether or not to take back on their hero identities, causing an internal struggle relating to their identity. Both heroes have the internal struggle, however the origins and resolutions of those struggles come from different places.

The film The Mask You Live In was written, filmed and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. It was released on January 25, 2015 at the premiere of the Sundance Film Festival. Jennifer also released a similar film called Miss Representation, a film about what the expectations of a woman were according to the media. According to the film, using hyper-masculinity among boys and young men through parental teachings and social expectations in the United States negatively affects them psychologically as it affects their way of decision-making and become more isolated throughout their lives. I firmly agree with Newsom’s message she was trying to send out to her intended audience, the parents and our society at large communicated through statistics shown as title sequences and the testimonies coming from boys and men who were once at-risk.

Gender roles often have disastrous consequences for people who struggle to fill their assigned stereotype. Last Wednesday, Carnegie Mellon had a special showing of a new film, The Mask You Live In, that focuses on how society’s narrow definition of masculinity can cause more harm than good.

First, Simon is a static character because he never changes throughout the book. He stays civilized and does not give in to savage behavior and actions. Simon consistently shows how he differs from the other boys’ by he things he says. One quote that Simon says is “I mean the way things are. They dream, you can hear em’. Have you been awake at night Jack?” (Golding 65). This shows Simon thinking deeper about things and showing thought, unlike Jack who kills without thinking about it, as Simon was thinking in that way for the entire novel.

When we were presented with the task of creating a theatrical mask, that revealed something about ourselves, for our midterm I had no clue what I was going to do. Through lots of brainstorming I came up with the idea of having half of my mask be Glinda the Good Witch, from Wicked and Wizard of Oz, and the other half be Elphaba, or the Wicked Witch of the West, from the same shows.

Be “funky” with “funky” face masks while riding your bike! Who doesn’t want to look stylish and modish when on a bike? So, gather the best face masks from our store and enjoy the exclusive riding experience. No matter, which bike you possess, ready to be mod with the mod face masks. From the plain black cloth face mask to the weird and designer skull face mask, you will get all in between. You just require to search the jazzy and flawless mask that will go with you (biker)and your bike.

I have always advocated for respecting the personal freedom of wearing whatever each individual pleases, especially for women in our societies. Be it a veil, a skirt, shorts, or a bikini. Standing up to defending this personal right is something I respect.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, dispatches the cold troubles of African Americans in the lyrical poem, "We Wear the Mask." In this poem, Dunbar links imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice to in order to institute a connection to the reader. From reading the poem, one can infer that Mr. Dunbar is speaking in general, of the misery that many people keep concealed under a grin that they wear very well. But if one were to go further and take the time to research Mr. Dunbar’s selection of this piece and the era of which this poem was written, one would come to understand that this poem focuses entirely on Paul Laurence Dunbar’s viewpoints on racial prejudice and the struggle for equality for the African-American’s of his time period. Though this

Working on the Greek mask project was difficult because I wasn't sure how to begin the process and due to my lack of artistic talent. I was able to get over my initial difficulties by looking at masks on Pinterest for inspiration. After, looking around I decided that I would go with the classic greek "frwony" mask and just add my own flare to it. The materials I used to create my mask are cardboard, paper, makeup and leaves. To begin my creation took a piece of cardboard and cut out the shape of a mask and two big eyes using a knife. I tried to cut out a frowning mouth, but I wasn't able to get it even. I then covered my mask in paper so that the color would show up