Outsiders in the light of Goffman’s Dramaturgical Model (on the Example of Margaret Atwood’s Novel “The Year of the Flood”)
Outsiders in the light of Goffman’s Dramaturgical Model (on the Example of Margaret Atwood’s Novel “The Year of the Flood”)

Summary/Abstract: This paper investigates various tools and methods employed by a social group todefine who is an outsider and who belongs to the group. This issue of group identity is examined on the basis of the novel The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. The chief aim of this paper is to examine both formal and informal schemes of labeling an outsider in the light of Goffman’s dramaturgical model and with reference to Becker’s theory of stigmatization. The author argues that obtaining labels of stigma is caused by the way some tendencies or behaviors are perceived. Thus, deviance is not inherent to an act, but comes from the strong tendency of majorities to label minorities, or those seen as deviant from commonly accepted cultural norms, negatively. What is of particular interest to the author is the relation of society towards individuals and, consequently, the micro social rules, which govern the theatre of everyday life, as presented in Margaret Atwood’s novel.

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