The burden of being an outsider in literature
In this modern era, thew societal construct dictates that people must act a certain way or look a certain way because that is what is most acceptable or reflects the norms the society values. However, some individuals will fail to fit in because of unique characteristics separate from the dictated doctrines of the community. The concept of outsiders dates back to ancient history and helps understand the society and what it does to people who are abled differently, either physically, socially, or economically. Outsiders are individuals who stand out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. They are people who belong in society but have no sense of belonging in society. A character whose traits in a novel or literature show glimpses of the outside is meant to critique the community on how it treats specific unique groups in a society. Various texts discuss the roles of outsiders. However, this text shall examine ‘A Christmas carol’ by Charles Dickens and ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte. The outsiders in the passages include Ebenezer Scrooge for the former and Jane Eye for the latter. The characters play an essential role in exposing the harsh realities of the different social classes in the settings and the aspect of appearances. Jane Eyre can see people based on who they are internally in comparison to the judgment passed on people based on appearance and social classes. Scrooge, on the other hand, is unable to understand the harsh realities of difference in quality, but the journey he takes in the books allows him to regain humanity. Both authors use their outsiders to debunk the theory that social classes are enclosed and occupied by only individuals within those boundaries. They also show that by embracing humanity, one can open up to a whole new society. The comparison of the concept of outsiders shall determine the role of outsiders’ literature pieces to understand the state of the community and the thoughts of the protagonist or outsider.
When Charles Dickens wrote his piece titled ‘A Christmas carol,’ he used the life of Scrooge to critique the society on how it treats outsiders and the consequences of outsiders’ actions. In writing, Scrooge represented the upper class with failure to recognize their infections of greed and their refusal to accept the humanity that is around them. The nature of men like Scrooge consisted of greedy, cruel, bitter, selfish, lonely, and cold individuals who, despite all, they had still spat anything that did not include accumulating more wealth. Scrooge lost his humanity because he was more focused on the fear that stemmed from the economic climate they were in as a state (Sheehy, 193). His kind was caught up in securing wealth that they forgot the affairs of humanity around them. On the other hand, Scrooge is an outsider because his loss with understanding was contributed to by the disturbing childhood he had and a life of misery. In his attempt t to shield himself from any more pain and disappointments, the path he took – that belittled the value of humanity cost him his freedom and made him an outsider.
Jane Eyre, on the other hand, became an outsider through being a victim of circumstances. Jane was a penniless orphan who fails to fit in all settings she appears in the book. From the conception, the character Jane Eyre is an outsider from her childhood living almost as a peasant in Mrs. Reed’s house while she was rich. In the passage, she quotes she did not have harmony living with Mrs. Reed and her children, and they treated her with contempt. She is raised in the nursery instead of playing with her drawing-room with her cousins, and she does not get medical attention from the family physician when she is sick. In her transition, she worked in Mr. Rochester’s house to sustain herself and had her wedding at a distance from everyone. By distancing herself, Jane embraced how different she was in person and sought to be true to herself that fit into the description the society would enforce on her. From the beginning, Jane stands out because what sets her apart and different is that she refuses to give in to the pain of her life as an outsider. While she tries hard to have a healthy life, it is clear she will not because there is no peace for people of different characters under the same roof. While she faces injustice, she still lets herself apart as a heterogeneous thing in a homogenous household.
