So many people attempt to fit into society's standards. So many people want to be popular and fit in. In S.E Hinton's The Outsiders. Hinton expresses a deep and sinful desire that most individuals are guilty of through the main character, Ponyboy Curtis. In the novel, Ponyboy is caught up in a murder. Throughout the whole story, he is always mentioning how he wants a better life and would just like to fit in more. Through Ponyboy’s experiences with his emerging personality, self-realization, and Ponyboy understanding that he does not need to conform to other people’s standards, stereotypes, and needs. Ponyboy is often seen as a small, young, and vulnerable child, through the eyes of the gang and other people. In one instance Two-Bit gets upset at Ponyboy “Shut your mouth, kid. If you wasn’t Soda’s kid brother I’d beat the tar out of you” (Hinton, 42). Not only is Ponyboy lucky that he has the gang, he understands that he has different emotions and personalities than most of the gang. Ponyboy goes throughout the novel feeling like he has to do everything in his power to protect his friends, but he also wants to do what is best for him, this is …show more content…
represented when Ponyboy questions why he fights, “Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn’t think of any real good reason” (Hinton, 137). Ponyboy realizes the activities, like fighting, stealing, and rumbles that he has been doing all along he does not enjoy doing. He has only been doing them because it is the normal thing to do. Ponyboy shows a myriad of self-realization moments and determination to get out of the deadly greaser cycle. Ponyboy also has an emerging personality in the book. Ponyboy is often seen doing something and then second guessing himself. “But I was still lying and I knew it. I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me”(Hinton, 18). Ponyboy is saying that he is aware of the fact that he says different things, just to make people happy or to fit in. Ponyboy is a genuine person and he has had to be tough all throughout his life, so he never knew that he felt this way. Ponyboy throughout this whole ordeal tries to go with the flow to make everything go easier.
He would do this even when it made him unhappy. When Ponyboy talks to Cherry Valance he realizes that he isn’t much different from everyone else, he tried so hard to be the best greaser. He realizes he can just be who he is, no matter what group he is a part of, “It seemed funny that the sunset [Cherry] saw from her patio and, the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset” (Hinton, 40) Ponyboy having this feeling makes him realize that he has been trying too hard to fit in with the greasers, but greasers were no different than anyone else. Ponyboy needs this whole murder to happen so he could understand he had a purpose in the
world. Both greasers and Socs sacrifice their individuality and sentiments to their groups. Humans are not new to this type of action. Ponyboy demonstrates how stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring who you are and what you are capable of, can have such a huge impact in a positive way. At the start of the novel, Ponyboy is a dedicated greaser, even though he knew parts of him made him different from the rest of the gang. He could not leave the gang though because they provided him with a sense of security and strength. Events around Bob’s death forced him to contemplate his motives and who he was inside. Eventually, Ponyboy pursues to encourage the other boys to find their own paths and voices outside the gang identity.
Ponyboy was a bad kid, he fought against Socs and he even smoked a weed, which is a cigarette. Later on he got into worse trouble and had to hide. He wanted to change and be a different person. While he hid he was scared and frightened and was beginning to think of how he was doing in life, and his thoughts were not very well. After the church incident, he began to change a little.
The book The Outsiders is the realistic story about this between two very different groups in a town in the United States: the poor Greasers from the east side, and the Socs, whitch is what the greasers call the socials, the richer boys from the other side of the town. Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator of the story, a 14-year-old boy who lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a pretty good athlete and student, but is not treated the same as the richer students at his school. Ponyboy uses to have long hair that he greases back, a symbol of being in the outsider gang. He is unhappy with his situation, because Darry is too protective of him and he always has to be afraid of Socs attacking him.
Showing that Ponyboy was very inexperienced and thought Mickey Mouse Sodas horse was just like Soda and they were brothers.Thirdly, we see how some actions Ponyboy’s gang does help show the need for childhood innocence like when pony says,” Darrel, who we call Darry, works too long and hard to be interested in a story or drawing a picture,” (Hinton 3). Darry is only 20 and he has a job working on roofs he works so hard so he can care for his brothers Soda and Ponyboy he has no time to be a kid himself he is working like a man when he is only a child.While some believe the main theme is brotherly love I argue its preserving childhood innocence. While this is a good point, because Ponyboy’s group definitely sticks up for one another in a brotherly fashion, it lays a strong foundation for preserving childhood innocence. Jonny had never been a coward he was a good man in a rumble, (Hinton 34) this shows how has Johnny loses his innocence, he becomes fearful of the Soc’s and begins to carry a switchblade to keep his gang safe, you might think this shows brotherly love, but it also shows preserving childhood innocence because when Johnny got used to being targeted by the Soc’s he lost his innocence, that’s why he would carry stuff like switch blades to keep him and others safe from the Soc’s. While the Greasers grew up they lost more and more of their innocence to rumbles and hatred of the Soc’s.
