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The outsiders book analysis
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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. The Greasers have broken families. Dally’s parents don't care about him, Ponyboy's parents were killed in a car crash, and johnny’s parents are abusive and don't care about him. “Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck…” (3). Greasers families are missing important people in them. This shows that the Greasers have broken families. …show more content…
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. Greasers are expected to be bad people that are rude because of Greaser reputations. The Greasers are always being watched to see if they do anything wrong. Greasers are expected to do wrong by the the public. “On the front page of the second section was the headline: Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes.”(107). This shows that even though Ponyboy and Johnny saved those kids, they were expected to be Juvenile delinquents because they are Greasers, even though the only thing Johnny ever did to be a juvenile delinquent is kill Bob and that was in self defence. Some may argue that the socs have the toughest lives because they don’t feel anything. However, greasers feel to violently, they lash out and get into
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
This shows that Greasers get beat up by the Socs, & the Socs drive into the Greaser’s territory to jump them. Johnny gets scared, & after this he never walks alone again. According to pg. 92 of The Outsiders, “I leaped out of the window and heard timber crashing and the flames roaring right behind me. I staggered, almost falling, coughing and sobbing for breath. Then I heard Johnny scream…” This is when Johnny & Ponyboy are trying to save the kids.This shows the violence that Johnny was exposed to. He was exposed to the violence at the church because of the violence he was exposed to when Ponyboy and him got jumped. In total, the Greasers were exposed to a lot of violence in the story.The second reason why the Greasers struggle more than the Socs is because they have to make many sacrifices. Quote from the book to back up your perspective. In the book, Darry had to work to help pay the bills of the house, & to keep Ponyboy in school. He was way overworked, and he didn’t have any freedom to go anywhere because of his
The Outsiders, an enthralling novel by S.E Hinton, is an excellent story about the hardships and triumphs experienced by the Greasers and the Socs two rival gangs. S.E Hinton tells a thrilling tale about the Socs and the Greasers that are two gangs and she characterize how they live. Ponyboy, his brother and his friends have to deal with the challenges relating to their environment. The three most important topics of The Outsiders are survival, social class and family support.
Greasers were the lowest among the society. The society had negative thoughts towards Greasers, because there were not many things people expected from the Greasers other than doing bad things such as stealing, having rumble, and other bad things that happened around the society. Not every Greaser does bad things, however, the Greasers took the blame for anything bad even if it was the Socs fault. It is because everyone expected the Greasers to do bad things instead of the Socs. Even though the Greasers had a bad reputation, they didn’t care, but instead they enjoyed their lives. Sometimes the Greasers do bad things but only for fun and because it was the society’s expectations. If the Greasers did something good, no one would expect or believe the Greasers did it. No one would ever expect the Greasers to be heroes, just like the man whose kids were saved by Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dallas. “’Mrs. O’Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?’ Sent from heaven? Had he gotten look at Dallas? ‘No, we’re greasers.’” (Page...
Dally is mocking a Soc named Cherry, calling her ‘fiery’ and saying that’s how he likes girls. He then proceeds to put his arm around her, when Johnny, who idolizes Dally, stops him and says, “Leave her alone, Dally.” (Hinton 24) This dismisses two stereotypes about Johnny, that he is a ‘lost puppy’ who needs the rest of the group to defend him, and that Greasers shouldn't care what happens to Socs. This is significant because it shows Pony that Johnny is stronger than he thought before, and that he might be as caring and thoughtful as Ponyboy is. Later in the book, Randy, a Soc, is talking to Ponyboy about Bob, Randy's best friend who Johnny killed to save Ponyboy's life. Randy tells Ponyboy that all Bob wanted was for his parents to get him in trouble. Randy then dismisses the conversation about Bob by saying, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I couldn't tell anyone else.” (Hinton 116) This is invalidating the stereotype that Socs and Greasers have nothing in common, and should hate each other. Randy and Ponyboy in particular, considering that Ponyboy was there the night Randy’s best friend died. This matters because it is showing that Socs and Greasers might be able to understand each other better than people within their own group, although they are stereotyped to be complete
One reason why the Greasers are dishonorable is because they get into fights with other people and harm them. For instance, Johnny kills a boy named Bob with a knife. In the book, Johnny says, “‘I killed that boy.’” (23). Killing someone is a crime. The Greasers tend to break a lot of laws and commit crimes. Johnny made the wrong decision because he could’ve just tried a different solution but he chose to do the unforgivable one. Therefore, the Greasers don’t often think that much and pick choices that involve violence.
