Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and
Show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on
...Once I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes
(Billy Joel, "The Stranger", 1977)
I have been pondering lately about people and how complex we all are. As individuals we wear many faces, masks, make-up etc. To our family, our friends, our teachers we are all different people. Who are we really? Do we even know? When the lights are out and we lie in bed, when the days activities and stray thoughts flutter around in our brain, do we realize who we are? Where in that day we acted out a new face? A new persona? When do we act as we truly are? Ever?
We have all been created unique and yet in the little nuances of life I think we strive to find our common thread. In that searching occasionally we lose ourselves behind a velvet or satin curtain of varying colors. The media tells us what is believed to be the new, the hip, the trendy, the old, the worn, wrong, right, fat, thin, beautiful, ugly. And even if we don't mean to, we listen. And if it's not the media, it is the people around us. We compare ourselves to those around us and think to ourselves what we wish we had that they have or what we wish we didn't. We set ourselves up for disappointment and yet we try on those masks. We are taught from a young age to always strive for something better, something higher, more expensive. And we listen. Even those who claim not to can't help but do so because we process information not only through our ears but through our eyes. That information is processed whether we mean to or not, consciously or unconsciously.
It is because of this that we show ourselves as different people to different groups or individuals. In the light of day we are different then we are in the dark of night. In the popular musical Jekyll and Hyde, a wonderful yet tragic story about this very subject, the ensemble sings:
There's a face that we wear
In the cold light of day -
It's society's mask,
It's society's way,
And the truth is
That it's all a facade!
Every day
People, in their own sweet way,
Like to add a coat of paint,
And be what they ain't!
A child of parents who escaped slavery, Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote his lyrical poem, which I've written down below, "We Wear the Mask" in 1896. The Civil War had freed blacks from slavery and they had been given rights from the Civil War Act of 1876 as well as the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments in the U.S. Constitution. But in 1896 animosity towards blacks could still be found everywhere in America and people still acted out towards them. The poem is about blacks having to hide their feelings of fear and anger behind a mask of happiness. I think it applies here.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
(To see a study guide written by Micheal Cummings on Dunbar's poem, click here)
The second stanza specifically catches my interests. Dunbar says, "Why should the world be overwise in counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us while we wear the mask." Those other faces we wear are in part for our own protection. They help us fit in to those around us at the time, i.e. our friends, and set us in proper roles, like in front of teachers or other adults who have authority over us. If these masks are for protection and come occasionally unconsciously, how do we lift them? Another question: Why would we?
Can you trust a person you don't truly know? We do it every day. Every person, whether they mean to or not, has on one mask or another. I'm not even sure we'd know how to pull them off our faces if we wanted to. Do you?
This frustrates me to think about and even writing about it hasn't cleared up the issue in my mind. Even those so dear to us may in fact be acting out a new face for our benefit. When do we truly know who people are?
Captain Nathan Hale was a captain in the American Revolutionary War fighting for the freedom of all man, black and white, from oppression from England and from each other. He was a spy for the Continental Army and was sent on an intelligence-gathering mission to England occupied New York. Though he wore a disguise, he was found out, it is unknown exactly how, and it was determined he would hang, the death of a spy against Mother England. Before he died at the gallows, he spoke out about his life serving his country. It is said that he quoted the famous following words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." But we learn that no actual record of his last words were written. It is simply believed he said these words. Other variations have been guessed at which you can see in the section entitled "Speech."
I was thinking about this last night and wondering about Mr. Hale. Did he truly say those words? It is said he died valiantly, courageously. But did he? Was he sad and scared and regretful of his actions? No one will ever know. I do not necessarily doubt Mr. Hale's pride in his cause. A professor at Yale University, where Nathan Hale attended in 1768 at the age of 14, would have had some idea of Hale's feelings. He wrote the following poem for the hero. I find it inspiring. And it's beautiful to think of this young man (Hale died at the young age of 21) dying so bravely for the cause he loved.
Hate of oppression's arbitrary plan, The love of freedom, and the rights of man; A strong desire to save from slavery's chain The future millions of the western main, And hand down safe, from men's invention cleared, The sacred truths which all the just revered; For ends like these, I wish to draw my breath,' He bravely cried, 'or dare encounter death.' And when a cruel wretch pronounced his doom, Replied, 'Tis well, —for all is peace to come; The sacred cause for which I drew my sword Shall yet prevail, and peace shall be restored. I’ve served with zeal the land that gave me birth, Fulfilled my course, and done my work on earth; Have ever aimed to tread that shining road That leads a mortal to the blessed God. I die resigned, and quit life's empty stage, For brighter worlds my every wish engage; And while my body slumbers in the dust, My soul shall join the assemblies of the just.
Just something for everyone else to think about.
M.E.
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and
Show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on
...Once I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes
(Billy Joel, "The Stranger", 1977)
I have been pondering lately about people and how complex we all are. As individuals we wear many faces, masks, make-up etc. To our family, our friends, our teachers we are all different people. Who are we really? Do we even know? When the lights are out and we lie in bed, when the days activities and stray thoughts flutter around in our brain, do we realize who we are? Where in that day we acted out a new face? A new persona? When do we act as we truly are? Ever?
