Maskerade Reading Response

            Who are you? Is who a person really is based off of people’s perception of you, or your personal identity? Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade is about a girl named Agnes, from the country, who comes to the city to escape two witches. The witches want her to join their coven but she joins the opera. The opera, however, is “haunted” by The Ghost whom has been blamed for the deaths of several people in the opera.  Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade from the Discworld series deals with the themes of identity and perception to reveal whether it’s identity or perception that defines you.

            The theme of identity is used in Maskerade to determine whether or not it makes up who a person really is. For example, in the book, the character Agnes takes on a new identity named Perdita. Perdita is Agnes’ “thin person that lives inside every fat person.” Perdita is one identity of Agnes – she is the person Agnes wishes she could be. Another such case of facets of identity is that of Walter Plinge and The Ghost. The Ghost is the confident side of Walter Plinge, the side he is too afraid to show without a mask. The Ghost is what is truly in Walter’s soul. A person’s identity is what’s in their soul.

            The theme of perception is used in Maskerade to determine whether or not it determines who a person really is. For example, Agnes is not exactly a pretty person, so people don’t think of her as someone who could play a major role in the opera. She is nothing to them but someone with a good voice – not someone who could ever play a lead role. Another such case of perseption is that of Walter Plinge. Walter is a hunched, lop-sided man who has a “tangled mind.” He is perceived as “harmless” and weird. No one bothers to look at him carefully and he isn’t paid attention to because he isn’t considered important enough. A person’s perception is only what others think they are, not who they really are.

            In conclusion, Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade shows that a person is not who they are based on how they are perceived, they are who they are based on their identity.  People’s perception of you doesn’t count, it’s your identity that does.