I have recently read "The Outsider" by S. E. Hinton. The Outsiders has a lot of themes incorporated into the story. One of the main themes is actually reflected in the title. This theme is present throughout the whole story. Ponyboy and his brothers lack the "normal" comfort of having a real family, they are outside of the socio-economic level of everyone else, and the battle of the two gangs present in the story, the Greasers and their rival gang: the Socs.
Ponyboy Curtis is a 14-year-old boy whose world has been turned upside down. His parents were killed in an automobile accident just eight months before The Outsiders story takes place. As you can see, he never had a normal family with normal parents. He lives with his 2 brothers Darry, age 20, and Sodapop, age 16. Ponyboy and his brothers are in a gang which is like an extended family. An extended family is very different than the family you were born to. In the story, multiple characters in Ponyboy's extended family die and this
…show more content…
It seems to be one of the main reasons why these two groups can’t get along. One of the groups is higher on the social economic ladder than the other and it effects how the two groups act toward one another. This is explained in the book when Cherry (a Soc cheerleader) talked with Ponyboy at a drive in. They are talking because Dallas, a friend of Ponyboy was bugging Cherry and her friend and Ponyboy stepped in to stop it. The two begin talking, even though they get a number of different looks from their fellow classmates. Cherry goes into explanation of what it’s really like to be a Soc, and how it’s not as easy as it seems. She tells Ponyboy, “I’ll bet you think the Socs have it made. The rich kids, the West-side Socs. We have troubles you’ve never heard of. You want to know something? Things are rough all over” (Hinton 34). This shows the problems each class goes through and it isn't always
Assumptions made based solely upon theses stereotypes are constant throughout The Outsiders. Ponyboy and the other Greasers assume that since the Socs are well-off financially, their problems are trivial. This helped to perpetuate stereotypes plastered onto the Socs. Since the Socs were thought of as model teens in
People should have a conversation with someone and get to know them before judging them. Ponyboy changed the way he thought of the Socs. At first he thought of the Socs as thugs who enjoy jumping Greasers. He later learned that Socs have problems that Greasers don’t know of and not all Socs hate Greasers.
First, the fight between rich and poor are displayed when the Greasers and Socs fight each other quite a few times. The books says “It occurred to me that they [the Greasers] could kill me right then and there” (5). This shows that the Socs believe that they have superiority over the Greasers. They can basically do whatever they want to the Greasers without fear of getting into much trouble, and the Greasers know that. Secondly, Cherry states “‘I can’t stand fights… I can’t stand them…’” (45). This shows that Cherry has probably seen quite a few fights. It also means that the fights between
The book The Outsiders is the realistic story about this between two very different groups in a town in the United States: the poor Greasers from the east side, and the Socs, whitch is what the greasers call the socials, the richer boys from the other side of the town. Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator of the story, a 14-year-old boy who lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a pretty good athlete and student, but is not treated the same as the richer students at his school. Ponyboy uses to have long hair that he greases back, a symbol of being in the outsider gang. He is unhappy with his situation, because Darry is too protective of him and he always has to be afraid of Socs attacking him.
The movie, The Outsiders, starts with the Curtis parents on their weekly, Saturday evening drive to the baking store to buy some ingredients for their boys’ favorite Sunday morning, breakfast treat: chocolate cake. The Curtis boys love their chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast not only because they love it, but also because they appreciate how hard their parents have to work to save the monies necessary for the morsels that put smiles on their faces!
