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Many of the greats in today’s world have at some point been cast as an outsider. As a matter of fact, more than likely you have been cast as an outsider at some point in your life. But why is society so quick to cast people as an outsider? is it because we’re misunderstood, is it because they judged before anyone even gets to know them, or is it both? Moreover, is the feeling of being an outsider universal or rather a feeling within our society's norms? To fully understand what the question is asking we first need to define the term outsider which is a stranger, who doesn’t fit in.
Although some are able to escape the scrutinizing eyes of our society, many in societies across the world are forced to face the harsh realities of rejection, misjudgment, as well as misunderstanding from the rest of the society due to circumstances out of their control.
To begin with, being an outsider can be outcasted for even the simplest of things such as their appearance, which can outcast you from even the closest societies such as family.
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In the novella “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, it depicts the story of a man named Gregor Samsa who has taken the body of a bug as he awakes one morning. Later the realization of his transformation finally becomes fully evident to Gregor as well as to his family and boss. After this realization both Gregor’s father and boss are horrified as Gregor’s boss quickly fires him, and his father, “set out to drive Gregor back into his room…” .
Based on this reaction that we see from both Gregor’s boss and father we see that he is quickly judged as well as cast as an outsider not only to his own family but cast as an outsider to his own workplace as well as he is fired for just looking different. This leads to the conclusion that it is evident that the concept of being an outsider is indeed a universal concept as he is quickly cast as an outsider by his family as well as workplace finding it evident that you can be cast as an outsider in any kind of society. This can continuously be found evident throughout the continuation of the novella “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, as through the continuation of the novella shows many obstacles the Gregor faces the most evident being his family as his mother and sister do try hard to accept them they slowly care less and less and distance themselves more over time due to the fact that he was different… an outsider. This just goes to show that the concept of being an outsider is a universal thing as you can be set aside as an outsider from any social group, for even the smallest of things as found evident in “The Metamorphosis” as he was solely cast as an outsider from multiple social groups due to his appearance.
Furthermore, people are being outcasted from societies at all ages, from children to adults. In the short story “The Doll House” by Katherine Mansfield, the Burnell family receives a dollhouse and it becomes the biggest thing for the all the children as the next day the Burnell family brings a lot of attention from most of the kids, who suddenly now want to be their friends and see the dollhouse. Although most of the kids try and become friends with the Burnell family, two kids stayed away as they were outcasted to the point that there wasn’t anyone to talk to the Kelveys, due to their low social status. The narrator even goes as far as to say, “Many of the children, including the Burnells, were not allowed to even speak to them. They walked past the Kelveys with their head in the air… the Kelveys were shunned by everybody” . As young as these children are they were already being cast as an outsider in the world. Moreover, in the article “Revenge of the Geeks” by Alexandra Robbins, she describes in detail her understanding of an outsider. Alexandra Robbins does this by using research from trusted sources but as well as using her own opinions on the topic. The article mainly focuses on the teenage years as she even goes to say “[She has] seen repeatedly that the differences that cause a student to be excluded in high school are often the same traits or skills that will serve him or her well after graduation”. This just goes to show that the concept of being an outsider as shown in both pieces of evidence can go from as young as a small child to even teenagers or some point in their life. This just goes on to further support the claim that the concept of being an outsider is indeed a universal concept as it can be experienced in all ages from as young as small children and beyond.
However, as it can be evident that the experience of being an outsider is a universal concept there is still plenty of evidence to argue that it isn’t. As well in the article “Revenge of the Geeks” by Alexandra Robbins, she goes on to continuously describes a typical geeky sort of detail using words and phrases such as “nerd merch” and “Comic-Con” and even then goes on to state, “In the adult world, being out is in”. This can be used to help support the argument that the experience of being an outsider is not a universal concept as in this statement made by Robbins she is trying to state that in the adult world everyone is different and being different allows everyone to fit in. Therefore supporting the idea that the experience of being an outsider isn't universal as she explains that everyone is accepted in the adult world. Although one could argue that being an outsider is not a universal concept, people rarely escape the scrutinizing eyes as well as the harsh judgment of society. Furthermore, as stated earlier, it is true that in the adult world it is much more accepted to be different but that doesn't go to say that by an adult age they haven't been cast as an outsider earlier in life as we have seen in the short story “The Doll House” by Katherine Mansfield. Not to mention that even Alexandra Robbins goes on to give popular examples of people who are popular now but were considered outsiders when younger including Taylor Swift, Tim Gunn, as well as J.K. Rowling. This goes to disprove the argument that the concept of being an outsider is not universal as it shows how many people are outcasted from society and classified as an outsider during some point in their life.
For many people around the world, the concept of being an outsider is not an unknown or new concept, as many can agree that it is indeed a universal conception. Many people in today’s society are judged and set aside from our society, as outsiders for even the simplest of reasons such as appearance and social class. As displayed in “The Metamorphosis”, “Revenge of the Geeks”, and “The Doll House” as well as even in real everyday life we are constantly being judged by the harsh, scrutinizing eyes of our society and are constantly being put aside as outsiders. However, some do escape the wrath of our society's judgment and set standards many are forced to undergo the experience of being an outsider. Although it may seem dramatic or even like an exaggeration it is the truth, and although it may seem like a bad thing since our society is so judgemental, maybe having the concept of being an outsider universal can lead to some good.
Why Is Society So Quick To Cast People As An Outsider. (2024, Feb 27). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/why-is-society-so-quick-to-cast-people-as-an-outsider-essay
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