Our Perceived Identities
Our identities are authentic; they are the definitions of who we are. How we are perceived, on the other hand, is how we are identified by others through external factors. While identities are more factual and accurate, perceptions can be warped and used as masks that hide true personality.
Perceptions can mask character, or people can use them to create the identity they want. In this way, perceptions can transform or become identity. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, people use their wealth and social status to create a facade; a surreal and dreamy version of themselves, surrounded by lavish wealth and power. They have a desire for others to see them as perfect people living a plentiful and successful life. Readers see that these characters really struggle with love, stability and happiness, along with self-image.
What motivates people to create such false perceptions? Those who are not comfortable or fulfilled with their identities will try to change them to comfort themselves. So in reality how accurately can any person's identity be recognized? I would argue that one's identity and the perceptions surrounding it are so entangled that it is all too common that the public and the people themselves cannot recognize who they really are. Human beings in a well-off society are too preoccupied with image and money to be concerned with trivial matters like "who they are".
People create their identities by trying to control how others perceive them. People dress a certain way, talk a certain way, and share a certain amount to create this ideal image. Who does this benefit? Do these perceptions and ideas act as protection for which to hide behind? Are we all just unsatisfied with who we really are? Or do we deludedly believe that these fantastical identities that we create for ourselves hold true?
The rock that is identity sinks into the water of perception, and the murky pond that is life confuses it all. Gatsby built up this surreal image of himself, his personality forever a mystery to the public, "If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him"(2). In the end, this fake identity that he made for himself with secrets and illegal dealings gave him nothing. The glamorous gestures could never bring him what he really wanted, which was Daisy. Neither could they change his God-given identity, whether or not it was recognizable.
Perceptions can mask character, or people can use them to create the identity they want. In this way, perceptions can transform or become identity. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, people use their wealth and social status to create a facade; a surreal and dreamy version of themselves, surrounded by lavish wealth and power. They have a desire for others to see them as perfect people living a plentiful and successful life. Readers see that these characters really struggle with love, stability and happiness, along with self-image.
What motivates people to create such false perceptions? Those who are not comfortable or fulfilled with their identities will try to change them to comfort themselves. So in reality how accurately can any person's identity be recognized? I would argue that one's identity and the perceptions surrounding it are so entangled that it is all too common that the public and the people themselves cannot recognize who they really are. Human beings in a well-off society are too preoccupied with image and money to be concerned with trivial matters like "who they are".
People create their identities by trying to control how others perceive them. People dress a certain way, talk a certain way, and share a certain amount to create this ideal image. Who does this benefit? Do these perceptions and ideas act as protection for which to hide behind? Are we all just unsatisfied with who we really are? Or do we deludedly believe that these fantastical identities that we create for ourselves hold true?
The rock that is identity sinks into the water of perception, and the murky pond that is life confuses it all. Gatsby built up this surreal image of himself, his personality forever a mystery to the public, "If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him"(2). In the end, this fake identity that he made for himself with secrets and illegal dealings gave him nothing. The glamorous gestures could never bring him what he really wanted, which was Daisy. Neither could they change his God-given identity, whether or not it was recognizable.
I agree that Gastby's wealth was just a cover up that gave him nothing. It was well written and I liked the rhetorical questions.
ReplyDeleteMaddie! The subject of identity that you discussed is a topic that we people too often ignore in our busy lives. I think it is great that you shed some light on the fact that perception tends to be different from one's identity. The connection to Gatsby in particular stood out to me because I personally believe that if the "you" that people see is only a facade, you will never hold real relationships in life. The thousands of fake friends that you make will only leave you even more lonely in the end.
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