I was instantly hooked by The Outsiders, an action-packed, absorbing realistic fiction book by S.E. Hinton. The subject I researched was gangs and this relates to this book because the plot and main conflict revolves around gangs. This is an important topic because being in a gang can affect your well-being, the way others see you, and your relationships. The author presents this topic by tactfully weaving this theme into an entertaining story, and she wrote this story to show the positive and negative effects of being in a gang throughout the plot. The main character of this book is Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old who lives on the East Side. Ponyboy connects to my researched topic because Ponyboy is in a gang called the Greasers, and the …show more content…
In the book, Ponyboy says, “Greasers can’t walk alone too much or they’ll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream, ‘Greaser!’ at them, which doesn’t make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean. We get jumped by the Socs… it’s the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids.” This relates to the researched subject because it shows that the Greasers and Socs are always going up against each other. This shows gang violence, and on numerous occasions in the story, the Greasers were jumped by the Socs. It also shows that people who aren’t Greasers see Greasers as hoodlums. The Greasers don’t mind their reputation but others see being a Greaser as socially unacceptable. Throughout the story, Ponyboy bonds with some of the characters. For instance, after killing a Soc who jumped them, Ponyboy and Johnny, a fellow Greaser, run away to the countryside to try and avoid authorities. There, they look out for each other and comfort each other, therefore forming a closer bond. Ponyboy is an important character because in the story, he struggles to find a place to belong and the Greasers are family to him, which shows how being in a …show more content…
In the Q&A section of the book, she states, “I was pleased that people were shocked when The Outsiders came out. One of my reasons for writing it was that I wanted something realistic to be written about teenagers.” The plot centers around the subject of gangs, and the consequences of being in one. In the beginning of the story, after Ponyboy gets beat up by several Socs, he goes to the movies with 2 other Greasers and he meets Cherry Valance, who tells him, “I’ll bet you think the Socs have it made… We have troubles you’ve never even heard of.” This shows the subject because it shows that even though the Socs, in contrast with the Greasers, live posh, luxurious lives, they still have their fair share of problems. The Socs and Greasers are alike in this sense, and it helps Ponyboy realize that in the end, everyone is human, which is a positive effect of being in a gang. However, in the middle of the book, the main protagonist and his fellow Greaser Johnny are confronted by a mischief-making Socs. Johnny stabs Bob, one of them, in self defense and tells Ponyboy, “They might have killed you… And they had a blade…They ran when I stabbed him…” This shows the dangers of gangs and gang violence because had they not been involved in gangs, this could have been avoided and now both parties suffer. However, Johnny killed the Soc to protect himself and Ponyboy, and this shows loyalty. In the end, Johnny dies and one of the
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
In S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders Socs and Greasers are enemies. Society put them against each other and labeled them. Greasers are the poor, dirty, no-good kids that nobody wants around. Socs are stuck-up, perfect, rich kids who looks down on everybody. In the book, two boys- Johnny and Ponyboy- start some trouble with a couple of Socs, and Bob is killed. They have to run from the police, all while the tension between Greasers and Socs is thicker than ever. Throughout the novel, it explains how “things are rough all over”. The Greasers have it the worse because they feel emotions so harshly, they are constantly getting jumped by the Socs, and they only have each other because their families are broken.
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
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.
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.
Moreover, Ponyboy is a thinker. He can think for the opposite side of his gang, the Socs. Although the Socs almost drowned him, he can still understand the Socs and didn’t be blinded by the hate. He in the chaos and impulsive world can see through the surface of the conflict and see the core of the world that people are the same. That is really amazing and Ponyboy does have the board mind of a
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
Ponyboy was walking home from the theaters and he got jumped. The socs surrounded him and it was an unfair fight for Ponyboy. The Greasers carry around knives to protect themselves. “ I had seen Johnny after four socs got hold of him, and it wasn't pretty.” (4). This shows that the Greasers have to be careful and always be on the lookout for socs so they don't get jumped.
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 main character of this book is Ponyboy. Ponyboy was a Greaser he was different from all the others he liked books and movies. Nobody in the Greasers digged books and movies the way Ponyboy did. Ponyboy was fourteen years old and he had two brothers that he lived with his older brother Darrel who they call Darry and his second older brother Sodapop who was sixteen going on seventeen. Ponyboy only live with his brothers because they mother and father was killed in a car accident. Ponyboy wanted to be like a movie star Paul Newman he wished he looked like him. Ponyboy always thought his brother Darry never cared about him or anything else. Ponyboy had a friend Jonny. Johnny was a Greaser too but he was the softest one but after he got jumped that changed he always carried a switchblade on him.
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
The book “the Outsiders” (S.E. Hinton) is based on the story of two gangs the Greasers and the Socs. These two groups of individuals have conflicts. the Greasers are the East side working class people. The Socs are the West side rich kids. they drive around in a blue mustang, they “jump” the greasers and injure them purely because they are lesser than the Socs. The Greasers are a interesting bunch of individuals. the story is based from their perspective. They aren’t rich but they get by, they steal they fight they smoke but they aren’t bad guys.
2. The title of this book relates to the story, because in the book, Ponyboy and Johnny are “outsiders.” They can be thought of as Outsiders because they are labeled Greasers although they do not act like hoodlums, like the rest of the Greasers. They are thought of as Greasers just because they live on the East Side of town, and because they slick back their hair. But Ponyboy and Johnny are different then all of the other Greasers because they show their emotions, and are sensitive.
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
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."