History of theme: people are not as we perceive them to be

[SimSportPlyr]

I just read a novel (Paper Towns), the theme of which was: People are not as we perceive them to be. Actually, more specifically it is: For selfish needs, we build up a perception of individuals which does not match reality.

I'm curious about the history of this idea in fiction and poetry. I suspect that the theme is quite old.

May I ask for early references to this theme?

Thanks for any info.

[kelby_lake]

The play Closer is largely about how we build up a perception of individuals in order to fit our own moulds.

I think the theme also arises in Vanity Fair, and in The Rainbow, Ursula struggles with her desire to avoid any type of mould whilst trying to mould others. I suppose the theme is more likely to appear in psychological novels, when the idea of characters having an internal life as well as an outward one arose and the attitude towards characters was more sophisticated. Of course this is part of human nature and the psychological novels didn't invent it but it becomes a more prominent theme.

[SimSportPlyr]

kelby lake, very interesting. I had not heard of The Rainbow before.

Thank you very much for the reply.

[kelby_lake]

kelby lake, very interesting. I had not heard of The Rainbow before.

Thank you very much for the reply.

Thanks. There's loads of interesting themes in it :)

[Whosis]

That sounds a lot like the movies of nowaday, where a young person wants to be more than he is. I'm struggling a bit with the theme you mention, but the idea at least should be nothing new, such as when Plato envisioned shadows on the wall that were indicative of something outside we could not see the same way as true. I mean (I think) that things like skepticism have long been there to deny that what we think of as true is indeed true. But if you want an example strictly as a person not being what we expect them to be, I look no farther than Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, which was based upon an older story. And that selfish need does not match reality; Romeo wants to be with the lovely Juliet, but their families deny them of this juncture. Does that suggestion fit for you?

[SimSportPlyr]

Whosis, first of all, thank you very much for the reply!

I had not thought of Romeo and Juliet in the context of this discussion.

You are right; that R&J were ignoring the fact that they could not be together (in the open), due to their family history.

In Paper Towns, the protagonist deludes himself into thinking that a hot neighbor gal might be available to him as a girlfriend, even though it is obvious to the reader that she is using him for non-romantic purposes.

So, yes, R&J seems to be a good fit for the theme of this discussion.

Thanks for the contribution to the discussion. Very interesting.

[JBI]

Isn't that basically the argument of the first canto of The Faerie Queene.

Sits here and waits to see if someone else read the book.

The idea of mistaken and put-on identity is so central to renaissance literature as to make this a bit silly. Then again, "performance" and identity seems to have been a big topic in the 90s and 2000s. I think the big one now is comparative ethics or something.

[Whosis]

Your welcome. I was also just considering the play Our Town. One group of people was hateful, and the other was indifferent in that play. (I was told this; I might not have recognized it so much from just reading, but it was a classroom assignment.) This might not seem like much at first, but the idea is that any bit of caring, even through scorn, is better than indifference, which is less conducive of a perception of other individuals that affect how they act. So it acts as a good contrast. Whereas the people who are less than caring have a steady perception of individuals that may be biased. And it may be that in this bias, other people really may not be as they see these other people to be, but it is through selfish needs that these other people are castigated. I hope that's of any help. I think it would be interesting to consider an antithesis to your idea in a novel or play as a buffer to enlightening the idea you have, such as that in Our Town, there are people who are not readily perceiving or taken to opinion.