Is your mask slipping?
“What’s done cannot be undone,” declares William Shakespeare. However, people all over the world do not really understand this. They feel opted (obligated) to destroy anything that scares them or is unfamiliar to them. When we are young, we are taught to memorize certain expectations for when people are looking but being taught to memorize rules does not mean we completely understand what to do. In turn, this leads to people learning to create masks of kindness in front of someone of superiority. However, the second they turn around, our masks fall. Our world today has become so corrupt by selfish and uncaring people that when we see someone who is genuinely forgiving and extremely caring, we often feel threatened …show more content…
This allows the masked mortal to grow close to the kind person and gain their trust only to turn on them and completely eradicate them. Even those who claim to love you will turn on you: “Lou scrambled to his feet and she jumped down from her rock. But instead of throwing herself into her despairing lover’s arms, she grabbed her bundle and strode off down the path” (Dai Sijie, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, 184). Lou has given all his love and more to the Little Seamstress, however, she only stayed long enough to gain the knowledge she desired for him and left him shattered in the end. This reveals the heap of distress on Lou’s shoulders as a result of the Little Seamstress’s mask finally crumbling into dust. She grew close to him to gain the information she desired with a façade to keep her undiscovered. This façade made her seem respectful, kind and innocent, but in reality hid her selfishness and her favor of choosing what is best for herself over others, Lou’s, feelings. Similarly, sirens are creature who use a ‘vocal façade’ to lure innocent and genuine prey with promises of anything they could hope for, though they only want to eliminate them. The Sirens sing, “the song that is irresistible: the song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even though they see the beached skulls” (Margaret Atwood, Siren Song, lines 2-5). A
“What’s done cannot be undone,” declares William Shakespeare. However, people all over the world do not really understand this. They feel opted (obligated) to destroy anything that scares them or is unfamiliar to them. When we are young, we are taught to memorize certain expectations for when people are looking but being taught to memorize rules does not mean we completely understand what to do. In turn, this leads to people learning to create masks of kindness in front of someone of superiority. However, the second they turn around, our masks fall. Our world today has become so corrupt by selfish and uncaring people that when we see someone who is genuinely forgiving and extremely caring, we often feel threatened …show more content…
This allows the masked mortal to grow close to the kind person and gain their trust only to turn on them and completely eradicate them. Even those who claim to love you will turn on you: “Lou scrambled to his feet and she jumped down from her rock. But instead of throwing herself into her despairing lover’s arms, she grabbed her bundle and strode off down the path” (Dai Sijie, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, 184). Lou has given all his love and more to the Little Seamstress, however, she only stayed long enough to gain the knowledge she desired for him and left him shattered in the end. This reveals the heap of distress on Lou’s shoulders as a result of the Little Seamstress’s mask finally crumbling into dust. She grew close to him to gain the information she desired with a façade to keep her undiscovered. This façade made her seem respectful, kind and innocent, but in reality hid her selfishness and her favor of choosing what is best for herself over others, Lou’s, feelings. Similarly, sirens are creature who use a ‘vocal façade’ to lure innocent and genuine prey with promises of anything they could hope for, though they only want to eliminate them. The Sirens sing, “the song that is irresistible: the song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even though they see the beached skulls” (Margaret Atwood, Siren Song, lines 2-5). A