PonyBoy Essay

749 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Stereotypes on youths

Sometimes we meet people, who are completely different from who we think they are, and begin to judge them from their appearance rather than digging deep and finding out what who they actually are. We are so concentred on judging these people that we forget to think, that maybe they might have a story behind that face. We have to learn that if a 14 year old boy may look like a greaser doesn’t mean that he acts like one. He might be different from his gang, he might have a different personality that doesn’t match his appearance, and he might have several conflicts that he has to go through just because people start to judge him. S.E Hinton describes a character named Ponyboy Curtis in her book “The Outsiders” who matches the saying of “don’t judge a book by its cover” very well. In this essay Ponyboy’s appearance/personality, relationship to the gang/family, and conflicts/problems they face will be discussed.
Ponyboy Curtis is a 14 year old boy, who has been classified as a “Greaser” a gang in the town where Ponyboy lives. The Greasers are “supposed to be like hoods, they are supposed to wear their hair long and dress in blue jeans and white t-shirts, and wear leather jackets and tennis shoes or boots” (pg. 3). That’s mostly what all greasers look like including Ponyboy. Ponyboy has “light brown hair, and greenish-gray eyes, his hair is longer than a lot of boys but that’s something that defines him as a greaser” (pg. 1). Although Ponyboy sticks with his gangs and goes by their rules there’s also some things that make him different. Ponyboy loves to read books, and watch movies. Something that the other greaser don’t do because they don’t have the time. He also takes school very seriously, Ponyboy thinks that he is “supposed to ...

... middle of paper ...

...nny. Later on in the end of the book there was massive conflict that affected Ponyboy deeply. Johnny and Dally had passed. Two of his gang members passed away and it affect Ponyboy deeply they were very close to him, especially Johnny they were good friends and had gone through a lot and Johnny had sacrificed is life for Ponyboy. You can see how the conflict that Ponyboy faced really effected his life.
In conclusion Ponyboy would be a kind of person that people would judge from his appearance rather than digging deep and finding out what who he actually is. Even though he is different from his gang, and has a different personality that doesn’t match his appearance, that doesn’t mean that he has to be labeled. Ponyboy had several conflicts that he had to go through just because people started to label him as a greaser, but they didn’t understand who he really was.

Show More
Related

  • Stereotypes In The Outsiders

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    He is smart, and gets good grades in school. This is purposefully mentioned several times within the story, and people tend to be surprised to learn that he is a Greaser. In addition, some Greasers are nicer than people tend to think. When the church burned down, Ponyboy and Johnny run in to save the children without a second thought. They acted with selflessness, putting the safety of the children above their own. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Ponyboy is asked if he and Johnny are "professional heroes". He responds by telling the entire story of how they're Greasers and Johnny is wanted for murder, shocking the man in the ambulance. It is difficult for him to believe that a group of Greasers would do something so heroic. Johnny dies as a direct result of their actions, but neither Ponyboy nor Johnny regretted what they

    Read More

  • Character Change In Hinton's The Outsiders

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    With his long greasy hair and baggy worn out clothes he looked likes a bad kid, but the way he talked and the way he thought it was a whole different person inside of him. The Outsiders is about two rival gangs that fight and go through so much stuff to just to call the territory their own. It is the Socs versus Greasers. They always have their back up because you can't trust anyone, but at the end of the day is all the rubbles and fighting worth it? Ponyboy one of the greasers has a big character change during the book. In the beginning of the book Ponyboy was getting jumped by the Socs and he was acting all tough and defending himself, in the middle of the book he starts to break while he is in the church, and when the kids were stuck in

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    He realizes that he had an identity that he can communicate and be like a greaser, but doesn’t devote to the greaser way of life. In the scene, Ponyboy has an advanced way of life that includes both the Soc and greaser style, “Socs are just guys after all...Thing are rough all over.” Ponyboy at this time, understands how a Soc and a Greaser are similar and are of the same kind, human, yet are also different. He establishes an idea that the identity of a person is important because it describes who you are. As a result, Pony learns to look between the lines of people, not just at the extremes. The evidence that supports this is also “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” as I stated before. Andy says, “I’m Andy, he screamed wordlessly, I’m Andy.” When Andy’s death was coming close, the only thing we wanted in the end, was an identity. Similar to Ponyboy who is different from the gang and has a distinct personality. He is disparate because in the gang, Pony was the only one who ever thought about the sky, clouds, and books, which proves him exclusively in the group. This proves that Andy and Ponyboy are different from their gang and have a personality different from the group, and they both actually want to be different and be known not as a Royal or a Greaser, but as Andy and

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Outsiders

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy, along with his brothers and friends, has to face the daily struggles of being a greaser among the Socs. This fiction book focused on Ponyboy’s life and the problems he ran into with the Socs. He and his gang of friends had fights with the Socs that happened often, and had to deal with a Soc being killed by one of the Greasers, though it was an act of self defense. The three topics addressed in this intriguing novel are the fight between rich and poor, the power of friendship, and what it means to be a hero.

