distorting their personalities forever. This theme
is powerful because of these far-reaching conse-
quences. Rejection is a powerful force in works
from a myriad of time periods and genres, including
the Bible, John Milton’s paradise Lost, Daniel
Defoe’s MoLL FLanders, Jane Austen’s pride
and preJudice, Richard Wright’s native son,
William Faulkner’s the sound and the Fury,
and Amy Tan’s the Joy Luck cLub.
Social scientists have shown time and again that
human beings need social connections. According
to the psychologist Mark Leary, this need is an
adaptation that evolved because it promoted sur-
vival and reproduction (3). In the early days of the
human race, we needed each other with an intensity
that industrialism and technology have taken away.
Humans lived in small groups, far away from other
groups. In order for our species to reproduce, we
had to choose from the mates who were available.
In addition, because we do not have the natural
defenses possessed by other animals (such as claws,
antlers, and sharp, powerful teeth), we had to work
together to defend ourselves.
This evolutionary adaptation has stayed with us.
Research demonstrates that we still need human
contact in order to thrive, with some studies even
showing that social isolation can do damage to
the immune system, threaten cardiovascular health,
and even hasten death (Fiske and Yamamoto 185).
Because this contact is a good thing, and because
we are drawn to make connections, when a specific
connection is refused, as is the case in acts of rejec-
tion, the result can devastate us. Those who are
rejected feel worthless, have pronounced feelings of
inferiority and inadequacy, and move through life
never showing their “real selves” (Evoy 54, 57). In
other words, rejection, to the human animal, does
not make sense, and our bodies and minds do not
know how to handle it.
Knowing this about rejection helps to explain
why it is such a powerful theme in literature and
culture. Several stories in the Bible explore rejection
in depth, and because the Bible is a foundational text
of Western culture, these stories help to establish the
larger context in which the concept of rejection may
be considered. The story of Ishmael and his mother,
Hagar, is a good example. Abraham and Sarah were,
for many years, unable to conceive children. Sarah
presented her maid, Hagar, to Abraham in the hope
that she could produce a son for him. The plan
worked, and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. However,
God declared to Abraham that he and Sarah, despite
their advanced age, would have a son as well. Isaac,
son of Sarah and Abraham, soon followed. Ishmael
and Hagar were eventually sent out into the desert,
rejected by Abraham. This story is significant for
many reasons, perhaps the most important of which
is that Isaac is considered a patriarch of the Jewish
religion, and Ishmael is considered the progenitor of
Arabic peoples. Certainly the centuries-long conflict
between these two groups is not caused by the bibli-
cal story, but the story does provide a foundation
by which we may understand the lasting power of
rejection. The rejected feel like outcasts, and in many
cases they are literally outcasts, driven from others,
just as Ishmael and Hagar were.
The Bible is not the only early document that
deals with rejection. Monica Melancthon explains
that the motif, manifesting itself as a rejection by
God or other divine beings, is found in other Semitic
languages of the time. The lamentation, a vocalizing
of the pain of rejection, is a commonly found form
in ancient Semitic literature. For instance, in The
Curse of Agade, composed around 2000 b.c., a rebel-
lious act by King Naram-Sim kindles the fury of
the deity and leads to the destruction of the city.
Similarly, in Lamentations 3, the city of Jerusalem,
the “nerve center of religious activity” in 587 b.c.,
lies in ruins. Lamentations 3 reads, in part, “He has
driven me away and made me walk / in darkness
rather than in light; indeed, he has turned his hand
against me / again and again, all day long” (3:2–4).
Its people, rejected by their God, are devastated. As
Melancthon notes, this destruction showed their
status as God’s chosen people and Jerusalem’s status
as God’s chosen city were in question. They associ-
ated this perceived rejection with human guilt and
disobedience. In other words, they felt they must
have done something wrong to deserve God’s wrath.
Much like the early citizens of Jerusalem, chil-
dren who have been rejected by their parents often
internalize feelings of guilt and wrongdoing. Paren-
tal rejection is so powerful, research shows, that its
victims never completely get over it; it remains withrejection 89