The Role Of Heroes In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

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Not all heroes need capes, just leather jackets. In Tulsa, Oklahoma 1965 there are only two groupings, the Socials (Socs) and the Greasers according to the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. These two groups utterly hate each other when they want to. In view of the Greasers, the Socs are these cheeky, wealthy, carefree people that look down on them for their way of living and not being like them. On the other hand, the Socs see the Greasers as these sewer rats in leather jackets looking for trouble. There are a few Greasers that stand out to the title of a hero, some are even heroes for the Socs. Of course these few people have their own ways of being a hero in the story, Darry is a hero for his affectionate personality, Dally for his influential qualities, Sodapop …show more content…

Darry earns the title of a hero because he deeply cares for their family and would do anything to assure a good future for them. Tough on the outside, but as soft as a marshmallow inside. Darry is the older brother of Sodapop and Ponyboy, he stepped up to take care of them when their parents pass away. He has the looks, brain, and experience to be a Soc, but he chose to take care of his brothers and go the path of a Greaser. “I looked at Darry. He wasn't going to be any hood when he got old. He was going to get somewhere. Living the way we do would only make him more determined to get somewhere. That's why he's better than the rest of us, I thought. He's going somewhere. And I was going to be like him. I wasn't going to live in a lousy neighborhood all my life” (S.E. Hinton 118). He is harsh on Ponyboy, but only because he wants Ponyboy to be successful and happy. For Sodapop, he is more laid back because Soda has a job, the good looks, is a highschool dropout, and knows Soda does not want a future

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