Zack Schwartz: Post 1) Although all of the stories we have read so far contain one or more characters that are considered to be outcasts, the word outcast contains a very unique meaning in each one. In Alice Walker's poem "Be Nobody's Darling", she clearly portrays outcasts as protagonists. She urges people to go against the current, and be their own person. This way, one can truly live a free life. Had Martin Luther King Jr. and other famous "outcasts" not followed Walker's advice. Society would not be the same today. Being an outcast can lead to progress, and is often necessary.
Louise Erdrich embodied an "outcast" using a very different character than the outcasts Walker described. The main character in her story is Fleur, an evil and mysterious girl who is surrounded by rumors of murder. She is avoided because people fear her, and also because she is viewed as different. It is a different situation entirely to be shunned because of evil actions than to be put down because you are trying to be free or put down social injustices. I believe outcasts can be both positive and negative, depending on the reasons for which a person is cast out of society. Society can be cruel to those who are aiming for change, yet also cruel to those who are evil. How a person responds to this adversity determines the quality of their character.
Zack Schwartz, Post 1
No comments:
Post a Comment