Respond to the following student responses provided based on the following Prompts (Each Response should be 137 words)
Prompt 1
In Goffmans theory of dramaturgy, are concepts such as front and backstage metaphorical or physical spaces? Can a person have a complete self without access to these locations? For example, is a homeless person deprived of a backstage? Is a recluse deprived of a front? Do such people experience an incomplete selfhood?
Student Response 1 (Johnathan)
Front is what others perceive of someones actions, essentially it would be metaphorical; an example would be myself putting on a smile or cracking a joke just so others will not feel like they have to ask whats wrong on times that I want to keep my social interactions at a minimum and they will leave me alone. Im not putting up a physical wall in front of me. The extent of someone having a backstage and front is more of what sides they choose to show, more so than their physical accommodations. A homeless person could just as easily hide their backstage while someone is around them, until the person leaves or stops acknowledging what is in front of them. The same is true about recluses and having a front.
Student Response 2 (Christopher)
I am sure that some people can experience an incomplete selfhood. The only person that comes to mind right now would be the President of the United States. Whoever holds that office has no private life. Even if he/she attempted to have a private life, there is always the possibility that someone within that staff or circle can leak to the press something that could be seen as sensational.
Homeless folks can rarely, if ever find privacy, so I would suspect that they would not have a backstage. Whereas a recluse never shows his/her face in public, therefore they do not have a front stage.