Masks and Appearances in Rome and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The appearance of something is almost always the opposite of what it is in reality. In this time, masks are used everywhere. Masks are used to hide reality and give a different appearance. Appearances can be deceiving and will almost always trick you into thinking something that is not true. Literature, social media, and pop culture show that people will change themselves so they conform to societal expectations. In most literature, masks are used as a device to show appearance instead of reality.

Literature shows that people will change themselves to conform to societal expectations. Romeo and Juliet shows that people will use masks to cover who they really are. Masks are seen in Romeo and Juliet very often. When Romeo is heartbroken over Rosaline he compares women’s faces to masks. “These happy masks that kiss fair ladies’ brows, being black, puts us in mind they hide the fair” (26). He is saying that the masks women wear make men think about how beautiful they actually are underneath. Mercutio also uses the term of a mask when he says, “Give me a case to put my visage in! A visor for a visor” (50). Here, he is saying give me a mask to put my mask in; that his face is a mask that hides who he really is. When Juliet is on the balcony she talks about how names have nothing to do with who you are. “Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name, which is no part of thee take all myself” (80). Divergent shows that people will pretend to be someone different than who they really are. In the beginning of the book Tris or Beatrice at the time, finds outs that she is Divergent. Tori, one of the volunteers to run the aptitude tests, tells Tris this information. “‘We aren’t supposed to share our test results. I know that’ ‘No. This is different....

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...Youtubers, he has no mask. He lets people know what his opinions are. In a way he hides behind a mask by putting on a silly persona for his videos, but he also has a message at the end which shows his true personality. Most of his fans love him for his true personality. This shows that masks are sometimes not needed to be successful.

Literature, social media, and pop culture show that people will change themselves so they conform to societal expectations. People use masks to hide what they really are like, no matter it be makeup or a fake personality, people will not show their true self. When a person puts on a mask, they will become a totally different person, whether it be their true self or a fake personality, appearances can hide the truth and be deceiving. People should show their true selves because in the end you won’t have to hide so much about yourself.