Robbins Quirk Theory

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It is clear that once the reader reads the prologue, as well the summary at the beginning of the book, she has already proved her passion for this subject. Robbins’ credibility is achieved from her excessive use of information supporting her quirk theory. Readers are convinced that there is “something special about [outcasts]” (45) and that they “would accomplish interesting, creative, and perhaps great things as adults” (45). Robbins even goes as far as to “[follow] seven… real people for a year and [interview] hundreds of other students, teachers, and counselors” (8) about their personal experiences to show the reader how their individuality will allow them to prosper in their adult lives. However, every argument Robbins made supporting …show more content…

Robbins spends the majority of the book discussing and proving this theory. Due to all her evidence and extensive research, Robbins is able to prove why this theory is important. Not only is the book a safe haven for the “kids who are typically not considered part of the in crowd, the ones who are excluded” (6), but it serves as a guide to stop people from taking “mental shortcuts by clustering people together, making assumptions, and forming stereotypes to shrink our social world into a grid that’s easier to process” (42). She acknowledges these issues, and takes everything two steps further, delving into the minds of these young people, analyzing their problems, living through their issues. A big issue that Robbins discovered is that “young people are trying frantically to force themselves into an unbending mold of expectations, convinced that they live in a two-tiered system in which they are either a resounding success or they have already failed” (6). What they fail to realize, and Robbins is determined to share, is that it is possible for them to be successful, even if they feel like failures at school. Robbins chose her target audience wisely, knowing that something in the book would apply to them. However, this theory can be applied on an even bigger scale as well. Young people are the future of the nation, of this world, and hold the ability the create a better tomorrow. Their innovation and individuality allow them to speak out from the majority, to invent new things, to conjure up new concepts and theories. This theory was meant to be essential to not only young people but to the world, “which is why we must celebrate [the cafeteria fringe]”

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