Insider Outsider - Eli Roberts

Hafizah's Response

The characters in my book deals with a great physical insider/outsider dynamic because the characters in my book are physically separated from society. On page '16' it says "the glass was tinted so i couldn't see any faces only the outlines of heads and torso's". This was a great example of the isolation of the inmates, not only was their walls outside the jail but there were walls inside the jails. I think that there is also a strong physiological wall adding to the insider outside complex because of the crimes that the young Juveniles had committed.

There were times when i felt like an outsider. I had moved to Las Vegas and became friends with some pretty influential people, Around their neighborhood were they lived. I use to feel like an outsider, looking at the Mansions and luxury vehicles. I also feel like an outsider in areas that are impoverished. When visiting family who live in inner cities its hard for me not to feel like an outsider. The place were i feel most at home are middle class communities like the ones i grew up in. I think the reason that im comfortable there is two fold. Not just because its were i grew up but also because a middle class lifestyle is somewhat what im aiming for on a financial level.

I even feel like an outsider when traveling down town. Because outside of Columbia i rarely come downtown. However im getting the use to the whole process of coming back and forth to downtown Chicago. I also feel like an outsider when its the first day of school in high school and i arrive 3 weeks late into school. it can be a pretty unnerving experience.




Izzy Response

In true notebooks Francisco is definitely influenced by society. He had tried to commit suicide after he had lost his case and received 2 consecutive life sentences. Because he had failed so many faucets of life that others succeed he had tried to commit suicide. His frame of thought was if I have 2 consecutive life sentences then what am I here for? Why does God still have me alive? I think that society influenced him because in today's society if you fail at something your crowned a loser. But in life failing is a part of winning. I believe that you rarely learn when you win, and nearly always learn when you fail. When Francisco failed at following the rules of a civilized citizen instead support to help correct his ways and find out what went wrong there was punishment. I think he deserves punishment, but i also think that his failure to become a civilized citizen is actually a crucial process in him becoming a civilized citizen. Yet today's civilized society doesn't have the wisdom to see that. All of these factors influence Francisco on how he feels about himself.

Society definitly govern's how i feel about myself. As a man my success will be governed by my material objects. This is something i dont totally disagree with but i do plan to have a 90,000 vehicle and live in a luxury apartment. Not because im playing a part in what society expects but because I want to get the most out of my self. My goal is to tap my true potiental. But even tho my goal is to tap into my true potiental i know that with material possesions im still more appealing to society and that fact definitly influences me. In history the more material possessions a man could provide, the better he was with women because this qualified him as a good provider on a physical level. And this is also something that influences me.