Erving Goffman Everyday Life Analysis

Blumer and symbolic interactionism: He propos es 3 fundamental premises. (1) “Human beings act as toward things on the basis of the meanings which theses things have for them”. Meanings are not intrinsically in things in the world; they have to be defined before they have any human reality. This applies to other human beings, social organizations, to ideals, as well as physical objects themselves. Everything that people act upon or that has an impact upon them must go through the process of subjective meaning. (2)”The meaning of a thing for a person grows out of the ways in which other persons act toward the person with regard to the thing” Meaning is not merely individual and subjective, but social. (3) “The use of meanings by the actor occurs through a process of interpretation”. Meanings are handled flexibly as actions are worked out. The
Erving Goffman`s Presentation of Self in Everyday Life provides an interesting slant on communication. The approach Goffman employs is "dramaturgical approach" which aids him in presenting his ideas on viewing the self within the social context (1959, 240). Interaction is called "performance," influenced by both environment and audience. In the process, the actors impart "impressions" that are in harmony with the actor’s intentions (17).
Communication and Self
The book’s main premise is that social interaction is at the heart of communication. Goffman uses actors as symbols of individuals and performances as the impressions we make to others. People, according to him, are social actors and we have the ability to choose our stage and props, as well as the “costume” or front we put before a specific audience. As actors, our primary goal is to be coherent and adapt to different