vivehodie’s Blog

After reading “Griffy the Cooper”, I realized how true it is that people often think they know other people very well, but don’t know their true nature, only their facade. “You think your eye sweeps about a wide horizon, in truth you are only looking around the interior of your tub. You cannot lift yourself to its rim and see the outer world of things”. Hence, people only see other individuals through the lens of societal rules and appearances that are imposed upon them by society, concealing the individual’s true inner nature from all around them. However, Griffy also makes the point that people also are not aware of even their own true inner nature, much less others. Seeing others follow societal rules and appearances, you also follow these rules imposed by society, cocealing yourself from yourself. Indeed it is impossible “to lift yourself to its [tub] rim and see the outer world of things, and at the same time see yourself”. We become so caught up in the whirlwind of appearances and rules that we forget who we really are deep inside, and these rules define the way we govern ourselves and our perception of others. We are ultimately “submerged in the tub of yourself- taboos and rules and appearances, are the staves of your tub”. Sadly, we are unable to be honest to our true nature and view others objectively, thanks to the superimposition of societal conformities upon ourselves and all those around us, ultimately rendering our whole society a phony facade.