Jane is not only an outsider in her home, but the community does not hide the fact that they consider her an outsider. “…. They flocked in. I rose and curtseyed, but while others bent there heads in return, others stared at me…” (Brontë, 173). Jane resonates with her being an outsider because the misfortunes that surround her life had been a consistent trend of pattern through her transition. At some point when she was ill with no one visiting her perhaps because she was forsaken by fortune. This shows how social classes can abandon someone or deem them an outsider if they do not meet the threshold of socio-economic prosperity. Jane, for example, had no estate and had no parents, it was therefore not fitting for her to live among people who had wealth. Her strength and resolve to live was also a threat to all around her (Peters, 58). Isolation comes in her adult life, and it hits her because she has no one. She was exiled from her daily life, and her presence forgotten because she was not included in anyone’s routine over time, and this causes her despair. Her statement brings to the attention of scholars the overall consequential effect of enforcing the outsider mentality on a person to their psychology and total confidence in pursuing their goals
One common theme that comes out in the stories is them of isolation. Outsiders rarely have a social life because they have no one to interact with. This loneliness can be harmful to the life pattern of an outsider. Scrooge, for example, self-isolated to ensure he makes fewer interactions with people. By burying humanity, he ended up being a bitter man who was more comfortable in misery and isolation with people. He was a lonely man. Being an outsider can lead to loneliness. In the passage Jane Eyre, Jane says she feels entirely alone in the world. She also builds a fear within herself because of the constant moments of isolation and realizes no matter how much she would love adventure, the fear of loneliness breaks the spell of joy. Perhaps it is the fear of loneliness and rejection in both characters that makes Scrooge detest Christmas and makes jane scared of adventure.
The characters also showed the inner turmoils they faced as characters. By the mere fact of being human, both parties wished that they had been more included in societal celebrations or events. Scrooge was conflicted about whether to stop being evil and be a better person while Jane questioned if she would have been any better than the homogenous group if her life had been different. In a Christmas carol, the ghosts of Christmas come out to explain specific characteristics in outsiders that shape them in their character. The spirit of the past shows that an outsiders life when growing up is influences who they become (De Marquita, The trial of Ebenezer Scrooge), the sense of the present shows the choices one makes in their state of being an outsider. In contrast, the ghost of the future shows the consequences of being an outsider, including loneliness and a funeral unattended by members of society. These turmoils presented in both characters required for utmost analyses on what was best for an outsiders interest before implementing it
While both characters became outsiders because of the initial circumstances in who they were and where they were brought up, both outsiders decided to react differently to humanity as they know it. One factor that distinguishes the two characters in their roles is that while Scrooge initially refuses to identify with understanding and actions that make him human, Jane embraces the fact of a possibility of the existence of a heterogeneous, amongst homogenous individuals. Her statement has a hidden meaning. In her society, the antagonists such as Mrs. Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst, their actions show how individuals in the community are quick to taunt and harm outsiders simply because they can be picked on. Jane represents the unfortunate outsiders who do not choose their fate, but fate decides to punish them for mistakes that are not their own. In society today, jane would relate to the scholarship child in a vibrant educational institution who is socially excluded because he does not fit into the natural setting of the institution. While the students may not be able to flush the scholarship child out, they have no obligations to ensure the student lives a socially harmonious life while within the school. Scrooge, on the other hand, shows how the society can wound an individual by how it treats them and in turn causes them to be an outsider. Scrooge loses touch with humanity because of his past. The past life he lived where he had a difficult upbringing influenced him to value other things such as wealth other than making human relationships. For example, when his nephew invites him for dinner, Scrooge swears he would rather die than dine with the family. Scrooge represents the type of outsiders who are overwhelmed by grief or pain from their past that comes from human interaction that they opt to treasure things that will not involve a human connection.
In conclusion, outsiders play a significant role in the setting of any literature in critiquing the contribution of society to the development of an outsider mentality, and the consequences of societal actions. It also shows how outsiders reflect their mirror shadows in modern nations. And finally, the role of outsiders is to show the consequential impact of choosing to be an outsider.
WORKS CITED
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre Thrift Study Edition. Courier Dover Publications, 2011.
De Mesquita, Bruce Bueno. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge. Ohio State University Press, 2001.
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas carol and other Christmas books. OUP Oxford, 2006.
Peters, John G. “INSIDE AND OUTSIDE:” JANE EYRE” AND MARGINALIZATION THROUGH LABELING.” Studies in the Novel 28.1 (1996): 57-75.
Sheehy, Benedict. “Scrooge-the reluctant stakeholder: theoretical problems in the shareholder-stakeholder debate.” U. Miami Bus. l. rev. 14, (2005): 193.