Creepy, odd, weird. These are all different adjectives used to describe people who don’t belong to a group. Outsiders. To most, an outsider is a person who is always sitting in a corner away from all possible social interactions. This is a correct assumption, most of the time. What makes this common assumption incorrect is making the conclusion that these people are ominously withdrawn from society. This begs the question: are the people we consider outsiders forced into this lifestyle or do they chose it for themselves? The literal definition of outsider is a person who does not belong to a particular group. This only means that a single person doesn’t fit in. There is no elaboration whether or not it is a choice of the person. Society places labels on people based on how they seem under the …show more content…
People who does not meet the standards set by society are considered “outlandish” or “abnormal” automatically. This standard can make it hard for outsiders to make new friends and spread their wings in this unbalanced world. In the story Metamorphosis, Gregor did not chose to transform into an insect; he was forced into it by nature. He was instantly treated differently by his co-workers, friends, and family. His sister treated him like an alien: a disgusting vermin that needed disposed of quickly. “‘He must go,’ cried Gregor’s sister, ‘that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble.’” This quote explains how Gregor is viewed in his sister’s, along with everybody else’s, eyes. Gregor had no control over whether he was transformed into an insect and, consequently, his family labelled him as an outsider. Gregor’s
Though unbeknownst to many, the experience of being an outsider is a sensation that everyone can go through. In the world, it is entirely possible for a person to be judged on physical appearance, opinions, and status among other things. It is simply how humans have adapted; they experience society by forming social groups that they are comfortable in. Generally, this group is seen to those involved with it as the “inside group”, and those not directly related to it are seen as “outsiders.” Even in literature, it is clear that the feeling of being one of these outsiders is universal. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Fences by Pat Mora, and The Doll’s House by Katherine Mansfield all properly display how anyone can be an outsider.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is so strikingly absurd that it has engendered countless essays dissecting every possible rational and irrational aspect of the book. One such essay is entitled "Kafka's Obscurity" by Ralph Freedman in which he delves down into the pages of The Metamorphosis and ferrets out the esoteric aspects of Kafka's writing. Freedman postulates that Gregor Samsa progresses through several transformations: a transformation of spatial relations, a transformation of time, and a transformation of self consciousness, with his conscious mutation having an antithetical effect on the family opposite to that of Gregor. His conjectures are, for the most part, fairly accurate; Gregor devolves in both his spatial awareness and his consciousness. However, Freedman also asserts that after Gregor's father throws the wounding apple, Gregor loses his sense of time. While his hypothesis certainly appears erudite and insightful, there really is no evidence within the book itself to determine whether if Gregor has a deteriorating sense of time. If Freedman had only written about Gregor's spatial and conscious degradation, then his entire thesis would be accurate.
“What sorts of excuses people had used on that first morning to get unable to ascertain. Since he was not comprehensible, nobody, not even his sister, thought that he might be able to understand others.” (Kafka, 154) He is the humanoid beetle that doesn't fit in with the rest of the Samsa family. This is where the misunderstood part begins to take place. Gregor is bewildered in the fact that he fell asleep human and woke up as a bug. His family tends to think that it is not even him, and misunderstands how he could have turned into a bug. Things are not the same, because nobody can comprehend what has happened and why. One reason Gregor is so misunderstood, revolves around a feeling of hate. Gregor is the one who did the work to pay for his family. The father was lazy, and the mother has bad asthma. Gregor payed all the bills. Once he can no longer work, his family may think that he did not want to pay the bills, therefore, they pushed him away as if he was never there. Also important, near the end of the story, we find out just how little Gregor is cared for. One of the most important parts of this
Feeling alone or isolated is not only a common theme is all kinds of literature, but something that many people face in life. Alienation is the perception of estrangement or dissatisfaction with one’s life. This means you feel like you don’t fit or connect, whether it’s from society, family, or a physical object. These feelings can be due to a lack of deep connections, not believing the same ideals as your society, and many other things. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, he discusses a man who goes against governmental rule and reads. EA Robinson portrays a man everyone inspires to be, but in the end he isn’t happy and kills himself. Lastly, WH Auden accounts of an “unknown citizen” who also has a picture perfect life, but in the end
Throughout The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka shuns Gregor. At first glance, Gregor’s transformation creates the only isolation. As the story evolves, the Samsa family’s segregation begins to play a larger role. Through intuitive actions, each family member isolates themselves. The Samsa’s accommodate the renters generously, in order to win communal approval. Failing the renters positions the Samsa’s lower in society than they previously were. Not only do the Samsa’s isolate themselves, they are also secluded from society. Many instances allow the Samsa’s severance from society to shine through Gregor’s isolation.
