The presentation of self in everyday life

Considered "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century" (Fine, Manning, and Smith 2000:ix), as a subjective analyst, Goffman's greatest contribution to social teory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical analysis that began with his 1959 book :“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life “. This book is a seminal sociology book . The sociologist Goffman uses in this book imagery of the theatre to portray the importance of human social interaction. This book was published in 1959 and it represent the first and most famous book.For this beautiful book , Erving Goffman received the American Sociological Association’s MacIver award in 1961.( Wikipedia.org)

The sociologist Erving Goffman treated this book like a report in which he frames out the theatrical performance that applies to face-to-face interactions. He believed that when a man enters the presence of others , that individual will attempt to control the impression that others might make of him by changing or fixing his or her setting, appearance and manner .” When an individual enters the presence of others , they commonly seek to acquire information about him or to bring into play information about him already possessed . They will be interested in his general socio-economic status , his conception of self , his atitude toward them, his competence, his trust-worthiness.”(Goffman, Erving)

In introduction, Goffman holded that all the information become in the present more accessible and many carriers become available for search it: “ For those present , many sources of information become accesible and many carriers (or ‘sign-vehicles’) become available for conveying this information. If unacquainted with the individual, observers can gleanclues from his conduct and appearance which allow them to apply their previous experience with individuals roughly similar to the one before them or, more important, to apply untested stereotypes to him.”

The core of Goffman's analysis lies is the relationship between performance and life. Goffman seems to take all elements of acting into consideration: an actor performs on a setting which is constructed of a stage and a backstage, the props in both settings direct in his acts, he is being watched by an audience, but at the same time he is an audience for his viewers' play. He thinks that “When an actor takes on an established social role, usually he finds that a particular front has already been established for it”.

Whether his acquistion of the role was primarily motivated by a desire to perform the given task or by a des ire to maintain the corresponding front, the actor will find that he must do both.”

In “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”, Goffman emphasizes that in the everyday life the first impressions are very important : “In everyday life, of course , there is a clear understanding that first impressions are important. Thus , the work adjustment of those in service occupations will often hinge upon acapacity to seize and hold the initiative in the service relation, a capacity that will require subtle aggressiveness on the part of the server when he is of lower socio-economic status than his client.”

Erving Goffman addresses the concept of role in his book , how individuals “play a role”. The sociologic Girdwood created a essay where he wanted to provide a critique of the arguments of Goffman. ”I will first provide a summary of Goffman’s argument including the difference between actual and perceived reality. The summary will consist mostly of defining and interpreting key terms used by Goffman. Second, I will provide a critique of the arguments John Goffman used to answer his primary question. (…), I will pose questions derived from the article that would benefit from further research”(Girdwood)

Girdwood said that if a “ role is played, the two parties involved include the individual playing and the observer, while the product is referred to as the performance. We cannot discuss, for example, the “performance” without taking the “actor” into account. To interpret the performance/actor/observer, we must also seek to answer: What is a “real” act versus a “phony” act? and “What are the ways in which an act a given impression can be discredited?” (pg. 62) The distinction between real and phony will provide a segue to discussing the difference between real and perceived, and both of these revolve around the possible legitimation of an act or performance.”( The Construction of Reality: A Critique of Earving Goffman)