Although we view superheroes as inhuman, nothing could be more human than the idea of a secret identity. All people act a different way depending on the situations they are in, myself included. While superheroes put on a mask or a costume to hide their true identities, we make hide certain facets or quirks of our personality too not appear in a bad light or to not give too much about our character away. There are any number of reasons why people have a secret identity and everyone has different reasons for having a secret identity.
In my own case, there are many situations I am placed in where I have to play down my personality. I am an extremely outgoing, loud, and blunt person. I've learned over the years that this can be intimidating and a little too overpowering for people when they first meet me, so when I meet a person for the first time, I am somewhat reserved and quiet. Only when I am comfortable around a person and know that I'm not going to scare them can I be my excessively honest, sarcastic self. In some ways you could say that humans have multiple secret identities because that is how I act when I meet someone new, but in a different situation, I may act differently. I have absolutely no problem speaking my mind and disagreeing with someone, but around my family, I have to put this in check. Not at all with my parents, but definitely with my grandparents. One set of my grandparents are extremely religious and if they ever heard half the things that came out of my mouth, they would be mortified. There is also a level of respect that comes into play when I am around because I may disagree with them on something, but I might not say so just because it would be rude or they wouldn't approve of it. I wish I could be more of myself around my grandparents sometimes, but they are from a different time and hole different beliefs, so I've always understood that I need to whip out my secret identity when I am visiting them.
Superheroes hide their real identities to protect themselves and the ones they love. In the case of average people, they do it for the same reasons. People never want to reveal too much of themselves, for fear of getting hurt, so by putting on a secret identity, they protect themselves from ridicule and other things. Humans also protect their loved ones by putting on secret identities, from seeing a part of themselves that their relatives wouldn't like or from discovering a secret habit. No matter what the case, everyone has a secret identity.
I wish I could be more of my self around my Grandparents as well. My Grandma will never know the love I have for my tattoos or ever understand why I express my self though music. She thinks I should sit in a corner and read the dictionary all day.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your point at the end. "People never want to reveal too much of themselves, for fear of getting hurt." I feel like it's incredibly difficult to be myself around people I have just met or people I know have different personalities than myself. I think that this may explain why I tend to me a silent observer than an outgoing participant.
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