The Hero as an Outcast: an Essay on Outsiders

The leper. The homeless. Minorities. People labeled “different”. These are examples of “outcasts,” people “rejected or cast out, as from home or society.” They are “mistfits” even, “unable to adjust to a situation” with its narrow, inflexible expectations. Holden Caulfield in the novel Catcher in the Rye, Wally in the short story White Chocolate, and Jamal Wallace in the movie Finding Forrester are examples of teen heroes, all attending high school, who struggle to fit, but who discover quickly that they are not wanted. They are ostracized, cast out. Jamal, is a black high school student who resides in mainly black neighbourhood in the Bronx, New York. Jamal is missing a father figure in his life. He is single-handedly raised by his mother because his father has supposedly left home to go “get himself clean.” Before he is recruited by a prestigious New York prep school, Jamal is a C average student. His assessment scores however, are “impressive.” Aside from his background, Jamal excels at both basketball and writing. His skill with words especially contributes to him being ostracized by his peers and his teacher. His writing skill is targeted by his English Professor Robert Crawford. Jamal’s apparent improvement in his school marks and his racial background raises suspicion in Crawford. He comments that Jamal’s just a “basketball player from Bronx!” and that his writing ability can’t be “this good.” Jamal is also targeted by his peers at his new prestigious school; he faces discrimination because of his racial background. To cope with reality, Jamal escapes through his writing and the game of basketball. Since his father left, Jamal reads books and constantly writes. He seeks assistance from acclaimed author William Forrester, to help improve his writing skills. He especially finds comfort in basketball not only because he excels at it, but also because “it’s where he gets his acceptance from.” Despite the many obstacles that Jamal is faced with, he manages to succeed in his new school and is able to pursue his one true dream: writing. At the very end when he is given the option of freeing himself of his supposed case of plagiarism, in exchange for a victory for the school on the basketball court, he decides against it. By doing so, he is finally given the chance to be recognized for his writing, and not for his basketball skills. Similarly, Wally is a high school student who is also clearly affected by his family background. He has one black and one white parent. He has no father role model in his life either because he has allegedly gone off “looking for something different in his life.” Like Jamal, he doesn’t particularly like to do well in school. In his case however, it is because he “isn’t interested in most things they try to teach us and especially not in stories about girls who start off being tomboys…” Also like Jamal, Wally feels that he is discriminated against because of his background. Yet, it is his sarcastic and angry nature that outcasts him. He, unlike his classmates, does not make any attempts to be approachable. He constantly refuses to talk about what he is feeling because he “can’t take people…who think that whatever goes wrong, you can fix it by talking about it calmly.” To cope with the anger he’s feeling, and reality, Wally creates havoc for others. He especially does this to his Themes English teacher Mrs. Loring because she attempts to try to help him. When she asks him what’s bothering him, he answers “You! This ridiculous English class!” He hides his hurt by being intentionally rude to her. Instead of listening to what she has to say, he spends his class time “thinking up ways to mess up her lessons.” Finally Wally pushes the buttons of Mrs. Loring much too far, and she threatens him with expulsion. Wally realizes that she won’t deal with his troubles in class again unless he is willing to talk about it, so he makes the decision to leave the class and never return again. Holden Caulfield on the other hand, has both his mother and father. He, unlike Jamal and Wally, resides in an influential area in New York and has a corporate lawyer for a father. Yet his relationship with his father is clearly not much better than the other two boys with their missing father. His father constantly accuses him of acting like he’s still “only about twelve”. Strain is clearly added to their relationship because of Holden’s constant lack of interest in school. When Holden is kicked out of his fifth school, his sister Phoebe tells him that “Daddy’s going to kill you.” Despite the fact that his parents are clearly successful and wealthy, Holden is ostracized by his peers. It is his cynical nature that sets Holden apart from everyone else. His constant suspicion of everyone’s ulterior “motives” and belief in the worst of human nature makes it difficult for anyone to get along with him. For instance, when he calls Sally Hayes, a girl he used to see, he comments that she’s “quite a little phony.” To cope with the harsh reality of life, Holden lies constantly. For example, when he meets the mother of one of his schoolmates, he tells her that her son is “one of the most popular boys at Pencey.” But in reality, Holden thinks that her son is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.” Ultimately, Holden ends up in a mental institution, and is being treated for the psychological condition of depression. He is now a bit more expressive about his feelings, and eventually reveals why he always hides his feelings. He cautions readers to never tell anyone anything, because if you do, “you start missing everybody.”

Clearly then, these three boys have faced the pains of being an outsider. They are unaccepted by others for being themselves, but ultimately find ways to cope. Each character is unique in their personalities, perhaps even too unique, which eventually contributes to the end they each meet. Jamal Wallace, Wally, and Holden Caulfield are different, but they all manage to survive.