My Home Essay, Research Paper

Mark Vose

English

11/30/00

Thinking and Writing

Question #3

An outsider is someone who is isolated or detached from the activities or concerns of one’s own community.( American Heritage Dictionary) This isolation is caused by a rejection from the communities standards or ethics. There are three main reason?s for a person to be considered an outsider. The way a person acts, the way a person looks, and what kind of background they have.

A community first judges a new person by the way they look. If that person?s looks don?t fit in then it doesn?t matter if he has any other good qualities. Only exceptions where overwhelming personality or background(ie. wealth etch.) will counteract unacceptable looks.

After a person clears the ?looks test? then the community evaluates personality. This isn?t a strong determent of whether or not this person will be an outsider because personality is such a broad topic. This meaning that each community is made out of a variety of personalities.

The final aspect that a community will look at is background. Background is a general term which may include race, wealth, social status, lifestyles, etc. This last category has become less important as people grow to except people as they are. This doesn?t mean that we ignore background as a reason that a person could be considered an outsider.

These constraints are very broad. This means that almost everyone has a place in a community. This leads me to believe that outsiders are unique and independent. In many ways these people are stronger that those of us who have to hid in the comfort of a group.