Bad Family Life In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

“I killed that boy,” Johnny said. This is a quote that a character Johnny says in S.E Hinton’s book, The Outsiders. This book takes place in Hinton’s hometown of Oklahoma. Johnny, Ponyboy, Dally, Darry, Two-Bit, and Sodapop are main Greaser characters. Bob, Cherry, and Randy are the main characters for the Socs.

In comparison, Johnny and Dally both have awful home lives. Ponyboy is describing all the characters and his is now talking about Johnny. “his father was always beating him up and his mother ignored him”(12). Johnnys parents do not care about him at all. When ever he is at home he is being beat and or yelled at. This is the only way he knows that his parents are “caring” and paying attention to him. On top of that, both of his parents are drunks. Usually

In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Johnny Cade is a dynamic character. Johnny is a greaser who is part of a gang. This book takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are two main social groupings. The greasers are one of them. They live on the East side and they are poor. They seem to have a lot of problems. The other group is the Socs. Socs appear to have no problems and they are so rich. Well, the two groups do not get along. They fight many times. The Socs like to jump the greasers. It seems Johnny gets the short stick all the time. He has it rough at home. His dad beats him and his mother loves to yell at him. Most of the time he stays away from his home. Although he is a greaser too. His life just seems to be super difficult. Until he changes.

The socs were bullies. If they saw a greaser alone they would gang up on

Johnny has gone through a lot and the greaser family is all that he has to make him feel comforted. Ponyboy writes about Johnny’s encounter with the Socs: “… Johnny was jumpier than ever … carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade” (34). Johnny is

“If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are,” Ponyboy thought as he reflected back on his past thoughts of his fellow greaser brother. The Greaser family shows importance of loyalty, love, and that “broken” families can be complete. In The Outsiders, the theme of family is extremely important. Outside of a gang, not many people have a family, including parents or have a family with parents who takes responsibility for them. Only one out of seven Greaser gangs has a family with parents that care for him.

In The Outsiders, there are two gangs, The Socs and The Greasers. These two gangs are very different in many ways, but they both get into trouble. The Socs and the Greasers get into a rumble, which are really big fight(s) that people almost die in. Johnny and Ponyboy’s gang is a gang that is rough and tough. They smoke cigarettes and get into trouble, but they never try to get into trouble by the cops.

Soc’s. Greaser’s. Two different groups who are just teenagers trying to find their way in life and who all have their problems. The book The Outsiders written by, S. E. Hinton, is based on a true story and how two different social groups interact. The wealthier, classier group with Mustangs and madras shirts are called the “Socs.” The less wealthier, greasy, slicked-back hair group are called “Greasers.” Both groups are stereotyped by society. Greasers are prone to crime and Socs are spoiled and can’t do anything wrong. The Outsiders has multiple themes, one is that loyalty between people can keep each other from getting hurt. Another is how the reputations people hold aren’t always accurate. Both play roles in changing the lives of the characters in the book.

First of all, the Greasers get jumped by the Socs. Socs like to attack the Greasers for fun, especially when they are alone. Ponyboy tells the reader, “Greasers can’t walk alone or they’ll get jumped or someone will come back and scream “Greaser” at them” (Hinton, 2). Greasers get jumped very often, especially when they are separated from the rest of their gang. Greasers seem to get jumped more often when they are alone and by themselves.

Johnny, one of the Greasers, was a friend of Ponyboy. Several Socs (a rival gang of the Greasers) including Bob, Randy, and a couple of their friends were drowning Ponyboy in a pond at the park. Johnny thought that they would kill Ponyboy so he took out his switchblade and killed Bob. Johnny explained “I had to they were drowning you Ponyboy. They might have killed you.” Johnny risked breaking the law (and potentially being charged with murder) by killing Bob in order to save his friend’s life. Also, from the book “The Outsiders” a Greaser named Dally was being loyal to Ponyboy and Johnny instead of following the laws. He was being loyal to them and not obeying the law (by not turning them into the authorities) when he gave Ponyboy and Johnny a hideout after they killed Bob. S.E Hinton stated that “We’re almost as close as brothers.” That means that they are being loyal and protecting each other even if it means potentially breaking the law. “We gotta win that fight tonight,” Dally said. As stated by S.E Hinton “His voice was hard.” “We Gotta get even with the Socs. For Johnny.” That means that they are fighting for Johnny even if it meant hurting other people. Dally also was being a loyal friend to another Greaser named Two-Bit. It stated in

They support each other endlessly and care for each other. Unfortunately, many characters in The Greasers have parents who don’t necessarily care for them and abuse them. In fact, Johnny, a quiet member of the Greasers, has parents who always beat him up and wish he never came back. In times like this, Johnny would seek guidance and support from his gang. The gang cared for one

This book showed the struggle between rich and poor. The two main groups of the story were the Socs and the greasers. The Socs are in the upper class while the greasers are the poor ones that dislike the Socs because they have more money, better cars, and act like they are better than the greasers. The Outsiders is a good story by S.E. Hinton that shows the struggles of growing up Hinton did a fine job with the character development, the plot, and the theme with a few flaws.

The socs and the greasers shares a sense of hatred against each other, they fight with each other both verbally and physically. One of the instances that shows their conflict externally was the 'Saturday Night Rumble'. The two gangs " moved in a circle under the light, counter-clockwise, eyeing

(Hinton 12). Johnny is the most fragile member of the gang, and running away is just a minor example of what he would have done if his friends had not taught him love, or affection, something his parents, and

A major conflict in this novel is between the greasers and the Socs. These two gangs are made up of complete opposites. The two rivals fall into conflict because of how they view each other and their roles in society. Greasers are poor hoods from the East side that “wear our hair long and dress in t-shirts and blue jeans… and wear leather jackets