Today we’ll talk about an interesting and controversial phenomenon of non-conformism, for which the language has not one, but several names. But the main object of study is a renegade. If we talk about the glory of the word, then we can not say that it carries some positive meaning. But first things first.
Origin
Probably, when a modern person hears a “renegade” (we will consider the meaning of the word a little further), he thinks, or rather, imagines a huge oak tree as a metaphor for a public body, and suddenly a sliver flies from him - that's why a “renegade”, is that so?
No matter how beautiful the image may be, the real story of the origin of the word is different. Dictionaries indicate that it appeared in the 16th century and was borrowed from the literary language of Southwest Russia. The suffix helped the birth of this word: originally there was a noun “splitting off”, that is, “treason”. And if you look even further, then there was the word "chips", that is, "that which is chipped."
The renegade means "separated from the rest." So the image of a large tree that arises in the mind is not at all false, it metaphorically accurately conveys the history of the origin and meaning of the renegade.
Dictionary
Historical parallels are interesting only in connection with today. Therefore, we still need to turn to the explanatory dictionary, how much does he agree with a colleague? I completely agree. Ask him a question, what does a renegade mean, open on the necessary page and read the following: "A person who has broken away from his social environment."
It is probably unnecessary to give examples, but nevertheless, duty requires the reader to have some vivid image. It is known that the actor Hugh Laurie has many relatives - doctors, and he became a musician and actor who played a very memorable role as a diagnostician-misanthrope. No matter how strange it is to hear it, but Laurie is a renegade.
In general, when a dynasty exists, children have two reactions to what is happening. They either get used to think and perceive themselves only within the profession, which goes from the older generation to the younger, or fundamentally completely reject such an opportunity. We do not know whether the Lori family was experiencing internal disasters due to his choice of profession, but, we think, no one is disappointed with the result.
Synonyms
We understood what the meaning of the word "renegade" is in the dictionary, it is time to pay attention to its replacement. Let's just say: they will surprise the reader. But closer to the point, and comments later:
- traitor;
- traitor;
- outcast;
- apostate;
- renegade.
We did not include in this list a more general term - nonconformist, so as not to spoil the experience. Judging by the synonyms, the word is desperately bad. True, the explanatory dictionary does not insist on this, and the etymological only hints transparently. And there is no contradiction, because the renegade is a nonconformist in the words of those whom he rejects. Society and the environment do not accept failures or are reluctant to do so. In other words, the sharpness of the character of the noun is not surprising.
What unites Sid Vicious and Sigmund Freud?
When we think of marginals and non-conformists, we are mostly fascinated by their audacity and courage. True, there is one “but”: the average man would never change places with the pioneers. Being Sid Vicious or Sigmund Freud, of course, is nice, but not everyone can withstand the pressure they were subjected to.
The first - from the side of life itself, certain circumstances of existence, the other - from the academic environment of that time. By the way, if it was an academic work, then we would have become renegades in the scientific community, because we are comparing Vises and Freud - this is a professor’s nightmare! The only good news is that here is a territory free from snobbery.
Three possible scenarios for the life of a renegade
Life scenarios of non-conformist renegades. Denote very briefly:
- "Success".
- "Conformism."
- "A fall".
Any person in Russia or in the West who achieved something was originally a renegade. Wednesday did not accept him. Those historical figures whom we know today as heroes rejected their time and their environment. Moreover, the reader can take almost any noticeable figure. Rock musicians, for example, were driven in Soviet times, and now Yuri Shevchuk is talking with Putin about something there. Writers are also concerned with this kind of scheme: Brodsky in the not-so-distant past (in 1972) was expelled from the country, and now he is an imperial poet. It has become fashionable among young people, and the authorities do not pay any attention to it - these are metamorphoses. A lot of such examples could be given, but why? After all, the reader knows about them perfectly.
The second scenario is much more interesting, moreover, by its usual nature. He says that a renegade is, firstly, not a sentence, and secondly, not forever. This, of course, is about those who rebel in their youth, and then get a regular job and live a trivial life.
The third scenario is even less heroic. People, not finding themselves outside their own environment and not having achieved success, simply disappear. And here our example will not be ordinary. I would not like to catch up with horror, so we will put the cinematic character Emmett Brown into the harsh reality of Russian science.
Surely no one would give him money for research, he would become a marginal in the scientific community and, possibly, would drink too much or end his days in a madhouse. In one part of the film, a similar scenario was played when Biff became the master of the city.
Output
What follows from all this? Being a renegade is very difficult. Man is a social animal, so it is difficult for him to experience emotional and physical isolation. But sometimes life develops in such a way that a person does not choose whether to be marginalized and non-conformist or not, in this sense, everything depends on the time and the circumstances in which he falls.