The Outsiders Analysis

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The book “The Outsiders” talks about two gangs and how they interact. “The Outsiders” is a book about Socs and Greasers. The story was written by S.E. Hinton, a person who hid her name because of gender. Further more, Hinton wrote the story about her person experience being between two gangs like the Greasers and Socs. Lastly, “The Outsiders” is told by Ponyboy Curtis, a Greaser, the main character of the story. There are two main themes in the story, “The Outsiders” which focus on the Greasers and the Socs and their differences in appearance and how they use violence to settle disagreements. One theme of the story is that the Greasers and Socs are are separated by appearance. Greasers are known for using oil/grease to sleak back their hair …show more content…

They’ll know we’re hoods the minute they see us, I thought”(S.E. Hinton 63-64). He says that Johnny looked tough because he was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, a jacket, and had long heavily greased hair. Ponyboy explains how most Greasers looked. Next, Pony and Johnny ran away to settle in a church because Johnny killed Bob, a Socs. They decided to dye and cut Pony’s hair to depart him from his description. “My hair was even lighter than Sodapop’s. I’d never combed it to the side like that. It just didn’t look like me” (S.E. Hinton 72). Johnny and Pony looked like Greasers so they had to change their appearances to not get caught. Pony said he no longer looked like himself, he no longer looked like a Greaser, who should have long, dark, and greasy hair. After Bob was killed a fight begins between the Socs and Greasers. Then when Ponyboy returned from his runaway and heroism, he saved children from a burning church, he is told …show more content…

Appearance and violence from disagreement are some themes that differentiate the Socs and Greasers. In addition, in life there is stereotyping by appearance. People can judge others by the way they look whether it may or may not be correct, like how Ponyboy Curtis compared the Greaser’s appearance to the Socs. More on, people may treat others differently judging from how they look and appearance can separate someone from someone else but just based on looks or appearance shouldn’t be an excuse to distance others. Now in day appearances are used to heavily judge someone of their social class, personality, and background just like in “The Outsiders”. Violence is also a way people interact with one another in the real world and in stories. It’s a way to get something or a way to get in trouble, like how the Greasers and Socs fought to settle things, but even if violence is seen or read anywhere is shouldn’t be repeated. In conclusion judgement and violence upon people happen every day and

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