Goffman's Presentation Of Self Analysis

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Goffman uses the concept of the presentation of self to help individuals understand how things are portrayed in today’s world. Goffman believes in many ontological claims through this concept. The first section consists of the individual’s role and whether or not he is taken seriously this is portrayed as the actor being sincere. On the other hand the opposite of this is cynicism. Cynics are individuals who are not taken by their own performance for many reasons. Goffman explains these reasons to be what the actor considers “to be their own good or for the good of the community”(1959/2012, pg.47) Considering this performers like doctors who give out placebos are not seen as cynical because they are not able to be sincere when dealing with …show more content…

This concept starts off with the setting which involves certain furniture, décor, physical layout” (1959/2012, pg.49). These items help set up the stage for the ability of the human to further understand what is going on during the play. The setting is what allows the individuals who are performing in the play to come into contact with the role they are playing. It allows them to have a sense of actually being in that situation in real life, which results in the audience to have a greater sense of what’s going on. Appearance and manner are also concepts of front. Goffman illustrates these two concepts by referring to appearance as the functions that one performs at a certain time to illustrate there social status and whether that individual engages in social activities, work and recreation. The concept of manner is referred to as a specific warning to the audience of what is upcoming in the next scene. Manner allows the audience to determine before hand what role a certain individual will play. Goffman also relates these concepts to the idea of dramatic realization and idealization. Dramatic realization functions in the presence of others as the individual introduces his role dramatically and doing so the individual portrays facts that would otherwise be stay