Outcasts+2

 Outcasts: Disgrace It or Embrace It  Nisha Issac What happens when a person is looked upon differently from the norm? There are two choices that the person can pick from. The person can decide to mope around, not face it, and be bullied for the rest of his/her life. Another option is to conquer these differences, use them as assets, and shine through. The truth is that most individuals look at outcasts and shun them, but when outcasts embrace these differences they will not be looked in this manner any more. An outcast is a person who is different from the norm, wanted to do the typical things by others, defies others, and doesn’t care what others think. Outcasts can be seen as negative because of the characteristics that set them apart; however, an outcast can overcome all odds to become top dog.

Individuals who let themselves to be continually mocked by others usually are looked upon negatively because they let others put them down. An outcast who carries his/her situation like this meets a tragic end, is deemed as mental, or can be made fun of. Possibly one of the best examples of a negative outcast is Piggy from __ Lord of the Flies __//. // The intelligence of Piggy is constantly put down due to the fact that he is whiny, chubby, and asthmatic. Throughout the entire novel he lets other boys to push him around. This causes many other boys to disrespect and dislike him. The tension grows and Piggy faces death due to the hatred of others. He does not die peacefully; instead his death is a sad, tragic, and gruesome one. The reader can infer that if Piggy was well-liked then he would not have met such an unfortunate end. However, it is just the opposite and the reader learns outcasts do not fare well in the end. Sometimes, a character can be seen as crazy because of his/her actions that set him/her apart. This can be seen through movies such as __ Charlie St. Cloud __//. // The main character, Charlie St. Cloud, is considered to be insane by everyone in his town. Charlie feels that he is at fault for the death of his brother and therefore removes himself from society. He continues to detach himself from society because he sees the dead ghost of his brother and talks to him. Also, he teaches his dead brother baseball (which was a promise he made to his brother before he died). This movie continues to add on to the negativity that is put upon outcasts by saying that they are seen as mental and insane by others.

However, an outcast may sometimes be completely shunned from a group. In the novel, __The Scarlet Letter__, Hestor Prynne is forced to set herself apart from the community for committing adultery. She is forced to wear a red ‘A’ on her dress to show that she has committed a sin and that she had a child because of it. By the conclusion of the novel, the lovers of Prynne have died and her child is married off. She ends up alone and dies. This is another great example of a tragic ending that an outcast would face. Finally, outcasts will let themselves get made fun of and live with the consequences of doing nothing about it. Outcasts often do this so they won’t have to face the trouble of dealing with the individuals who poke fun at them. This can be seen in __A Cinderella Story__. The biological parents of Samantha are not alive; therefore, her step-mother looks after her. Sam doesn’t like her step family and lives with them just so she has a roof over her head and some money. She is treated in a completely different way and has to work for everything. She studies hard, has a job at a diner, and has a beat-up car. This causes the popular group of people at her school to[| mock and make fun her]. They call her ‘diner girl’ and ask her questions like “Where’s my breakfast burrito?” She lets her step mom, step sisters, and enemies to continue to make fun of her and make her life miserable. All of these examples clearly depict that if one does not accept his/her differences as an outcast, that person will usually live an agonizing life.

On the other hand, most outcasts in media will embrace the characteristics that make them different and they will have happy endings. A simple story tells audiences that it is okay to stand out because in the end benefits will arrive. In //The Ugly Duckling,// the duck persisted to all of the different animals that abused him. The duckling may have felt sad for itself at times, but in the end the duckling turned into a beautiful swan. One can grasp from this story that if a person persists through his/her difficulties then he/she can become successful by the end of the journey. This can also be seen in real life with famous celebrities. At some point in their lives, celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Taylor Lautner, and many others have been bullied or have been seen as an awkward or weird individual. In an interview, Taylor Lautner explained that his social life in high school was a bit challenging and that he was not super popular with any one group. However, these celebrities did not let others get in their minds. They endured everything and came out to be some of the most well-liked, successful people today in society.

Many movies like __Bend it Like Beckham__ continue to show this aspect. Jess was an outcast in her own family because she played [|soccer against her family’s wishes]. She continued to play soccer behind her parents back; however, her parents found out about this. They banned her from playing soccer, but her father could see her zeal and happiness for soccer. To make his daughter happy, the father convinced himself and his family to accept her. Her difference from her family and culture shined through and because of that she was not considered an outcast anymore. Perhaps one of the most famous true stories about an outcast would be the one of Michael Oher. His outstanding story can be seen in the movie __The Blind Side__//.// He is [|different from everyone around him] because at school he is the only colored person in a school of rich, Caucasian people. After a while, a family from the school adopts him as their own. They take care of him in a way that he has never experienced. At first, his family learns that Michael is getting bad grades and cannot play football, which was sport he was literally born to play. With a little help, he becomes a great student and football player. Later in the movie, the narrator explains how he plays college football and then he makes it big when he joins the NFL. This true story shows that one can overcome all obstacles and differences to become successful.

People are not always going to go with the norm in certain situations, and they will have distinctive choices and opinions from the rest of society. These people have the option of doing nothing about their differences or doing something about it. If one does nothing about it, he/she will live a sad, tragic, miserable life. If one can conquer these differences, he/she will lead a peaceful, happy, and successful life. In order to break free of the negative outcast stereotype, one must overcome all difficulties as an outcast to come out prosperous and successful.

__** Works Cited **__


 * //A Cinderella Story//. Dir. Mark Rosman. By Leigh Dunlap. Perf. Hilary Duff, JenniferCoolidge,Chad Michael Murray and Regina King. Warner Bros., 2004. Film.
 * //Bend It like Beckham//. Dir. Gurinder Chadha. Prod. Gurinder Chadha. By Gurinder Chadha. Perf. Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and Anupam Kher.HelkonSK, 2002. TV.
 * Carter, Jessica. "Taylor Lautner Admits to Being an Outcast in School - National Entertainment News | Examiner.com." //Welcome to Examiner.com | Examiner.com//. 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .
 * //Charlie St. Cloud//. Dir. Burr Steers. Screenplay by Craig Pearce. Perf. Zac Efron and Amanda Crew. Universal Pictures, 2010. Film.
 * Golding, William. //Lord of the Flies//.New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.
 * Hawthorne, Nathaniel. //The Scarlet Letter//.New York: Globe Book, 1969. Print.
 * Pinkney, Jerry, and H. C. Andersen. //The Ugly Duckling//.New York: Morrow Junior, 1999. Print.
 * //The Blind Side//. Dir. John Lee Hancock. Screenplay by John Lee Hancock. Perf. Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw, and Jae Head. Warner Bros., 2009. Film.
 * Outcast. Digital image. //Life--1 Hour At A Time!// Web. 4 Jan. 2012. .
 * // Hester Prynne // . Digital image. //IMDb//. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. .
 * // The Ugly Duckling // . Digital image. //Worldstory//. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. .
 * // A Cinderella Story 2004(hilary Duff)5 by Rsc - YouTube // . Perf. HilaryDuff and Chad Michael Murray. //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// 10 Mar. 2009. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. [|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3CcUTe5tP]l
 * // Bend It Like Beckham Trailer - YouTube // . Perf. Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra.//YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// 5 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .
 * // The Blind Side Trailer (HD) - YouTube // . Perf. Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron. //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// 5 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .