The Sanctuary Of The Outcast Analysis

Being one 's self is a hard thing to do in the world that we live in. Everyone is blinded by acceptance, and recognition. The idea of what we are supposed to be or how we are supposed to act evolves the person we are. The Sanctuary of the Outcast is a book that greatly relates to this essay, and is actually, the basis for this essay. The book shows how making the perfect image destroyed a man 's life, but also, gave it meaning.
Neil White was always a man who wanted to be "on top." He wanted to be the best at whatever he did. It makes sense considering he wanted to be in The Book of World Records. He wanted to be put on a pedestal, loved and admired by all. In reality, it is what we all want. Going through school, teachers always told me to …show more content…
We have to decide if certain personal qualities are “cool enough” that other people will like them. If they are, we keep them. If they are not, we have to find what a better substitute is and make that a “personal quality.” Neil tried so hard, for so many years, to keep up an image. It consumed him. A lot of his time was taken up just for the fact that he was trying to keep the secrets, secret. He was someone he was not meant to be, because he was trying to be what he thought others wanted him to be. After a while, it finally caught up with him. His lies were revealed. The image, he had tried so hard to uphold, was finally tumbling down. People were finally getting to see the person he really was and that was still all he thought about. We are afraid to let people see our true self. With the image we make, we set up high expectations. When these false images finally come to the surface, as did with Neil’s conviction, we are forced to face to truth of who we are. We can no longer hide it, we can only embrace it. When I, finally, could no longer uphold my image, I lost the friends I had worked so hard to …show more content…
It was not until he tried to help the blind couple out of the cafeteria and they eagerly declined, that he realized he was an inmate just like any other. Just because his crime was different, it was still a crime. He was just as bad as anyone else. He wanted to change. With the help of Ella, a leprosy patient, she opened his eyes. She made him realize, without knowing it, that people are who they are and nothing should change that. As she said, “What they think of you is none of your business.” She made him realize that what made him different is what made him. She embraced her differences and wore them proudly. He decided that, even though it would be hard to move back to Oxford, he needed to wear his conviction proudly. It was, however, what changed him for the better. I, myself, always had a hard time being myself. It was not until I had no true friends that I realized being who they wanted me to be would not make me happy. I finally started living life for myself. Boy, was I happier. I did not let people’s negative thoughts of me tear me down. Like I said, their thoughts of me was none of my business. I started making new friends, and it was easier because I did not have to portray the image of who I was pretending to