The first line of the poem reads “I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too? (Dickinson)” This is the first testimony that the author is separating themselves from regular society. Rather than claiming to have an identity and individuality, the author says that they are nobody. Then they go on to question whether the reader is also nobody. This leads the reader to believe that there is no true identity for people and the society is simple a created thing. This logic serves as an explanation for the strangeness of Emily Dickinson and her life. There is a strong possibility that this is how she actually felt about the world and in turn this caused her to seclude herself from everyone else because she felt that she was nobody (Leiter). She then says that if there is a pair of people who have made the conclusion that the society is not right, that they must not let it be known because they would be outcast (Dickinson). This is almost a call to the reader to question their society.
Along with the idea of banishment from society, another interpretation is that this is a poem about coming of age and the confusion of adolescents (Leiter). This is