Ponyboy is attacked by stereotype threat several times throughout the book. One example is the beginning when he is jumped by four Socs“I about decided I didn’t like it so much ,though, when I spotted that red Corvair trailing me.” Hinton 4. Ponyboy was cornered by four Socs who proceeded to punch and beat up Ponyboy. The four kids only beat up Ponyboy because he is a Greaser and he is the enemy of their gang, the Socs. Beating up Ponyboy is what is expected of them. This shows that these Socs are trapped by stereotype because they embraced that stereotype and made it a part of their identity. Ponyboy does show signs of
According to Chris Pine, “The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.” This quote means you can choose how you view people and things.This relates to the Outsiders because the novel is about how you choose to view people. The Outsiders is about how people shouldn’t judge others based on stereotypes and they should get to know them first.
His parents died when he was young. He was nurtured by his older brothers. Pony has to struggle at the bottom of the social ladder. Like the people around him, he has to fight, steal and scare little kids. However, Pony remained a pure heart, a golden heart. He only fights when he has to defend himself. He kept his heart of sympathy, understanding of others and think for the others. Like in when the church was burned, he understands the situation of the teacher and children. So he risked his life to safe the kids. The most straight forward example and conclusion of Pony’s good heart is the word of Johnny, “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold…” 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 hero.
The movie, The Outsiders, starts with the Curtis parents on their weekly, Saturday evening drive to the baking store to buy some ingredients for their boys’ favorite Sunday morning, breakfast treat: chocolate cake. The Curtis boys love their chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast not only because they love it, but also because they appreciate how hard their parents have to work to save the monies necessary for the morsels that put smiles on their faces!
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
He knows that Ponyboy has a chance because he is very smart. How they both reacted to not having parents shaped and effected who they are. “Johnny was high-strung anyway, a nervous wreck from getting belted every time he turned around and from hearing his parents fight all the time(2).” This explains how Johnny was effected by his parents. His parents constantly fighting and beating him made him who he was. A part of him was effected by all the chaos and pain he had to go through every day. “We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. 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. I don't mean I do things like that. Darry would kill me if I got into trouble with the police.” Social roles are a part of self-image that makes a person who they are. In the novel Ponyboy explains the groups that the Greasers and Sochs were split into. This
He is told “you’re too young” to be smoking by Jerry. Ponyboy doesn’t realise that he’s too young because he’s use to seeing all of his peers smoking, provoking him to think that it’s normal. Another example would be that all his mates had a reason to fight in the rumble, this caused him to wonde why he fought in the first place if it wasn’t for self defense. Sometimes the problem with having a peer group, can be that those around the individual can start to cause peer pressure.
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
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 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."
This started to happen when he was in the church trying to hide away from the police because of the murder of one of the Soc’s. “I was trembling, and it wasn’t all from cold” (Hilton p.57). This shows that Ponyboy was scared, starting to break, and noticed that maybe this “hard bad boy” life isn't for him. Ponyboy put more and more thought about what it takes to be a greaser, which made him realize that maybe the gang life wasn’t good for him. “We were good fighters and could play cool, but we were sensitive and that isn’t a good way to be when you’re a greaser” (Hinton, p.88). Ponyboy is expressing that it is hard to be as strong as the other boys and sometimes he just couldn't or he couldn't be ok with what they were doing. “It drives my brother Darry nuts when I do stuff like that, ‘cause I’m supposed to be smart’ I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head” (Hinton, p.4). Ponyboy knows he has the potential to be something else and while being in hiding in the church it helps him realize that if he really wanted to he could be whatever he puts his mind
He realizes that he had an identity that he can communicate and be like a greaser, but doesn’t devote to the greaser way of life. In the scene, Ponyboy has an advanced way of life that includes both the Soc and greaser style, “Socs are just guys after all...Thing are rough all over.” Ponyboy at this time, understands how a Soc and a Greaser are similar and are of the same kind, human, yet are also different. He establishes an idea that the identity of a person is important because it describes who you are. As a result, Pony learns to look between the lines of people, not just at the extremes. The evidence that supports this is also “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” as I stated before. Andy says, “I’m Andy, he screamed wordlessly, I’m Andy.” When Andy’s death was coming close, the only thing we wanted in the end, was an identity. Similar to Ponyboy who is different from the gang and has a distinct personality. He is disparate because in the gang, Pony was the only one who ever thought about the sky, clouds, and books, which proves him exclusively in the group. This proves that Andy and Ponyboy are different from their gang and have a personality different from the group, and they both actually want to be different and be known not as a Royal or a Greaser, but as Andy and