Outcasts United

by

Warren St. John

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Themes and Colors
Refugees, Discrimination, and Resilience Theme Icon
Community and Teamwork vs. Division Theme Icon
Leadership and Respect Theme Icon
Discipline, Dedication, and Success Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Outcasts United, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.

Refugees, Discrimination, and Resilience

Outcasts United tells the story of the Fugees, a boys’ soccer team in Clarkston, Georgia. The team is started by Luma al-Mufleh, a young Jordanian woman who creates the team as a free program for the many young refugee children in Clarkston. Over the 1990s and 2000s, Clarkston became a prime location for international organizations to resettle refugees from around the globe. The boys on the Fugees team faced hardships in their home countries…

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Community and Teamwork vs. Division

Due to the myriad cultural backgrounds of the Fugees, Luma recognizes how, even at a young age, boys will intentionally divide based on groupings like race, nationality, or religion. At first, the boys are somewhat distrustful of each other and have a difficult time playing as a team. But over time, and with Luma’s serious efforts, they gradually are able to look past their different cultures to find success together. By showing the team’s arc…

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Leadership and Respect

The Fugees would not exist without the team’s fearless leader, Luma, who is often very tough on the boys and demands they play by her rules. Although Luma’s rigor is sometimes off-putting to the Fugees, her toughness is not simply for the sake of being harsh; instead, her demands are due to the fact that she truly wants the boys to achieve success, both on and off the field. Luma understands that sometimes being…

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Discipline, Dedication, and Success

For children across the globe, sports teams represent a means of cultivating a good work ethic and a dedication to achieving a goal, and the Fugees are no different. Luma, the Fugees’ coach, sees this discipline and dedication as a requirement for her players—particularly for refugee children who will need to take on more responsibility than other children might. Often, these children’s only alternative activities are getting involved in gangs. Both Luma and St.

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