Goffman Why Me Analysis

Words: 1242
Pages: 5
Open Document
The “why me” question fills individuals lives since individuals lack the knowledge about the world and people are the way they are. Individuals do not know why them. Why are some people born into affluent families while others are born in poorer families? Why are some people better at math then others? Why does someone have the life they do. Interestingly, except for this idea of being born into a certain life, “why me” normally has this negative connotations. Individuals think “why me” when they loss their job, their car breaks down in the pouring rain, or a tree falls on their house. “Why me” is never is asked when someone wins the lottery, luck is normally the response to situations like that. This question is very complicated as it tries …show more content…
First off, Goffman’s theory is dramaturgy, which states that everyone is an actor, who perform on a stage which parallels life. Goffman argues that all individuals have fronts, or versions of themselves that helps them deal with social interactions. These fronts cause individuals not to have selfs because people will have different fronts in front of their parents and friends. Goffman describes personal fronts as, “to refer to the other items of expressive equipment, the items that we most intimately identify with the performer himself and that we naturally expect with follow the performer wherever he goes” (Goffman 2012: 487). These fronts are based on manners, how individuals act, and appearance, how they dress which both help if they are able to play the role correctly. So my big problem with the ‘why me’ question is that how can people ask this, celebrate it, or anything if in reality they do not have a self. Do they celebrate the way they interact with their parents, or their fraternity brothers? I believe that ‘why me’ exists because on the soul purpose because we are ignorant to the world and need to create another version of a front to be able to think that free will exists. Clearly, I am a determinist and I do not think that they who part with fate and fortune has the capability of impacting individuals if there is a lack of self. We are molded by society to such an extent that we lose free will and the ability to ask ‘why me’ because our lives have been determined by everything that has happened beforehand. I know it is depressing, but even with the Myth of Er, where we choose and forget it’s just like telling us that the world is determined. Nothing is really our choice, but was it really the soul’s choice for who they picked either? As for fate, fortune, and chance the idea of the self is that society influences individuals to believe in these factors so that they can
Show More

Related Documents: Goffman Why Me Analysis

Charles Horton Cooley Social Interaction Theory

other, using their impression to formulate their guesses. This paradigm alone represents how Goffman heavily relied on impression management for his theory, indicating a social actor's problem-solving skills determines how other's view them (Rizter, 2010, page 146). Goffman also goes on to describe that the social actors can alternate between the front stage and the back stage. The front stage is what Goffman considered to a fixed performance; that would indicate the same message to all of the observers…

Words 1555 - Pages 7

Applying Social Interactionism Paradigm To Facebook Finished Essay

makes. On the other hand, sociologist, such as, Herbert Blumer, George Mead, and Ervin Goffman, the answer to these two questions is Symbolic Interactionism. By first explaining the three premises of Symbolic Interationism by Herbert Blumer, and then applying Mead’s theory of developing Self”, and coupled with Goffman’s “Dramaturgy” theory, I will argue why Symbolic Interactionism is a viable way to explain why Facebook exist as a social reality. Symbolic Interactionism is a school of thought with…

Words 1600 - Pages 7

Who Am I ? Essay

little overwhelming. I know what is expected of me and what I have worked all my life for and the reality of it all scares me. Before I know it, I’ll have my own apartment, great 9-5, good car ……….but with all this, comes BILLS. I was always taught to be optimistic about life and to not give up when the going gets tough but the thought of failing really gets my heart pounding. Recently, I was asked a question: “Who are you?” This question really had me stuck. It’s so many things that affect us today;…

Words 6572 - Pages 27

Syllabus: Sociology and Pp Essay examples

phones should be switched odd or silenced. Laptops are fine but please be respectful of me and your fellow students and restrict your use to note taking. Finally, if you have any questions about the material or the concepts discussed in class, please feel free to some see me during office hours. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Through reading of course content, active participation in class discussions and critical analysis of texts are all crucial to developing you understanding of theory and its role within…

Words 1985 - Pages 8

Goldkuhl 2003 1 Essay

Accepted to the 8th International Conference on the Language Action Perspective on Communication Modelling (LAP-2003), 1-2 July, 2003, Tilburg, The Netherlands Conversational Analysis as a Theoretical Foundation for Language Action Approaches? Göran Goldkuhl VITS Research Network Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University and Jönköping International Business School Sweden ggo@ida.liu.se Abstract Communication modelling approaches within the Language Action Perspective (LAP)…

Words 7936 - Pages 32

Essay about Sociology 1301 Lecture notes

See written notes for first 2 slides. Culture shock Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life Happens in our own communities as we confront people of other cultures See pg 38 Confronting the Yanomano and Horace Minors Nacirema Only humans depend on culture rather than instincts to ensure the survival of their kind Elements of culture 4 COMMON ELEMENTS Symbols Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture Human capacity…

Words 4056 - Pages 17

SOSC100 WA 4 f14 Essay

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 4 O3, GEO2 Name: Jenna Lyn Irey Socialization f14 Date: 2/26/15 Fully respond to the following statements using key terms, concepts, and perspective in your responses to fully reflect your learning and to earn the maximum 30 pts possible. Basic Understanding: (Terms, Concepts, and Perspectives – 20 pts) 1. Describe the conflict found in the “nature versus nurture” debate. (2 pt) a. Nature vs nurture is a controversy that is about the effects of biology and social environments…

Words 4180 - Pages 17

Bases Of Power Essay

allowing explication of much of the thinking underlying and leading to publications of Raven and colleagues that are well known to social psychologists. While ours has been described as one of the most widely cited analyses of social power, many Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy readers may not be familiar with its development since our original statement was published in 1959. It therefore seems useful to summarize our original statement, plus the later developments, which include the…

Words 9707 - Pages 39

Essay on Anthro EXAM REVIEW

Questions psychologists may ask include: ● What causes mental illness? ● Is personality inherited or learned? Fields of study include: ● Psychoanalysis ­ inner experiences of the mind. Used on patients who suffer from severe anxieties and tension. ● Behavioural ­ analysis principles of behaviour because it is observable, yet it can be studied more objectively than the visible mind. ● Cognitive ­ perception, learning, memory, reasoning. studies how people deal with their environment, learn and remember things, make decisions…

Words 7683 - Pages 31

course notes Essay

Sociology Semester 2 2011 Sociology 100 – Issues and Themes in Sociology University of Auckland Semester 2 2011 Sociology Semester 2 2011 Sociology 100 – Issues and Themes in Sociology • • The sociological perspective/way of seeing society has been described by Bauman as “the habit of viewing human actions as elements of wider figurations: that is of a non-random assembly of actors locked together in a web of mutual dependency.” (pg. 7 of ‘Being Sociological’) According to Peter…

Words 8678 - Pages 35