Representing oneself in everyday life results from a scholarly study of human interaction. One of Goffman’s literary works was devoted to this topic, detailing one probable sociological approach to life examination. He focuses on the essence managed within the transparent material boundaries of a facility in which a specific type of activity regularly occurs. The Presentation of self in everyday life is an in-depth analysis of human behavior, relationships, and barriers created through the lens of dramatic action.
The social institution can be viewed from four perspectives: political, structural, cultural, and technical. All the attributes discovered about the institution belong to each of the four stances, but each establishes a distinct priority and order. The author argues that the dramaturgical approach can represent a fifth perspective, which can be operated as the final point of analysis and the definitive way of composing the facts (Goffman, 2020). Furthermore, the negligence in the representation has consequences at three levels of abstraction: person, interaction, and social structure. Goffman comprehends the attempt to present oneself in terms of the values accepted in a shared society as an idealization (Goffman, 2020). The institution’s cultural values determine the participants’ attitude to numerous issues and set the framework of visibility.
There are considerable ambiguities in the definition of actual or inaccurate, pertaining, for example, to whether the individual is intentionally lying. The character’s conduct staged in the theater is not similar to a carefully crafted nature performed by a person of trust (Goffman, 2020). Despite this, the successful staging of either type of fraudulent figure involves using real techniques – equivalent to those ordinary people maintain in social situations.
Therefore, Goffman examines how individuals in the most ordinary work conditions present themselves and their activities to others. The author focuses on how the person directs and controls the formation of impressions. His observations and analytical descriptions of rituals and the minutest details of social interaction in spatial and temporal contexts reinforce the idea that personality does not have essential characteristics. All actions and behavior are the effects of successful perceptions and staging adopted by others.
Reference
Goffman, E. (2020). Presentation of self in everyday life. Cedro, 1-10.