The Perceptions We Carry
In the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” the protagonist discusses how he is judged by those who are not willing to except him. Similarly, Nick feels unwanted and ignored in the statement, “Two or three people of whom I asked his where abouts stared at me in such an amazed way, and denied so vehemently any knowledge of his movements…”(42). Prufrock is afraid to go in to a party because, he believes that his “bald spot,”and “thin arms” will deny him any chance with a woman (41–45). This lack of self respect destroys any courge of which he still holds.
When someone prepares to meet people they will do their best to dress appropriately, however both Nick and Prufrock deal with inner turmoil. The perceptions of themselves substitutes for anybody else’s opinions of them. Nick however deals with it in a better fashion. When he perceives himself, he places himself apart from the norm and regards himself as, “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59). This being said, Nick believes everyone else is phony. Just as Nick prepares himself to meet people, I as well dress appropriately. Differently, I do my best to ignore what other people think of me. It is better to walk into a room with tough skin rather than to walk in well dressed and afraid of judgement.
In the movie Central Inteligence, the actor Dwayne Johnson performs a role in which a teen ager was overweight, bullied and enters into the CIA. Throughout the movie we learn that Robby (Johnson), had to change his name to Bob and lives with inner turmoil of previously being a “fat boy”. By the end of the movie, similarly to Nick and Prufrock, he goes to a party in which he fears being judged and laughed at even though he is dressed well and in shape.
From the stories about Nick, Prufrock, and the role played by Johnson, it can be inferred that the fear of how others judge you is only a hindrance if you enable it to. It is best to go without shame, than it is to never even attempt at your goals, because of the assumed perceptions others have of yourselves.
Soon, Movieclips Coming. “Central Intelligence Interview — Dwayne Johnson (2016) — Comedy Movie HD.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFQDMwPrDOE.
Media, Zero. “Central Intelligence Official Trailer #2 (2016) Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart Comedy Movie HD.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Mar. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUMZviyljUI.
