on and described in her poem Be Nobody's Darling. Walker encourages people to accept their
mistakes and differences in their lives, for these are what make you you. Society may look at
you with disapproval but you should just look right back in the same way. She does not want
anyone to tell us who we can and cannot be. Being an outcast makes you and individual and
independent. Just because everyone else is not the same does not mean it is wrong. Walker
wants us to be proud of our differences and not let anyone else tell us different.
This poem can relate to Mrs. Sen in Mrs. Sen's by Jhumpa Lahiri. Mrs. Sen was seen as an
outcast in American society because she still kept her Indian customs and traditions. It was
very hard for her to adapt to American life and still did not know how to drive. She was seen as
an outcast just because she liked to get her fish fresh at the market. The bus driver asked her
"What's in the bag?" and proceeded to tell her that the smell was bothering the other
passengers. But this is what pushed Mrs. Sen over the edge. She could not deal with her
differences in this society anymore and forced herself to adapt to their ways. Mrs. Sen wanted
to be independent but to also not be an outcast anymore. She forced herself to drive and ended
up making things worse. Mrs. Sen hated being an outcast. However, she did not receive her
personal freedom by being an outcast like Walker had said she would. Walker explains being
an a outcast as something positive whereas in Mrs. Sen's case, it was a very negative
characteristic.
-Bethany Davis (Post #1)
Great observations, Bethany. In comparing Walker's poem to Mrs. Sen it seems as though being an outcast can be very empowering if this is an identity that we ourselves choose, however it can be very destructive when what we want is to fit in and we are labeled an outcast instead.
ReplyDelete