In answering the question, how do we know who we are, there are many elements that need to be considered. It starts with biology. Being a male or female is what starts to shape who we are. Society has put different standards on what is expected from males and females. As brought up in class, parents tell their children that they can be anything they want to be. This gives us freedom to choose who we want to be to some extent. Who we are is ever changing. Everyone wears masks to hide their true identity. It’s like we’re trying to convince ourselves to be something or someone that everyone else wants us to be. Why are we so easily influenced by other people? It is part of a vicious cycle of being accepted into a social group. We’re afraid of the reaction we would get if we really expressed what was on our minds. The scene from American Psycho is a great example of this theory. Around his peers, Jason Bateman appears “normal”. When he is alone at the club, his true identity peeks out. We are our own puppets and puppet masters. We pull our own strings to make us do what we think people want us to do.