Summary Of Erving Goffman's Theory

In the article, Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion, theorist Erving Goffman 's theory of Dramaturgy, is utilized to explicate the various ways in which individuals present themselves in the setting of Hospice care. Hospice care is defined as Dramaturgy views everyday interactions of social life as a series of dramatic performances like that of a theater. This is based on Goffman 's concept of the self, "the sense of who one is that is a dramatic effect emerging from the immediate dramaturgical scene being presented" (Ritzer 144). According to Goffman 's theory, the self that is presented is comparable to that of a stage performance, a stage that is divided into a front and back with certain permissible behaviors. In the case of Cain …show more content…
This is Goffman 's assumption that when individuals interact, they want to present a certain sense of self that will be accepted by others" (Ritzer 144). The hospice care study examines the way workers identify themselves in addition to how identities are used to account for discrepancies between front and back stage behaviors. Goffman 's theory demonstrates how hospice workers’ use their identities to construct front and backstage behaviors that are essential for continuing hospice work. The relevance of this research lies in understanding how different performances are viewed as self important components of managing the stress of emotional labor within a postmodern society that relies heavily on service industry …show more content…
However, one limitation of the study is the small sample size used in the experiment. There were only 41 interviews conducted and they were all from one specific hospice region in southwestern United States. So this cannot be generalized to all hospice care. Additionally, from all the people getting interviewed, there was no mention if the interviews were voluntary, the age of those interviewed, or the patient’s illnesses. Also, since the focus of the experiment is on back stage and front stage activities, it is hard to say that there is a clear difference or division between the two because back stage and front stage emotions and activities can be easily mixed up and compromised. Lastly, another major issue we found within the research is that the interviews were informal and notes weren’t taken during the actual interviews out of respect for the patient’s family and hospices. So Cain recorded her observations after the actual interview, which cannot be so accurate do to memory