A Cultural and Historical Exploration of the Term “Freak” The definition of freak has changed to comprehend ideologies and class structures at a particular time context. In the middle ages, by possessing medical knowledge and practices, women were denounced as witches, also known as a form of freaks, and considered as a cause of hysteria. Forwarding to the Victorian era, people who had anatomically unusual bodies were named freaks, and displayed their abnormalities as a source of amusement for
risk of exclusion and rejection. This can lead to peer pressure and forced conformity. However, there can be some positive aspects of cliques. They can provide a sense of belonging, support, protection; they can reinforce self-esteem, loyalty, identity formation and new friendships (J. Mandel 2010). When a child is moving from elementary to the new battlefield of middle school and into high school, cliques can be an important lifeline. Once in high school, the presence of cliques starts to fade
personalities. Hughes uses these different personalities to show that stress can always find a way to penetrate their inner minds. For the character Brian, aka the “brain” his constant stress leads him to the point of no return, suicide. Brian represents the geek or nerd, which means Brian being this particular character, is always getting high grades, and his teachers adore him. This has however caused him constant stress from his family and peers, as he has put the status of “the brain” to his name and therefore