Examples Of Stereotypes In The Outsiders

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. HINTON the main character Ponyboy’s identity changes multiple times over the text. In the beginning of the story Ponyboy was introduced as a greaser, a greaser is someone who is usually poorer than the middle class and like to screw around and start gang fights and they are considered hoods as stated on pages 2-3, “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 almost like hoods.” this shows that even though the Socs are much more wild the greasers are still considered the bad crazy hood people. Ponyboy didn’t like being a greaser

Before one begins to truly understand who Dallas Winston really is, it’s necessary to first examine how he was viewed by his friends as being cold-hearted and tough. While trying to figure him out, Pony comments, “It would be a miracle if Dally loved anything. The fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring.” (Hinton, 1995, p.g. 59). Because Dally’s been through so much in his life, he’s put walls around himself which makes him seem indifferent and helps to keep himself stable. Without making himself seem cold-hearted, he’d be revealing his true nature and would ruin the reputation he has amongst his friends. This can also relate to why Dally appears to be tough. As we were being introduced to Dallas in the beginning of the book, the main character Ponyboy describes him by saying, “Dally had spent three years on the wild side of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten. He was tougher than the rest of us- tougher, colder, meaner.” (Hinton, 1995, p.g. 10). This shows the audience that Dally has a reputation for being tough and mean by the way that he was arrested at such a young age. To be able to live on the rougher side of New York, toughness is also almost a staple trait one must have. His past has made his friends think that this is his true self when in all reality, he is actually very loving.

“I am a greaser. I am a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man do I have fun!” exclaimed Ponyboy. The Greasers play the role of the unlawful “hoodlums” in their community. They are considered wild and unruly. When a Soc sees a Greaser, they assume they are dirty troublemakers and white trash. The Greasers were

Words have different meanings in neighborhoods. Two compliments in their neighborhoods are tough and tuff. Tough meaning the same as rough and tuff meaning cool or sharp. In kids today they get labeled because of the way they dress or the music they listen to. There are the skaters, the nerds, the ghetto people, the preppys, etc." Our hair labeled us greasers, too-it was our trademark. The only thing we were proud of" (64). Some groups are considered worse than the others, some have other problems then the others." You sure you want to go back? Us greasers get it worse than anyone else" (78). In The Outsiders Greasers had this tough appeal. They were boys, but needed to be more manly. "...I wanted to cry, but greasers don't cry in front of strangers, some of us never cry at all..." (91).

There are many members of the Greasers. There is “Dally” or Dallas Winston, the hot-headed, sharp looking, roughest member of the Greasers, who lived in New York City for three years. Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy’s second oldest brother (sixteen years old), dropped out of high school, and now works in a gas station. Darrel or “Darry” Curtis is

In the city of Tulsa there is a gang war between the Greasers and Socs. When the boys left the city they found that no one knew about Greasers and Socs, so they wouldn’t get jumped or discriminated against by the cops or other gangs. Time away from Tulsa helps the main character Ponyboy, a Greaser, reflect and see there is not much difference between the Socs and the Greasers, just how others see them. Socs like Cherry and Randy help Ponyboy along the way to see through the stereotype after the death of a friend. When the church fire occurs in Windrixville and the boys are hurt, in the ambulance Jerry says he has never heard of Greasers. The stereotype of the city is undeniable with most people on the Southside Socs and the Greasers on the Northside. But outside of the city no one knows about the stereotypes, therefore, do they exist?

Dally is a very important character in the novel, The Outsiders. Dally helps Ponyboy and Johnny after Johnny kills a soc. He hands them money, a gun, and a map. He also gives them advice on where to hide out. Dally is a character who always seems to be doing the wrong thing. He has been to jail numerous times for many different reasons. After Johnny dies, Dally decides to rob a store and pulls a gun so that the police will shoot him. The police shoot him down and Dally died before he even hit the ground. If Dally hadn’t died, some parts of the story could have changed, and some aspects of the story could have stayed the same.

The author writes, “Johnny’s eyes glowed. Dally was proud of him. That was all Johnny had ever wanted” (148). Johnny’s reaction is priceless. Out of the entire greaser gang, Johnny and Dally’s relationship is the strongest and most significant. When Johnny needs Dally the most, he is his staunchest supporter. In return, Johnny gives back the same, if not more, amount of affection to Dally. When Dally and Johnny die, Ponyboy makes a list of realizations. Ponyboy thinks, “But I remembered Dally pulling Johnny through the window of the burning church; Dally giving us his gun, although it could mean jail for him; Dally risking his life for us, trying to keep Johnny out of trouble.” (154). It is clearly proven that ‘tough’ Dallas Winston makes a substantial effort to make Johnny’s life better. If Dally would not make the effort for Johnny, then Johnny would have to experience life worse than it already is. Since Dally thinks of Johnny almost like a little brother, it would hurt Dally to see Johnny experience that kind of pain. Dally and Johnny are bonded by these similarities, but they are also bonded through their differences.