To begin, The Greasers help each other out. When Ponyboy went into the burning church, Johnny quickly went in after him. Even Dally came to help them. “I’ll get them, don’t worry!” (91). “ I hadn’t realized Johnny had been right behind me all the way” (91). This means that they are sacrificing themselves for others. This shows honor because they are helping each other to save kids from burning to death. This proves that they are honorable because they are putting their lives behind the kids’. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally are sacrificing themselves for others. Also, in the rumble, Dally came to help the Greasers fight against the Socs even though he is still recovering from an incident. “‘Hold up!’...Dallas Winston ran to join us. Dally was having a hard time because his left arm was still in bad shape” (143). This shows that Dally is willing to help his gang out even though he is still
Life wasn’t so great for Ponyboy, especially since bullying Socs (Socials), rich people from the West side of town, are always trying to harm greasers. Ponyboy is standing in the middle of a major conflict between the Greasers and Socs, unsure of how to stop it. “Greasers can't walk alone too much or they'll get jumped…We get jumped by the Socs…it's the abbreviation for the Socials, the West-side rich kids. It's like the term "greaser," which is used to class all us boys on the East Side.” The two teams in this war have many big differences, from the way they look to the reputations they have in the eyes of the world and also the things they like doing. Having big differences in everything and living in two different worlds causes violence and hate between the two groups. They keep battling on and on but there’s no real winner because everyone is loyal to his or her
In The Outsiders, loss is almost a theme itself, coming into the plot well before the story took place, when Pony’s parents died. Their loss drove Ponyboy and his brothers, Darry and Soda closer than they might have been under different circumstances. Pony was the most emotionally traumatized of the three by his parent’s deaths and had nightmares after their funeral. His description of it was, “I had a nightmare the night of Mom and Dad’s funeral. . . . I woke up screaming bloody murder. And I could never remember what it was that had scared me.” (110 Hinton). Ponyboy struggled incredibly with that immense loss. Another example of grief on behalf of the Greasers was when Dally suffers from the loss of Johnny, who, according to Ponyboy, “. . . was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone.” (152 Hinton). And as a result, Dally killed himself. He was seen as a mean, savage figure in the beginning of The Outsiders, but as Cliffsnotes said, “. . . Dally's character covers a broad spectrum. In addition to his cold, mean image, he is Johnny's hero, he is the one who literally gave Pony the coat off his back, he helped to save the children from the fire, and he was a scared boy who reached out to the Curtis brothers when he most needed help at the end of his life.” ("The Outsiders By S.E. Hinton Critical Essays Themes in The Outsiders."). Dally goes to incredible heights for Johnny and still can not save him. His grief is incredibly painful. Bob’s death however proves the most that Socs feel grief just as much as Greasers. Cherry said to Pony when he asked if she would go to see Johnny, “‘I can’t go see Johnny. I know I’m too young to be in love and all that, but Bob was something special.” (129 Hinton). She grieves for him just as much as the gang when they grieve for Johnny and Dally. Grief can (of course) be found in real life, because, in truth,
In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy, the young protagonist is a member of the greaser gang along with his older brother Darry; both brothers have a difficult life, but are able to rise above that and perform noble deeds. Ponyboy, a kind, fourteen-year-old orphan with light brown hair and greenish-grey eyes, has to deal with many obstacles. His parents die in a car crash and he lives with only his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Darry is constantly pressuring Ponyboy to do well in school so he can get a scholarship. Since he is a greaser, he is at great risk of being jumped by the Socs, another gang in his town. Ponyboy does not enjoy being a greaser because he does not believe fighting, stealing, or perpetrating terrible crimes
In the text, Ponyboy writes about “Johnny’s father being a drunk and his mother a selfish slob, and Two-Bit’s mother being a barmaid to support him and his kid sister after his father ran out on them, and Dally turning into a hoodlum because he’d die if he didn’t, and Steve’s hatred for his father coming out in his soft, bitter voice and the violence of his temper. Sodapop… a dropout so he could get a job and keep me in school, and Darry, getting old before his time trying to run a family and hold on to two jobs and never having any fun” (Hinton 43). This shows that people like greasers don’t have any good role models. This is important because how role models act help children decide important decisions, and if they have bad role models they might make bad choices. When Johnny told Pony and Dally he was going to turn himself in, Dally replied, “You sure you want to go back? Us greasers get it worse than anyone else.” (Hinton 87) This is because greasers are known as hoods. This is important because that is why Johnny wanted to run at first. Greasers have many troubles, such as they don’t have good role models and they are judged
Greaser make a lot of sacrifices to keep their families safe. “Darry had to work two jobs and give up his collage scholarship to keep his two younger brothers together as a family”.(Hinton
The Greasers were responsible for Johnny’s death, mainly because they did not stay and take the consequences for Bob’s death. Johnny and Ponyboy did not have a very strong reason to flee the scene of Bob’s death, something that is later revealed by Johnny: "I got a good chance of bein' let off easy," Johnny said desperately, and I didn't know if it was Dally he was trying to convince or himself. "I ain't got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense. Ponyboy and Cherry can testify to that. And I don't aim to stay in that church all my life." Even though both boys were terrified and unsure, had Johnny and Ponyboy stayed to face the consequences of their actions, Johnny would not have been mortally injured trying to save some children from a fire, as they would not have been anywhere near the fire. Another death also could have been prevented by the Greasers and was ultimately their fault: Dally’s. When Johnny died, Dally couldn’t bear it: "Dallas is gone," I said. "He ran out like the devil was after him. He's gonna blow up. He couldn't take it." How can I take it? I wondered. Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it when Dally can't? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone." In his state of agony, Dally foolishly decided to commit suicide: “Dally had reached the circle of light under the street lamp, and skidding to a halt, he turned
Don’t judge a book by its cover. The stereotypical greaser is a hood, or “JD” as they like to say. They are “mean” and “low” humans. But, when we meet Ponyboy we are showed that you should not judge a book by its cover because Ponyboy is different. “You read a lot, don’t you, Ponyboy?” Greasers don’t usually read, so when they do it is a surprise to the other greasers. The stereotypical Soc is a “rich” and
First, the Greasers are honorable because they stick up for each other. For example, when Cherry rejected Dally, the book says, “You stick up for your buddies, no matter what they do” (26). This means that in Ponyboy’s point of view, he says that whatever happens to them,