Essay Sample about Being An Outsider

“Being an outsider is the one thing we all have in common.” American novelist Alice Hoffman once wrote. The feeling of being an outsider is felt by everyone, whether in this reality or a fantasy world. In the articles, "How Social Isolation is Killing Us," by Dhruv Khullar and "Revenge of the Geeks'' by Alexandra Robbins, the authors reveal the thought of being an outsider through examples of non-fictional people and what they have felt. In the story, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the author also discloses the traits and thoughts of being an outsider, but unlike the other authors, he uses his own fictional characters to help explain the thought. In the articles, the authors focus on the universal thoughts of being an outsider by writing about multiple people as examples, but in The Metamorphosis, the author mainly focuses on the main character, Gregor, to share the thought of being an outsider. The experience of being an outsider is a universal concept since everyone is always going to be better or worse at something in comparison to someone else, the physical traits that you have may be different from others, and everyone has their personal feelings, opinions, and thoughts.

Firstly, everyone has something that they are better or worse at compared to others. In the article, “Revenge of the Geeks,” on page 245, the author states, “Student mocked Tim Gunn’s love for making things; now he is a fashion icon with the recognizable catchphrase, ‘make it work’” (Robbins 245). This shows that even at a young age the famous author and actor was better at creating things than others. In the same article, “Revenge of the Geeks,” Robbins authored, “A sprinter is still an athlete even if she can’t play basketball” (Robbins 246). This quote has the meaning that a sprinter is better at sprinting than playing basketball, also meaning that she, the sprinter, is better at one thing than another. Some people may think that everyone has the same skill at every activity, however, whoever thinks that is wrong, because someone skilled at playing sports will not have the same skill as someone who is more superb at music, visa-versa. In conclusion, everyone has their own activity that they are better or worse at in comparison to others.

In addition, people all have different physical traits from one another. In the story, The Metamorphosis, the author Franz Kafka wrote, “...‘Help, for God’s sake, help!’ She held her head bowed down, as if she wanted to view Gregor better…” (Kafka 153). In this quote, Gregor, the main character of the story, who woke up one morning as a bug, is finally seen by his mother, who is nonetheless horrified to see that her son, who once had normal human physical traits, now has the physical traits of a bug. A different author, Alexandra Robbins, wrote in her article, “Revenge of the Geeks,” “Psychologists point out that high-status cliques teach exclusionary behavior that may be the foundation for eventual racism, anti-semitism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry” (Robbins 246). This quote explains how some higher-status individuals look down on people who may be physically different from them. Someone might have their opinion that everyone has the same physical traits, and they are right about some things, like for example everyone has skin, however, they are incorrect for the reason that even if there is one thing that everyone has in common, there will always be one thing that physically separates them from the rest. Everyone will always have something that is physically different from someone else. 

Finally, every being in this universe has their own opinions and feelings. According to Dhruv Khullar, in the article which he wrote, “How Social Isolation Is Killing Us,” he stated, “For me, the sadness of his death was surpassed only by the sadness of his solitude” (Khullar 1). This quote explains how after the death of Khullar's patient, Khullar has his individual feeling that many others probably did not feel for the patient. In a different work, The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka, the main character gets caught in the thought, “And yet his sister was playing so beautifully” (Kafka 175). Gregor, the main character, has his own opinion, being that his sister plays the violin beautifully. People may think that everyone has the same feelings and opinions, however, they are wrong, because although some people may have an agreement on certain feelings and opinions, there will always be one or more people that will have a different feeling or opinion. Everyone has their own opinions and feelings towards a variety of different things.

In conclusion, the thought of being an outsider is well known throughout everyone, for the sake of the fact that everyone has something different from others, whether they are better or worse at something, their physical traits, or their feelings and opinions. The experience or feeling of being an outsider will happen at least one time in everyone's life, no matter who the person is or what they have accomplished. “No matter where you are, you're always a bit on your own, always an outsider." Japanese writer Banana Yoshimoto once said.