Brothers Apart - What is Sam?

Yesterday, the question was raised "What is Sam?" by my friend helloootricksterr.

I'll pause briefly to clear it all up.

Sam is human. The curse only took his size from him, not his humanity. This isn't saying the people that found and adopted Sam are necessarily human like him... that's a mystery Sam and Dean haven't got to the bottom of yet. With any luck, they will eventually.

But, you may have noticed Sam doesn't consider himself a human. He'll be the first to point out that Dean is his 'human' brother. This is all about his perception of himself. He doesn't perceive himself as a human anymore. Not after spending thirteen years running from humans, trying to not get caught. Just think of all the times they had to go without dinner because they couldn't get food from the kitchen, or his dad almost got caught in a room. All that happened because of humans. So he was raised thinking of himself as different. Separate. Now, he'll look at Dean and be like "No, I'm not one of those," because in his mind, size defines humanity instead of biology, which is wrong. Perception vs. reality.

Just think of it from his point of view.

Stand him next to Dean, he can see the heel of Dean's boot. He can look up and maybe make out the underside of his brother's chin, unless Dean's looking down at him. It's like standing next to a cliff. A cliff that has a mind of its own. His own brother could step on him without noticing. It's a sobering thought. Sam makes his way through tunnels that Dean couldn't fit his hand through. It's very hard when you're standing down there on the ground to see yourself as the same thing. Whether you are or aren't. It's a little better when he's sitting on Dean's shoulder, but he still can't just say "I want to go to the library," and go without Dean's agreement. And help.

Dean'll never say Sam's less than human. Hell, if Dean knew Sam thinks that way, even just a little, he'd be pissed. He teases Sam about being a borrower, but in his heart he considers Sam his equal. Always will. No matter what size. But after being raised by people who avoid humans as much as they can for so long, Sam will have a hard time considering himself human ever again.

There are instances where Sam will briefly admit his humanity... the scene with Nixie in the last chapter one of the most poignant. Plus, remember. He was trying to reassure her that Dean was safe. Saying that Dean was the same as Sam was his way of doing that. (Plus, he's not used to talking to girls. She had him all discombobulated.)

Well, that turned out a lot longer than I thought. Any questions, just ask. Did I confuse you even more or did this help?