As quoted from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. And now I shall quote from the movie V for Vendetta, which is based off of the graphic novel by [Alan Moore, not Neil Gaiman]. "We all wear masks. Life creates them and forces us to find one that fits."
Now, my question to you guys is, are masks hindrances in finding truth, or do they reflect them? And, of course, why?
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There's a difference between who I am and who I want to be. Who I want to be is represented by the mask I wear. According to the point of view of the rest of the world, my mask is what defines who I am. At that point, does it matter who I truly am deep inside? Personally, I think that it's my actions that define me, not my thoughts. The masks that we wear represent what we want to be truth. This means that they really are truth becuase we are the ones who define it.
I see masks as mirroring the truth (although it depends on what you consider to be truth). I think that by wearing a mask, it brings out the subconsious persona that you wish you were.
Think about masked balls...isnt that like a night where you can be whoever or whatever you want? Or halloween...its a way to express yourself (and isnt that a kind of truth?) without having to feel pressured to conform.
Assume the definition of truth is "an ideal standard that defies falsehood" (thank you some random dictionary I can't remember).
You can bring up other definitions of truth, if you so desire, but that's the one I was meaning.
But I like your responses, and I agree with you both.
Rebecca, I have a question for you though. Is the mask of who you want to be really just a reflection of who you want to be, or a reflection of what you're denying yourself the ability to be deep down inside?
Well, I suppose that applies to both of your guys' answers, so if either of you wish to respond, please do ^_^
The thing is, if there's something I don't like about myself like some desire or character flaw, then I'll try to cover it with a mask (Unless is it involves being a cynic; in that case, I'll advertise it). The point is, those things about me that I don't like that I cover up and never let loose don't really matter becuase no one is ever going to know about them. For example, say you REALLY don't like someone. It's not hard to cover up the fact that you can't stand them by just pretending to be friendly. Does the fact that they annoy the heck out of you really matter if you never make it known? I guess my answer is that my mask is a reflection of who I want to be and what abilities I'm denying myself. I'm not sure if that answer's your question or not katrin337, but please tell me if you're still confused with my idea on the whole mask concept.
Just a point of clarification:
V for Vendetta was not written by Gaiman, but by Alan Moore.
Our masks are oft used to hide who we are, and to protect not only ourselves but others from us. It is hard, as a human, to completely let yourself open, and to be fully willing to let others see you, because at that point they are close enough to cause harm.
I use my mask to prevent me from being hurt by others.
On the other hand, the masks we wear can also help to stop us from hurtign others. If we are too open, from the get go, we might startle, or scare someone off.
Good call, Wolf, I'll fix that...
Out of curiosity, question: Say you've created the mask in order to prevent harm from coming to others, not yourself (as you suggested in the second bit). Is there a line between where it should be your choice or theirs to not reveal the part of you that you're masking or should it always be entirely up to you? (That question is open for anyone who wants to answer)
Rebecca: That does, more or less, answer my question. Thank you :)
I partly agree with Wolf in that people use masks to hide them sevles from others, but creating a mask to prevent harm? What type of harm are you talking about? physical harm or Psychological harm?
Couldn't it be either? Or both? I mean, you can hide your wrathful self so that you don't lash out at people unexpectedly, and then there's a psychological side that you can hide so that you don't..I don't know, traumatize people or whatever, or show them a side of you that could just..hurt them, not necessarily psychological or physical, but somewhere in between. I don't know if that's what Wolf was talking about, but that's my perception of it.
Right, so, once again, counter-claim. I think that sometimes, masks are put on because people are afraid of what others will think, and so they act as they think others want them to, not as they want to. Many times, masks are generated by the people around us as we pretend to be someone for them. And I really hate that. However, I also think that you can be yourself and still be respectful adn courteous. Like Dani was saying about not liking someone, I think that you can be yourself and still be respectful to that person. I mean, you have to. If you aren't then what does that say about you. However, I think that it's foolish to be afraid to offend someone. If a person is bothering you, you should be able to say, hey, look, you need to back off. I don't know it that makes sense, I rambled a bit, but yes, we really should work past masks. they terrify me, to be completely honest. If we can't be ourselves, then who can we be? Kyle Picha and I had a discussion the other day. He said, "You know, girls start liking you because you're yourself, and then you start dating them, and you act differently, you know, and then they don't like you anymore!" I completely agree! It's terrible! We can't seem to find a personality, because we think that different ones are expected of us. So, how do you know what people are really like? How do you as a person move past your own mask, and learn to take it off? And what would the consequences be?
I see your point, Sierra. I don't think we should move past masks completely, I think they do have their use. But I agree that in such a situation as you described, it could be better to move past them.
I really don't believe that people have one true likeness though, I think that people and how they act are ever-changing, and you can merely grasp a general concept, that sometimes even the best masks can't hide.
Here's what I think. I think that society creates this norm that people think they have to be like and if, when they are themsevles, they are not like that they create a persona of what they should be so they can feel accepted.
I think that the mask exposes the identity that someone wants to portray to the world, that they do hide behind it, yet at the exact same time it exposes a part of that individual unseen in their normal appearance. There's also a difference between whether one chooses to wear the mask, or whether one puts it on without knowing it. If you choose, than you know what you're hiding behind, and you also know what you are hiding behind the mask. If it's subconcious, its what you are afraid of, about either an aspect of yourself behind, or keeping an aspect of the outer world out of yourself. So I think they serve two purposes, depending on what we're hiding from, or hiding from the world. On whether or not they should exist, I think that also depends on their purpose for the individual.
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