Soccer Games
At many points throughout Outcasts United, St. John narrates the reader through an entire game of soccer, from start to finish. He details which players passed to whom, who scored and when, nearly every foul and mean remark by the Fugees and the opposing players, as well as Luma's reactions to every aspect. By doing this, the author makes sure that every reader, regardless of their prior exposure to soccer, feels fully immersed in the games. The stakes also rise as the season goes on, leading to the climax of the story at the tournament where the Fugees perform as a cohesive team but lose their crucial lead at the end of their third game.
Clarkston
The author uses description of Clarkston's physical appearance in the 20th and 21st centuries to explain how drastic the change has been due to the influx of refugees. Early in the book, St. John describes how a train used to run through the sleepy, white, Southern town. Soon after, he writes that, "While the freight trains continued to rumble through town a dozen times a day, little in Clarkston looked familiar to the people who’d spent their lives there. Women walked down the street in hijabs and even in full burkas, or jalabib. The shopping center transformed: while Thriftown, the grocery store, remained, restaurants such as Hungry Harry’s pizza joint were replaced by Vietnamese and Eritrean restaurants, a halal butcher, and a 'global pharmacy' that catered to the refugee community by selling, among other things, international phone cards" (32).
When Luma first discovers Clarkston, just a few miles down the road from her new home in Decatur, she notes similar things. The author writes, from Luma's point of view, "Women walked the streets in chadors and hijabs, while others wore colorful African robes and headdresses. Luma came upon a small Middle Eastern market called Talars. She pulled into the parking lot, went inside, and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the old familiar smells of cardamom, turmeric, and cumin" (41). In both quotes, focus is put on the dress of women and the establishment of stores and restaurants serving foods from the home countries of Clarkston's immigrant populations.
Refugee Families' Backstories
Instead of giving a purely chronological account of the Fugees' first and second season of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, St. John decides to devote a few chapters to the backstories of a few families of refugees. In these chapters, the reader travels back ten, twenty, or even thirty years and is given a short summary of the political situation of a particular country as well as the particular situation of the family now living in Clarkston. These sections are often quite vivid with violence and fear. However, the story would feel much less realistic and dynamic without these sections, which allow the reader to connect emotionally with the characters, especially the parents of the Fugees players, and to understand where Luma's compassionate actions fit into the global refugee crisis.
Soccer Fields
At multiple points in the story, Luma must switch soccer fields to accommodate local government officials, changes of seasons, and gang violence. The reader is given detailed descriptions of each soccer field the team uses, since the space becomes such an integral part of their lives and affects their mentalities in different ways. For example, a lot of the troubles that happen within the team happen while the Fugees are using the field behind Indian Creek Elementary. This field is described as "a rutted, gravelly field of gray Georgia chalk with a few tufts of grass and tall weeds. The field and surrounding asphalt track were covered with glass from broken bottles, and there were no soccer goals, only a couple of rusting chain-link backstops" (67). Having to practice on a bad field surrounded by adults and hazards does not create the climate of focus and respect Luma desires. During this period in the Fugees' season, many players quit or are kicked off the team, and one gets involved in gang violence.
Later in the book, Luma is able to move the team to Armistead Park, which is described in opposition to their former practice space: "Compared with the dust bowl at Indian Creek Elementary, Armistead Field was perfect: a thick blanket of soft green grass covered the playing surface and scratched the players’ backs when they splayed out for sit-ups and stretches. The field was surrounded on three sides by tall trees draped in a tangle of vines...The beauty of the Fugees’ new home was so extraordinary that it almost seemed like a joke" (152). The teams seem much more comfortable and well-behaved while using this practice space, showing the effect of the appearance of a space on one's mindset.