As much as they are alike, they both are very different from another, such as Johnny is more law abiding, while Dally is the least. For example, Johnny Cade is the most law abiding greaser because he does not want any trouble with anybody. Johnny only had one offense with the police which is manslaughter, but it is clearly self defense. For instance, when the socs jump Johnny he does not fight back because he does not want trouble with them. Johnny tells Dally and Pony, ‘“I ain’t got no record with the fuzz”’(87). When Johnny is wanting to turn himself into the police after the killing of the soc. On the other hand, Dally is not law abiding at all. He always wants to be involved in fights or in trouble. He is proud of his record with the police. Ponyboy says, “‘He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids--- he did everything’”(11). He has quite a reputation with the police. Dally was in

We see this theme over and over in the novel one example being on page 21, "Dallas could talk awful dirty if he wanted to and I guess he wanted to then. I felt my ears get hot. Two-Bit or Steve or even Soda would have gone right along with him, just to see if they could embarrass the girls, but that kind of kicks just doesn't appeal to me. I sat there, struck dumb, and Johnny left hastily to get a Coke" (Hinton, 21). Here you see how not all the greasers are similar. Dally, Pony, and Johnny evidently don't share the same set of values, even though many privileged or higher class citizens might believe that all lower class or less privileged people are scumbags. Pony and Johnny both show their uneasiness with their actions proving that even lower class

When people hear Greaser they think of them as not being very smart. This stereotype may have come from how most Greasers have dropped out of school, but Ponyboy is still in school and doing well. Ponyboy has also proved time and time again the he is smart, for example, “I'm not like them. Nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do (Hinton 2)”, that quote from Ponyboy represents that he cares about literature. Greasers also do not have a lot of money, so they can not get into colleges unlike the socs. However, Ponyboy’s goal is to make it into college, he is good writer, as shown in the book, and even if his grades do not get him into college, he could get a track scholarship. It could also be said that Greasers are not well read, because in that quote it says that the other Greasers do not like books. Ponyboy on the other hand loves to read, and another character, Johnny, has an insightful take on Gone With The Wind. It is very clear that generalizing Greasers as the

Dally breaking up in the hospital and crumbling in the streets is almost meaning how Dally reacted to Johnny died and then leaded up to him dying. The parts where Ponyboy says “don’t think of” this is to take it off his mind and try to feel better about the two deaths. The greasers also respect Ponyboy, for example, during an argument towards the end of the book Darry said to Ponyboy “Sure, little buddy” (84). Another example of the greasers respecting Ponyboy is how Johnny helps Ponyboy feel better a lot of in a lot of conflicts. For instance, getting hit or getting almost drowned. Ponyboy positively accepted being a greaser and he is committed to being a greaser.

To start, stereotypes are deceptive because people place others into cliques based on their appearances. People assume everyone in a clique are the same, even though their true personality may differ from that clique. The first example from The Outsiders in which somebody doesn’t fit in with the stereotype they are given is Ponyboy. Ponyboy doesn’t quite fit in with his clique, the greasers. After Ponyboy is jumped, Darry has a fight with Pony. Darry yells at Ponyboy to think on the streets and to stay alert. Darry is concerned about Ponyboy’s safety: ‘“You must think at school with all those good grades you bring home, and you’ve always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense?”’ (13). Meaning, Ponyboy isn’t like the greaser stereotype. Compared to all the other greasers, Pony is book smart and not street smart. The greasers are smart where it really matters like on the streets. They carry blades to defend themselves, travel as gangs, and know how to get themselves out of a dangerous situation, if they get stuck in one. Ponyboy, however, is book smart. He succeeds at an outstanding level at school and in his academics. Once he is on the street his intelligence doesn’t follow him. He doesn’t use his common sense and he can’t find his way out of dangerous situations. As a result of this Pony gets jumped by the Socs which

In the book The Outsiders, Dallas Winston is a hero, but he is not a typical hero. Robbing stores, getting in fights, and getting drunk is what Dally is usually doing when he is not with the boys. Dally has a bad reputation around the neighbourhood and he is always getting himself into trouble. As if doing all that is not bad enough, being a greaser makes it a whole lot worse. Greasers are the lowest class in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They wear old clothes, wrecked cars, and live in the poor part of town. Although all of that may make one think that he is not a hero, he is a hero. Dallas is not a hero to just anyone, but he is to the people he really cares about and loves. When Dallas Winston really cares about someone he will fight for them until the end. Dallas has lots of courage

The Greasers gang acts as a family. This is shown plenty of times throughout the story. Dally yells at Ponyboy for running away in a wet sweatshirt, he says, “You’ll die of pneumonia before the cops ever get you.” He is very protective, like a brother. Even Ponyboy saId, “He sounded so much like Darry, I stared at him.” (60) At this moment he acted as a family figure. Dally gives Ponyboy and Johnny what they need to survive after they kill the Soc Bob. In this section Dally shows that he cares