His ugliness and short stature led Bernard to become a perpetual outsider, alienated by society. As an outsider, Bernard was cynical about the order and structure of the Brave New World. He eschewed Electric Golf, and other social amusements in favor of loneliness and solidarity activities, such as, thinking. Bernard attempted to find a way "to be happy in some other way," in his own way, not the established way. In addition to alienation because of appearance, alienation can result from extreme intellect, or exceptional gifts of talent.
The metamorphosis very possibly was written by Kafka as an outlet for his feelings of isolation and helplessness. In it, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens one morning to find himself spontaneously "transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." The story continues from there in a most realistic fashion: his family rejects him, and he stays cooped up in his room until he dies. Although interpretations of the story differ, my opinion is that Kafka wrote this story as a protestation, whether consciously or unconsciously, of his own inner needs not being met. Franz Kafka suffered from severe mental disorientation. This man suffered severe tragedies as a child: as the first child of Hermann and Julie Kafka, he lived to see two brothers born and die before he was six years old. Although they were eventually replaced by three new sisters, Kafka began his life with tragedies which most people do not experience until they are much older. Kafka lacked parental guidance, as he and his sisters were brought up mostly by governess. He was a Jew, and lived in Czechoslovakia, but he went to German schools. Therefore Kafka masked himself twice, at the bidding of his father. His father had made himself into a successful businessman, and expected Kafka to do the same. Most of Kafka's stories contain or center around an over-domineering, almost frightening father figure. Kafka obeyed his father. He remembered his high school education as being meaningless and dull, but, out of obedience to his father, he completed it, and passed with flying colors. This switching to a less offending option in order to offend no one characterizes Kafka very well. He possessed a wonderful mind but rarely, ...
One way people are considered weird or an outsider is by the way they dress or the amount of money they have. One example is in the short story,” The Doll’s House,” by Katherine Mansfield,
Outsiders are individuals who do not fit the traditional roles they are meant to have in society. Outsiders do not fit within their society and become “a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc.” (Dictionary.com). Outsiders are thought to be individuals who have different taste in fashion or music, but they can also be people who have lived a different life from his/her peers.
People create their own society but remain alienated until they recognize themselves within their own creation. Until this time people will assign an independent existence to objects, ideas and institutions and be controlled by them. In the process they lose themselves, become strangers in the world they created: they become alienated. The notion of alienation is an ancient one. St Augustine wrote: That's a lot.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
Outlier. An outlier is someone who is not considered to be a normal person within society. They have qualities that most people do not obtain. They are the most successful of individuals and many aspire to be them. Michael Jackson is the epitome of what I believe is a true outlier. In his best-selling novel, Malcolm Gladwell stated that we tend to spend more time looking at individuals success rather than looking at things that ultimately contributed to that success, such as their family, birthplace, and even birth date.
To begin with, when I was younger I would have considered myself an outsider because when I first started school, I didn’t have the characteristics to fit in and felt like I would not blend into the people I was surrounded by. Also, I have met many people who have presented experiences from their past when they had felt like they didn’t fit in because they couldn’t keep up the standards to be popular. In social media, there are many guidelines that people feel the need to meet in order to feel like you belong and some who don’t match up can feel like outsiders, and that happens to many. Furthermore, in today’s society people feel the need to be popular or to fit in, and if they can’t meet the expectations they are considered an outsider and that happens universally. Others may suggest that just because someone doesn’t fit in a group doesn’t mean they are considered an outsider, they are just someone who doesn’t meet certain expectations. However, many others would disagree and would label someone an outsider when they don’t fit in or don’t meet expectations of society because that makes them think they don’t
An outcast is a person who is rejected or cast out of the society. This could be due to various reasons. This made a lot of people loners, because once they were cast out there was nowhere to go and nobody to talk to. During the years of the fore fathers a lot of people were considered outcasts because of one offence or the other. For example, years back when my uncle was caught sleeping with his cousin’s wife he was cast out of the community and was restricted to talking to anybody which makes him a lone...
This of course may sound ridiculous, as I have mentioned that there is outsider art works out there in the world already, they have been documented, presented and popularized. However, the problem is as follows: the concept of avant-garde. For those unaware of this term, avant-garde is the name given to people or works that are regarded as innovative, newly experimental and never seen before, particularly in the art or political worlds. Having said that, are you now wondering where you may have heard that description before? Yes, that does sound incredibly familiar to the description given for outsider artists. This then suggests to us that, in fact, outsider art is not outside of anything at