1Final project about vanity

Jhonatan Steven Betancourt

Lina Maria Soto Novoa
Felipe Sandoval Socarras
Johana Patricia Galindres Jimnez

Presentado a:
Lic. Luis Jess Rincn

La Salle University
Sciences of Education
Interaccin y Sociedad Anglfona III
Bogot
2015.

ABSTRACT

This is a written report about our project, taking into account different concerning such as
beliefs, ages or ideology.
We have made (3) interviews; (2) to university students and one to a school teacher,
whom we believe they are always in contexts that demands to be well dress and look properly.
The purpose of this project is to show how people are influenced by vanity and how does
vanity can rule peoples life and also their behavior. Thats a reason why we would like to know
the significance of vanity in young people nowadays.
First of all, we focus our project based on the book of the famous writer Oscar Wilde; this
amazing and involving story put the quote that vanity can be seen as an obsession in order to
reach it, to reach perfection. Thus vanity is related to perfection, immortality, the human body is
represented as an art work defined by certain values. Wilde brings to us the feeling that is
important to be young and good looking; creating a sort of phobia to grow old getting the
suggestion that beauty would be lost.
So this is the first aspect that we managed to study in order to accomplish the project. We
based our facts in a science fiction story that could perfectly fits into our daily life reality.
Another book we took into account was I dont want aging, its an interesting point of view of
the things that deals with modern life: work, relationships, family, sexuality, technology, death,
etc. And heres where the main idea is underlined: how to deal with old age and try to understand
how it would be, depending on how we lived. According to the author, we need to listen to our
bodies and souls in order to have a good quality of life in the elderly: old age is an important
issue in the life of any person () for that people has to accept the pass of time with dignity and
tranquility says Pilar in her book. Undoubtedly, people need to assume the age, they cant

continue thinking they are in the eightys and realize that the path of time is inevitable. Pilar 3
Sordos wanted to clarify the fact that old age has its own beauty, aging is not synonympus of
losing beauty, yet to acquire another one.
Furthermore, the concept of vanity is linked with age: many old people, take too seriously
their physical appearance an even put their life in risk by taking unsafe medical procedures, that
could be leading to death.
Consequently, we took all these facts so we could get one clear idea of the main concept,
so with the interview supports we can finally have a general perception of what could it means.
Once we have the purpose and the main idea of the concept, we put the interview phase
forward so we could make a comparative perception of real life and theorical interpretation.
Students conclude that vanity is showed in young people mainly in their personal
presentation, generally at work or at different kind of activities that requires to be well presented.
They dont really show to much interests in the subject, apparently, nevertheless, they express the
thought that people are concerned with the beauty prototype imposed by media that is
progressively absorbing peoples minds.
Comparing the third interview, where the teacher express its point of view about vanity,
she focus on three main issues where vanity taking over education:

Time students took to get ready for school. As they are looking to be accepted and

noticed, they take hours in the bathroom trying to be such as movie actors.
They spend more money at the beauty salon. They are concerned rather in

physical appearance than in their academic learning process.

The thought of being better looking than others. It seems that we are in a race
where the winner must be perfect.

These results were not what we were expecting for: we found something new due to the
interviews. The social interaction contributes to the fact that we have first, a real concept
approach, represented by real agents in real environments; gathering all these components
together it really helps us to identify how our objectives are reflected in the project. Vanity is
considered a negative influence to young people, because they put to many time in their physical
appearance and they are careless about important issues that concerned their life.

As a result we determine that vanity is a very subjective concept and it is really ruling a

significant part of society. Many people are more worried in their physical looks, supported by
medias speech that keeps enhancing beauty. Therefore we agree with many evidences that
confirm that vanity is considered negative when it is the only or main purpose in someones life,
when the only wish is to be perfect in physical ways and leaving aside real matters in humans
life.
As a consequence of vanity, in our specific country, many women have died as a result of
harmful operations. This statement argues that is even more important to look well more than
been healthy.

REFERENCES:

Wilde, Oscar (1890). The picture of Dorian Gray. Lippincotts Monthly Magazine.
Pilar Sordos (2009). I dont want aging. Planeta.