The Pros And Cons Of Being An Outsider

In the world of today, people of different ethnicities, cultures, and religion, live in the same communities more often times than not. Although they are technically an association, “black sheep”, or in other words outcasts, are present among the group. These unlucky or perhaps lucky, depending on the point of view, individuals are then alienated either in a positive or negative way. On one hand, there exist a variety of people who believe isolation is only experienced by a select few. On the other hand, some argue that society, at one point or another, makes everyone experience the feeling of being an outsider. However, the fact that their lives so many distinct individuals tends to make people favor only one of the claims. Being an outsider

This concept portrays itself in the short story done by Alexandra Robbins, “Revenge of the Geeks”. Robbins advocates that being an outcast during one's early years results in advantages gained in later ones. She goes on to say that certain alienated groups have particular advantages, “Geeks profit from their technological knowhow. Emos benefit from being empathetic and unafraid to display emotion. Skaters, punks, and others who pursue their arts with fervor benefit from the creativity they’ve honed” (Robbins 226). The author makes it very clear that everyone fits into one or more groups, despite if they believe it or not. The fact that these very groups are distinct leads to the idea of alienation, emphasizing that groups, not just individuals, are considered outcasts. However, this does not mean to say that labeling one an outsider is correct by solely looking at the group they belong

This claim, however, is a contradiction because the treatment of people differs greatly from person to person. No short story expresses this more clearly than Katherine Mansfield’s, “The Doll’s House”. The characters known as the Burnells and the Kelveys portray the treatment of those in a high social class and low social class, “But the line had to be drawn somewhere. It was drawn at the Kelveys. Many of the children, including the Burnells, were not allowed even to speak to them” (Mansfield 203). Those who are considered different by others in their society tend to be treated poorly compared to the ones who are similar. This is universal due to fact that everyone has a place in society, high or low, which results in different treatment depending on the viewpoint of