So, in effect we can see Goffman is here tacitly paving way for his more grand task - an exposition on the methods people employ to reconcile the discrepancy between their own actions as they are and the social meanings and impressions they desire to give off. Say, if one finds no real meanings at all about the religious doctrines one nevertheless comports accordingly, then that situation is of the latter. This attitude often takes form in certain type of cynicism. Front The first central concept in Goffman's dramaturgical analogy is the concept of front. Front stands for the standardized expressive equipment that people use to define situations in a general and fixed way.
Front is in turn divided into several components.
First is the setting. This is the scenic, physical parts of expressive equipment, associated with certain spatial location. Next is the personal front, the other items of expressive equipment that their endowment to individuals are perceived to be very natural - such as size and looks, race, sex, speech patterns, etc. Further, Goffman makes the distinction between appearance and manner. Manner is those aspects of communication that tell of others the type of interaction roles performers expect to play in a certain situation.