Moralism In The Outsiders

Throughout the book readers are also able to see a few examples of prosocial acts. The altruistic act that readers see, although it is socially considered a negative action, is when Dally helps Johnny and Ponyboy escape from the police, even though it could put him back in prison for being an accomplice. Another example of altruism is seen when Johnny and Ponyboy run into the church to save the children from the fire, even though they could potentially have lost their own lives. Ponyboy’s sense of empathy develops throughout the book in relation to the Socials. At first, he has no empathy for them, believing that their lives are perfect. However, partially due to the influence of Cherry and Randy, he comes to realize that “things are rough all over” (p. 31). It also leads to the end of his dehumanization of the

We see this at the end of the book when Ponyboy breaks a bottle, fully prepared to fight the Socs, but then cleans up the glass pieces so that someone won’t get a flat tire (p 146). However, Freud may provide an explanation for the strange set of moral values, due to the lack of strong parenting in the boys’ lives. Freud believed that one tool for a full moral development was love withdrawal, which is the fear of loss of love due to wrongdoing. However, most of these boys didn’t have that attention to begin with, and therefore had nothing to lose. Also missing from the boys lives are power assertion and induction.

Families

A major theme in this novel that we also covered in class is the family structure. Three of the four parenting styles described in the textbook can also be found in The Outsiders. The parents of the Socials, although the readers only read directly about Randy’s father, are implied to be very indulgent. These parents bought their children cars, clothes, and whatever else they could possibly want. They were involved with their children’s lives and