After all, they are the “out” group— the clique that society condones. Ponyboy, the protagonist, also identifies himself as part of them. While reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, he felt Pip, the main character reminded him of the greasers–”the way he felt marked lousy because he wasn’t a gentleman or anything, and the way that girl kept looking down on him” (Doc B). Greasers are lookeed down opon in society becuase they aren’t rich, and the image associated with them is negative. They are believed to be a general menace to society; people think they all steal stuff for kicks, attack innocent bystanders for no reason, and are uneducated hoodlums. They are outsiders to society as a whole. Pony, no matter how smart or talented he may be, will always be treated as an outsider by the Socs just because he’s a
On pg. 2, the text states that, “I’m not sure how you spell it, but it’s the abbreviation for the socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids.” This quote shows how the Socs are viewed by the Outsiders as the wealthy kids that live on the West side. In the book, the Socs are seen as the people who jump the Greasers, wreck houses, and throw beer blasts. The Socs have a mixed opinion by society. In the newspaper, the Socs are in one article for being a disgrace to society and in the next article they are a pleasure to have in the community. The text states that on pg. 38, “You Greasers have a different set of values. You’re more emotional. We’re sophisticated.” This is a quote stated by a Socs girl named Cherry, who describes the Greasers she and a friend met at the movie theatre. Cherry’s perception shows how the Socs are viewed verses the the Greasers. Also, Greasers have preconceived perceptions about the Socs
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is about a group called the greasers, a group called the socs and what’s different between the groups and what’s the same. The greasers are the kids with little money, who feel a lot, and are tough. The socs are rich kids with not enough emotions and they never get in trouble. The Greasers have it worse because they have broken families, are always getting jumped by the socs, and are expected to steal and be rude because of their backgrounds.
As Ponyboy gets more experiences openly talking to Socs, he says to himself, “Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (Hinton 118). S.E. Hinton told the readers that Ponyboy has finally understood the fact that Socs are not completely different people and that they have a commonality within each other. The importance of this shows how much the main character has grown since the start of the novel. In spite of the many differences, Cherry told Pony, Socs have just as many challenges as greasers, and Hinton referred back to that quote throughout the book to demonstrate the greater impact of what it truly means. Ponyboy is able to manage to move beyond the labels of “Soc” and “Greaser” and get the greater understanding of the realities facing all young people, not just greasers. This creates the result of moving past the titles and genuinely being able to comprehend that others are people too despite the status in society.
Throughout life individuals face many challenges testing their values and personality one situation at a time. In the evocative novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton themes of growing up and innocence are shown. Ponyboy is not your average 14 year old he is part of a gang known to many as the Greasers. He encounters many situations testing his values and beliefs. Having lost both his parents recently he and his brothers stick together like a true family but this relationship is tested when Darry hits Ponyboy. He also experiences the loss several close friends in a very short period of time. Throughout this novel, Ponyboy encounters many life changing experiences that prove he is a dynamic character.
The Outsiders identified the 60’s, often there would be violence between groups and often involving a group’s social class. For instance, the tensions between the Socs and Greasers is violent, and this will lead to Bob’s death, Johnny’s death, as well as many injuries throughout both gangs. The book The Outsiders is written by S.E. Hinton and is portrayed through the eyes of a high school student in Tulsa, OK where S.E. Hinton grew up. Hinton began writing The Outsiders in 1965 at the age of 17 and the book was finally published in 1967 when she was 19. The difference in perspective upon the society and social class creates issues throughout The Outsiders and they assume the problems will be solved with violence,
The “Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton, is a novel about a young boys journey through life after a horrible tragedy. When Ponyboy's parents died, he struggled with living alongside his two older brothers. Darry, Ponyboy’s older brother, was his legal guardian. Pony should stay with his older brothers, Sodapop and Darry, because they are all each other have. The only family Pony has left is his older brothers and the greasers. Taking him away from his family when he needs it most is wrong.
What does it take for unrelated people to become your only family? There is the type of family you can choose: “The four boys Darry and Soda and I have grown up with and consider family. We’re almost as close as brothers; when you grow up in a tight-knit neighborhood like ours you get to know each other real well.”(3). Ponyboy and his brothers are choosing this family. The gang are the
The Outsiders is about the life of a 14-year-old boy. The book tells the story of Ponyboy “Curtis” and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers, Darrel (Darry), who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16, have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side rich kids."