Appearance vs. Reality

The article, Appearance versus Reality-the Dilemma with Human beings is an article by Joseph P. Sherman. It outlines what Sherman believes to be a large problem in society, that appearance vs. reality often clouds an individual’s view of himself or herself. The article goes on to describe exactly how the theme of appearance vs. reality is used in various literatures. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers of all time, understood the relationship between appearance and reality and often gave characters two sides to their personality.

The article then asks the question of what exactly is appearance and reality? What is the difference? Often, it becomes difficult to tell the difference. Generally, “real” is regarded as external and eternal, while appearance is regarded as temporary and internal. I feel that, over the years, society has muddled the two together. So much so that often the two are confused with one another. For example, nowadays teens care so much about their online life. People will make fake accounts on social networking sites like twitter and Facebook, and they will act like it is their life. They will also take an unhealthy amount of pride in their online gaming lives. These things are not reality, yet they are treated as such.

Sherman also talks about problems that he views in this society. He says that one of the biggest issues in society is that of the, in layman’s terms, fake person. Sherman basically says that man will do anything in his power to make himself feel important. Even people who have no future or success will try to build on their lack of success to get attention. He goes on to say that there are three main evils in society right now: pride, envy, hate. Pride makes us think that we deserve goods that others possess, envy that some should be admired while we are overlooked, and hate because all that is bestowed on others diminishes the sum we think due to ourselves.

I think that Joseph P.