Mask Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mask - Research Paper Example Ergo, as social beings, we persistently and painstakingly strive to maintain a vivid distinction between our inner and outer selves. Thus, in ordinary day-to-day living, people take refuge in masks for a two-fold purpose: to ward off unpleasant social criticism and to gain social acceptance. In effect, a mask functions as a protective cocoon – one that serves to conceal the essential inner self of an individual that is wounded and crippled by: personal misfortunes, character deficiencies, moral failings and shameful or objectionable desires; thereby, projecting a well-integrated and a thoroughly appealing persona of the mask wearer in front of the outside world. This premise will be substantiated through the following discussion. It is note-worthy that offenders or serial killers frequently resort to the use of masks or personas to avoid legal persecution and penalty. For the notorious Ted Bundy, the varied social disguises assumed by him, facilitated him in embarking on a journey of unrestrained violence and horrific homicides. What surprises one in Bundy’s case is the incongruity that existed between his pleasant and charming demeanour as a college student and his hauntingly lustful obsession with committing atrociously heinous murders of defenceless and vulnerable women. He himself claimed that, â€Å"I grew up in a wonderful home with two wonderful and dedicated parents†¦We regularly attended church†¦I was a normal person†¦I led a normal life† (Bundy). However, this apparent normalcy displayed by Bundy was merely a representation of his pseudo self or the persona. It was a disguise adopted by him in order to overshadow the destructive tendencies tumultuously bubbling within h im. Similar to a predator waiting to devour its prey, Bundy would calculate every manipulative move in advance with immense precision. He paraded a highly likable persona of himself in front of his victims and his peers. In return, he was granted an