Are Outsiders Or Misunderstood?

The Outsider. The one who is looked down upon. The one who chooses to follow their own path, who is not afraid to challenge society. Although someone who does not conform to society faces isolation, harassment, or bullying, they will benefit from being their true selves. As Oscar Wilde once said so eloquently, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Outsiders: Misunderstood or Misjudged? Outsiders, defined as a person who does not belong to a particular group. The bigger question is: What qualifies them as an outsider? Or how does one determine that this “outsider” really is different from everyone else? Do we get to know this person before we provide them with the title or do we simply give it to them based on the way we view them from afar?

The feeling of being an outsider can occur in almost anybody's life, considering how many people there are in the world, it's almost guaranteed that they have felt different from others at some point. An outsider is someone who feels like they do not belong or that they are different from everybody else. Everybody has felt this in their life one way or another, and with this, we can conclude that being an outsider is universal. As something is universal, it’s described as being well-known or common. We have all experienced the feeling of not belonging, as feeling like an outsider can happen anywhere and at any time, whether it’s due to high standards, conflicting ideas, or social status.

To be an outsider may mean that someone doesn’t fit in with the rest of society/group, it can also mean that you are not from a certain place, and it can mean that you are different which makes you are unique. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she uses both of these definitions of ‘outsider’ to show that it’s okay to be different because if you’re not then who is.

What does being outsider mean? Does it mean being left out of being different? People have often felt like an outsider at one point in their life, and wonder why. Are outsiders misjudged or misunderstood? These two terms meet at a crossroads, and are commonly misinterpreted. Misjudging someone is when you make a solid assumption or conclusion about them, whether it be on their looks our how they act. Being misunderstood is when someone interprets you for someone you are not. Based on both of these definitions, outsiders are simply misjudged. We can see examples of outsiders being misjudged both in literature and in modern day society.

Remember in Junior High and High School when there were groups of different people? Like the football, basketball and cheerleaders hang out in a big group, but in the other corner there are the gamers, the book smart kids and then the others that don’t fit in. So now I am asking you as a reader, what do you think? Are outsiders simply those who are misjudged or misunderstood? In my opinion, I think that the outsiders are both misunderstood and misjudged.

An outsider can be a person who does normally not fit in with the people around them, acknowledging that they are unique and special in their own way. Another way an outsider can be looked at as is “a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc.” (Dictionary.com). With there being different meanings to the word outsider an actual outsider can be timid and absent to the people around them or they can be outspoken and persistent by any means necessary.

According to Dictionary.com the meaning of outsider is ¨a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc.¨(Dictionary.com) The concept of insiders and outsiders has been around for many year in the all society. From “the black sheep of the family” to the kid that sits alone at lunch, ostracization can be found in every social group and situation. While a person can be an outsider because they are misjudged and misunderstood, some who are on the outside place themselves in that position. The Breakfast Club is one example of people being outsiders.

There is a bountiful number of outsiders in our society and we are wondering, why are they outsiders and what have they done to become that, what defines them? Outsiders in our society are simply misunderstood and people do not understand them, hence them being outsiders. The reasons that seem to make outsiders misunderstood is that they do not like or do the popular stuff at the time. Also, those who are outsiders are seen as people that are “different,” but really are misunderstood. Outsiders are just misunderstood in society and not purposely being pushed out.

What is an outsider? An outsider is a person who is not excepted by or is isolated by society. Have you ever been an “outsider”? Everyone experiences a situation where they weren’t able to fit in. The feeling of not being able to fit it is universal. Not everyone is the same and in certain situations you may not be able to bond with everyone. Everyone is focused on being judged or being the person who is judging someone. If you are not like everyone in your society group, those people don’t except you. Nowadays our society feels that if you aren’t up to people’s expectations, you are known to be an “outsider”. Being an outsider is universal because not everyone is social, not everyone can afford nice things and not everyone is popular.

Many people do not know what an “outsider” is, for they do not know what an outcast feels on a daily basis. Anyone can be an outcast; nobody can tell if one is an outlander. Even though most people do not seem like “loners”, they can be everywhere. People who feel like “outsiders” may be disconnected from others, and the events in their lives could have caused them tremendous levels of stress. Being an “outsider” can cause one to feel disconnected from our society or to others around us.

One example of an outsider would be Gregor in the famous story “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka. In this story, there are numerous examples of Gregor being misjudged and Gregor feeling misunderstood. The first example is how people view Gregor as a traveling salesman. “People don't like traveling salesmen. I know that. People think they earn pots of money and thus lead a fine life. People don't even have any special reason to think through this judgment more clearly” (Kafka, 148). In this quote, you can clearly see that people are misjudging Gregor because he is a traveling salesman. In the text, Gregor feels that he is misunderstood because none of these people know that Gregor has to work as a traveling salesman not because he wants to, but because he has to pay off his family's debt. Another example is how Gregor’s family assumes things about what he would or would not do. “But how can it be Gregor? If it

An outsider is one who can distance themselves from the norms of society and stereotypes, someone who "fights the system. " Some, when seeing this, would scoff at this, thinking they just don't fit in, when in reality, the "outsider" just doesn't agree with the way of things.

An outsider is defined as “a person who does not belong to a particular group.” In the book, The Outsiders, many of the characters can be described as being an outcast from the social society. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry are outsiders in this novel because none of them really fit into the groups that they’re “supposed” to be in.

“Being an outsider means not being heard, not having a voice. It means being treated as a second-class citizen, being diminished in the eyes of others. We have all felt this way at one time or another, but some feel it more consistently.” This quote said by the American novelist, Chris Crutcher. Just as most of society agrees, the experience of being an outsider is universal. Numerous short stories and other works demonstrate the act of being an outsider. Works such as The Doll’s House by Katherine Mansfield, shows the knowledge of actually being an outsider in reality, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, shows the know-how of merely feeling like an outsider, and Fences by Pat Mora shows how parents can influence if you are or are not an outsider.