I know this may sound strange but in a way I can relate to the narrator of the story. He talks about wearing a mask of what he is supposed to be and how he is supposed to act which hides his true self. I think that, in a way, this is something everyone does. We may not do it to the extent that this author does but at some point we all wear masks. We wear masks to hide our true feelings and pretend that things are okay when they are really not. We know how people expect us to act in certain situations and we conform to those roles. Family can be the biggest area where masks are portrayed. Our families expect certain things of us and require us to act in certain ways in certain situations. Whether we feel like it or not, we confom to those roles at the specified times and locations, neglecting our true feelings. The masks we wear can be multiple or one giant one to mask depression or stress but at some point, we all wear one.
Another area I felt a relation to the narrator was when he talked about life being one giant stage. I remember when I was little and I hated my family. I would imagine that the world was as giant stage and when the curtain fell I would go on to a different life. I actually pictured a stage and all the actors (who were my family), and would fantasize about what my real life was like. I don't know if anyone else ever thought these things or if I am just really strange but I really did have fantasies about my life and family just being a stage act. Although my reasons were different from the narrator's I could still relate. He just wants to be able to be himself and not act how his family and society thinks he should act. I just wanted to escape my family.