We have all been created unique and yet in the little nuances of life I think we strive to find our common thread. In that searching occasionally we lose ourselves behind a velvet or satin curtain of varying colors. The media tells us what is believed to be the new, the hip, the trendy, the old, the worn, wrong, right, fat, thin, beautiful, ugly. And even if we don't mean to, we listen. And if it's not the media, it is the people around us. We compare ourselves to those around us and think to ourselves what we wish we had that they have or what we wish we didn't. We set ourselves up for disappointment and yet we try on those masks. We are taught from a young age to always strive for something better, something higher, more expensive. And we listen. Even those who claim not to can't help but do so because we process information not only through our ears but through our eyes. That information is processed whether we mean to or not, consciously or unconsciously.
It is because of this that we show ourselves as different people to different groups or individuals. In the light of day we are different then we are in the dark of night. In the popular musical Jekyll and Hyde, a wonderful yet tragic story about this very subject, the ensemble sings:
There's a face that we wear
In the cold light of day -
It's society's mask,
It's society's way,
And the truth is
That it's all a facade!
Every day
People, in their own sweet way,
Like to add a coat of paint,
And be what they ain't!
A child of parents who escaped slavery, Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote his lyrical poem, which I've written down below, "We Wear the Mask" in 1896. The Civil War had freed blacks from slavery and they had been given rights from the Civil War Act of 1876 as well as the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments in the U.S. Constitution. But in 1896 animosity towards blacks could still be found everywhere in America and people still acted out towards them. The poem is about blacks having to hide their feelings of fear and anger behind a mask of happiness. I think it applies here.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
(To see a study guide written by Micheal Cummings on Dunbar's poem, click here)
The second stanza specifically catches my interests. Dunbar says, "Why should the world be overwise in counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us while we wear the mask." Those other faces we wear are in part for our own protection. They help us fit in to those around us at the time, i.e. our friends, and set us in proper roles, like in front of teachers or other adults who have authority over us. If these masks are for protection and come occasionally unconsciously, how do we lift them? Another question: Why would we?
Can you trust a person you don't truly know? We do it every day. Every person, whether they mean to or not, has on one mask or another. I'm not even sure we'd know how to pull them off our faces if we wanted to. Do you?
This frustrates me to think about and even writing about it hasn't cleared up the issue in my mind. Even those so dear to us may in fact be acting out a new face for our benefit. When do we truly know who people are?
Captain Nathan Hale was a captain in the American Revolutionary War fighting for the freedom of all man, black and white, from oppression from England and from each other. He was a spy for the Continental Army and was sent on an intelligence-gathering mission to England occupied New York. Though he wore a disguise, he was found out, it is unknown exactly how, and it was determined he would hang, the death of a spy against Mother England. Before he died at the gallows, he spoke out about his life serving his country. It is said that he quoted the famous following words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." But we learn that no actual record of his last words were written. It is simply believed he said these words. Other variations have been guessed at which you can see in the section entitled "Speech."
I was thinking about this last night and wondering about Mr. Hale. Did he truly say those words? It is said he died valiantly, courageously. But did he? Was he sad and scared and regretful of his actions? No one will ever know. I do not necessarily doubt Mr. Hale's pride in his cause. A professor at Yale University, where Nathan Hale attended in 1768 at the age of 14, would have had some idea of Hale's feelings. He wrote the following poem for the hero. I find it inspiring. And it's beautiful to think of this young man (Hale died at the young age of 21) dying so bravely for the cause he loved.
Hate of oppression's arbitrary plan, The love of freedom, and the rights of man; A strong desire to save from slavery's chain The future millions of the western main, And hand down safe, from men's invention cleared, The sacred truths which all the just revered; For ends like these, I wish to draw my breath,' He bravely cried, 'or dare encounter death.' And when a cruel wretch pronounced his doom, Replied, 'Tis well, —for all is peace to come; The sacred cause for which I drew my sword Shall yet prevail, and peace shall be restored. I’ve served with zeal the land that gave me birth, Fulfilled my course, and done my work on earth; Have ever aimed to tread that shining road That leads a mortal to the blessed God. I die resigned, and quit life's empty stage, For brighter worlds my every wish engage; And while my body slumbers in the dust, My soul shall join the assemblies of the just.
Just something for everyone else to think about.
M.E.
Comments
In my daily interactions, I sometimes like to actually force myself to imagine a masked character representing myself in a sort of masquerade ball. There is a particular mask I like more than the rest in my collection, which contains the best elements of all my masks, and it is my goal for the image to be that one authentic mask every time. Thus eventually, no matter who may be looking or where, anyone can know exactly what they're looking for when they seek me. Many other masks and costumes around the ballroom may change and even frighten, but I'm working so that mine may be that mask in the crowd that sends a beacon of security: a strong character, never changing but for the better--the mask to be trusted even in the darkest night. I've got a way to go still, but the image helps me set meaningful goals to get there.
This really is a fun topic to ponder; thanks for posting!