    Read More

  • The Outsiders Book Report Essay

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dynamic Character In The Outsiders

    224 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ponyboy was a bad kid, he fought against Socs and he even smoked a weed, which is a cigarette. Later on he got into worse trouble and had to hide. He wanted to change and be a different person. While he hid he was scared and frightened and was beginning to think of how he was doing in life, and his thoughts were not very well. After the church incident, he began to change a little.

    Read More

  • The Outsiders Dialectical Journal Essay

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    In chapter one we are introduced to our narrator, Ponyboy. Ponyboy is raised by his two older brothers Darry and Soda. They’re all apart of a gang called the “greasers” which is joined by Dally, Johnny, Two-bit, and Steve. There is another group called “ socs” which stands for socials, and everyone in that group is very wealthy. One day Ponyboy got jumped by a socs group, but luckily Darry was there to help before anything too serious happened. The first element of literature is characterization. Ponyboy is a keen observer, trying to make sense of the complexities of those around him. At the beginning of the story, he stops and spends several pages giving us brief character description on Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny. This is also known as direct characterization. He tells us that Steve is "cocky and smart" ( Hinton 9). Two-Bit can 't stop joking around and goes to school for "kicks" (Hinton 10) rather than to learn. Dallas, he says, is "tougher, colder, meaner" ( Hinton 10) than the rest of them.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Socs And Greasers

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Socs were just trying to get under Ponyboy’s skin because he isn’t friends with them, and the Socs just want to get him mad. “Hey, grease. One said… We’re gonna do you a favor, greaser. We’re gonna cut all that long greasy hair off.” They threatened him for being a Greaser and this shows how they don’t like Greasers. The quote shows that Soc’s bully the greasers for being poor and having trashy hair. The Socs are basically just pestering and taunting him for no reason except for he’s not one of their kind and he’s poor and a

    Read More

  • Synthesis Essay On The Outsiders

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Self-Concept In The Outsiders

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    He knows that Ponyboy has a chance because he is very smart. How they both reacted to not having parents shaped and effected who they are. “Johnny was high-strung anyway, a nervous wreck from getting belted every time he turned around and from hearing his parents fight all the time(2).” This explains how Johnny was effected by his parents. His parents constantly fighting and beating him made him who he was. A part of him was effected by all the chaos and pain he had to go through every day. “We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while. I don't mean I do things like that. Darry would kill me if I got into trouble with the police.” Social roles are a part of self-image that makes a person who they are. In the novel Ponyboy explains the groups that the Greasers and Sochs were split into. This

    Read More

  • Belonging In The Outsiders

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    Greasers are real people just like Socs, but they do not fit in as easily. They feel as though they don’t belong anywhere. Or in other words, they are outsiders. Hence the title name. Ponyboy especially feels like this due to the fact that he does not fit in very well with Socs or Greasers. The rest of Pony’s gang feels more like the fit as Greasers. In conclusion, the title of the novel fits with the theme because they do not fit in anywhere, and they are outsiders.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Essay On The Outsiders

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ponyboy Is A Hero Essay

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ponyboy doesn’t act like any regular greaser who is tough and likes to pick fights. Ponyboy cares about other people and will do things to benefit others. “I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I just went on picking up the glass from the bottle end and put it in the trash can. I didn’t want anyone to get a flat tire.” (pg. 172) Instead of leaving the

    Read More

  • The Negative Stereotypes In The Outsiders

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Typically, greasers are depicted as people similar to hoods, as Ponyboy states, "Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while" (Hinton 4). Yet, even though Ponyboy is a greaser, he avoids getting into trouble for the sake of staying together with his family. He explains that, "I don't mean I do things like that... Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave. So Soda and I stay out of trouble as much as we can, and we're careful not to get caught when we can't" (Hinton 4). Alternatively, Pony also enjoys activities such as reading and watching movies. Even simpler things, such as sunsets and clouds, are something he found beauty and enjoyment in. This sets him apart from the greasers because according to Pony, he states that, "And nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do" (Hinton 3). Since nobody other than Ponyboy himself shares the enjoyment of these particular pastimes, which is drastically different from pursuits such as shoplifting and fighting in rumbles, Ponyboy is divergent from the standard attributes of the greasers. Therefore, Ponyboy is a thoughtful and dreamy individual who holds different interests and aspirations than the

    Read More

  • Comparing Johnny and Dally in The Outsiders by SE Hinton

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...utside world, where you must learn to hate and neglect. Johnny enjoys reading, as he really enjoys reading “Gone with the wind.” Dally meanwhile, is described as not having the “shade of difference that separates a Greaser from a hood” on page fourteen. Dally is rough while Johnny is soft. Dally reflects hatred while Johnny reflects sensitivity. Therefore, when Dally and Johnny both die, Ponyboy feels like he has lost himself, because two major people who had such a big influence on him has left him.

    Read More

More about PonyBoy Essay

Open Document