English 101

In this task, you will write a fictional or nonfiction narrative of about 750 to 1000 words on a theme that is present in some of the selections from Victorian literature that you read in this unit. Below are a few themes involving difficult childhood circumstances and ill-fated love, both of which figured in this unit’s readings. In developing your own narrative, you can choose one of these themes, create a variation on one of them, or use another theme in consultation with your teacher:

a child who does not fit well into his or her social circumstances
a child who is perceived as bad when he or she is actually good, or vice versa
an orphan or displaced child who faces struggles similar to those of Oliver Twist, Kim, or Heathcliff
two people who are attracted to one another but are prevented from uniting due to social norms or related personal conflicts

You can write your narrative in any style. For example, you could write in a modern style or imitate the style of one of the authors whose works you examined in this unit. Your narrative can be about real events and people, it can be fictionalized, or it can be a mix of real and fictional events and people.

ANSWER

Fitting in and Social Circumstances

Every teenager has once in their life tried to fit in or conform to the social circumstances around them. It is an unspoken rule of social living that dictates the level elevation of one’s self-esteem. Many superhero movies tell the stories of people with superpowers that have mostly failed to fit in with their peers due to their unique attributes. The same story also applies to real life, but this time there are no superpowers involved, but their bare physical and social attributes. Physical attributes, like acne, the colour of their skin (a black kid in an all-white school), financial situation and obesity, among others, are often major challenges that hinder people from relating with their fellow peers. As in the superhero movies, there are also students who have the powers of being intelligent. In the modern world, they are called names like ‘geeks’ and ‘nerds’, and often the ‘cool’ kids make fun of them. They mostly isolate themselves in every situation, from the classroom to the cafeteria and gym. They are never invited to parties like the other students and are referred to as uncool and even snitches. One might argue that fitting in is not important to live, but not according to a teenager. Most people who have social issues once struggled in their teenagehood and harboured the regret of not having friends. They envy or envied the idea of being like that cool kid in school and often wonder how life must be for them.

John peeked at his seatmate’s WhatsApp text and saw a poster that was making rounds in the school of ‘the party of the year’. The buzz of incoming texts could be heard across the classroom and the hallway as invites was sent out to almost the entire school. He anxiously waited for his phone to buzz too, but there was nothing forthcoming. Normally, this would not come as a surprise to him. It was common for him to be on the receiving end of constant ridicule and humiliation from the rest of the school. He was the product of a messy and public divorced marriage. The acne and obesity certainly did not help his situation. He had buried his sadness and social frustration in junk food from the beginning of his parent’s divorce. It was his only companion. Food seemed to understand what he was going through and made him feel better.

He was always ridiculed in the gym. Once, he found his locker written ‘freak’ as he turned to see people giggling. He was on the verge of depression and once contemplated suicide. But as he came back to life from his thoughts, he really felt the pain of being left out in these social gatherings and parties. For once, he felt the need to fit in. to be part of the boys. To have friends that would share the same passion for animated movies. He wondered why he was the one to suffer all that was thrown his way. Why him! Could the school, hell, the world, give him a break and make him feel good just this once. Couldn’t the world just magically send the poster to him? Just this one time, could things align themselves and be smooth.

He was tired. He was furious. He had had enough. He stared up to see the excitement, the smiles and joy from his evil classmates that used him as their punching bag. It was not fair, he knew, but who really cared? He was determined to wipe the smile off of those faces. Nobody would dare make fun of him once he did something big. Nobody would dare laugh at him, and nobody would dare look in his direction to suggest’ get out of our school, you fat pig’. This party would create the perfect opportunity. It was time to wipe them all out and make them pay!