Perspective in The Outsiders, and A Squatters Tale Essay -- Outsiders

Websters online dictionary of the English Language defines outsider as follows Outsider n. 1. A soul or thing not within an enclosure, boundary etc. 2. A person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc. 3. A person unconnected or unacquainted with the matter in question. 4. A racehorse, not classified among the best or among those expected to win. Considering these definitions of the word, outsider, one is struck by the eclecticist array of meanings. Sometimes words have multiple meanings that are ironically linked. Are people as multifaceted as words? The fundamental laws of loving relations call upon humans to attempt to fit in and belong. So, striving to fit in to ones family, peer group, community, and the world at large is an ongoing engagement that most humans face to one degree or another. On a larger scale, bloody battles are fought between countries, governments, and races in an effort to co-exist on the planet. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and A Squatters Tale by Ike Oguine are stories that tell of this battle to fit in, and both have characters that personify these four definitions of the word, outsider. These tales have dramatic themes and stylistics that in some ways are similar and in other ways unique, but they all have significant effects on the readers. There is a common theme of violence in both stories. Obi, the protagonist in A Squatters Tale, depicts how Nigeria has had its own history of violence. There are sharp divisions between the cryptical and the poor, those in power and those being manipulated. Corruption in the government was at an epidemic level in the mid nineties. Bribery, extortion and strong-arm tactics have compel the norm. The... ...ey are not expected to win in life. However, one is left at the end of these stories with an undeniable feeling of optimism and assurance that Obi and Ponyboy will persevere in their struggle to overcome the obstacles in their lives. Works Cited Com ing to America. Dir. John Landis. Perf. Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair. Paramount Pictures Video,1988 Class Film. NJIT. LIT 350-102. Spring Semester, 2002. Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York Penguin, 1967. Oguine, Ike. A Squatters Tale. Oxford Heinemann, 2000. Vitullo-Martin, Julia and J. Robert Moskin. The Executives retain of Quotations. New York Oxford University Press, 1994. Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. New York Random House. 1989.