Dramaturgy of Erving Goffman - Essay Example

The front stage is what those you interact with notice or see, like what the viewers see in a stage play. I was self-assured, composed, and bold in my front-stage self. On the contrary, in my backstage self, I was anxious, timid, and detached. According to Goffman, in the backstage part we can “drop our front, forego speaking lines and step out of character” (Wallace & Wolf, 1999, 231). In other words, we can express our ‘true selves’ backstage. On the other hand, when we are front stage, we usually show our ‘superficial selves’ or a persona that society wants to see of us.

We are seldom allowed to be our true selves. We are always pretending to be someone else, appearing in different ways, and acting in different ways. Most people, I think, normally, are not aware of their true identity. Erving Goffman explains thoroughly the backstage where “actors do not need to engage in impression management; they can be themselves” (Wallace & Wolf, 1999, 231). It is this part that I am trying to examine, develop, and perform on the front stage. I believe that if I can strengthen my backstage personality I can pursue my aspirations and not give in to the pressures and expectations of society. When I am with my family and peers I immediately activate my front-stage self. My front-stage self refuses to show that I am overly conscious of my physical imperfections, but backstage I am always concerned about how I look, and how others think of or see me.

The notions of the backstage and front stage are all about impression management or the techniques a person uses to guide and manipulate the impression from other people. My inner thoughts significantly affect my flawed actions. We appear to have two reflections of ourselves, the inside and the outside, the front stage and backstage. We know for sure that throughout the socialization process, we gain the ability to view ourselves as others view us and to examine our own identity based on other people’s treatment of or attitudes toward us. Our physical being is the most observable or noticeable part of ourselves. Simply put, how we carry ourselves in front of others expresses our self-image. Therefore, my goal is to learn how to balance my front stage and backstage selves so that I can still be the true ‘me’, partly, even in the presence of other people.