Growing Up In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton’s the Outsiders takes place in a little town in Oklahoma where the town is divided in two by the Socs and Greasers. This book is mainly about Ponyboy Curtis who is the youngest of the member of the Greasers and always hang around his brother Sodapop and doesn’t believe his oldest brother Darry cares for him.

“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

During this argument, both groups, the Greasers and Socs, showed the main thing that really separates them. “‘You know what a Soc is?’ I said, my voice shaking with rage. ‘White trash with Mustangs and madras’” (55). The Mustangs and madras are what make the Socs different than the Greasers. Since a Greaser is saying that the Socs are pretty much the same as the Greasers, it really shows how the cars and shirts symbolize how a Soc is different than a Greaser. Prior to the statement by Ponyboy, a Soc said that Greasers are “White trash with long hair.” Both groups refer to each other as white trash, which shows how they are all the same type of people, but the things they have, such as hair, cars, and shirts, make them different. They are made different from the Greasers because they are able to have those nice cars and shirts. However, without those cars and shirts, they wouldn’t be different from the Greasers. They are symbolized by the cars and the shirts. That is what allows them to be themselves. If the cars and madras were taken away from them, then they wouldn’t have anything that would make them different from the Greasers. Without the things that mean the most to them, that they show pride for, and that make them feel like themselves, then they would all be the same and wouldn’t be separate from the

The Greasers felt like outsiders around the Socs because the Socs were the upper class. Socs were always in advanced classes so when Ponyboy (a greaser) was in biology class filled with Socs , he felt like an outsider. When Ponyboy had to dissect a warm and the razor wouldn’t cut, he took out a switchblade. The girl beside him was a Socs and she sad “They are right, you are a hood” (Doc B). So, when Ponyboy was in an advanced class filled with Socs and when

Stereotyping plays a large role in the events of S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders. The two main opposing groups, the Socs and Greasers, constantly face problems because of the stereotypes associated with their social groups. As seen in the novel, stereotypes and prejudice cause extreme and unnecessary conflicts. Both groups have predetermined opinions of the other, but as the story progresses, many of the characters begin to realize how similar the groups can be. The stereotypes observed in the novel can easily be compared to those in real life. Both the Greasers and the Socs share many of their opinions with the other members of their groups, and this leads to many misunderstandings. In fact, most of the conflicts in the novel are caused

“The Outsiders” identifies the 60’s, illustrating the violence between groups, often involving a group’s social class. For instance, the violent tensions between the Socs and Greasers lead to Bob’s death, Johnny’s death, as well as many injuries throughout both gangs. The book “The Outsiders” is written by S.E. Hinton and is portrayed through the eyes of a high school student in Tulsa, OK where S.E. Hinton grew up. Hinton began writing “The Outsiders” in 1965 at the age of 17 and the book was finally published in 1967 when she was 19. The difference in perspective upon the society and social class creates issues throughout “The Outsiders” and since the Socs and Greasers assume the problems will be solved with violence, they take action.

In S.E Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, the main character Ponyboy and the rest of the greasers not only face conflicts with their rival gang: the Socs, but also against each other and even as society as a whole. These obstacles were created due the fact that people don't realize that everyone has problems, this is a theme that Ponyboy learns throughout this story. Just like in real life, some conflicts will never be resolved as they are beyond their control. Over the course of the novel some conflicts will be settled, while some will stay the same or even become worse.

Despite today’s societal beliefs of reaching maturity at the age of eighteen, coming-of-age generally describes various religions that signifies an individual’s transition from childhood to adulthood. S.E. Hinton’s young adult fiction, The Outsiders, describes the life of fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, the main protagonist, in his internal struggle towards an identity other than one marked by his gang, the greasers. He lives with Darrel “Darry”, his oldest brother who holds all of the responsibility ever since their parents died and Sodapop, his older, easygoing brother in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the midst of a gang rivalry between the greasers, an East Side gang known to be poor trouble makers, and the Socials “Socs”, who are known to be the rich and commendable of the West-side of town,

On the lower end of the social spectrum in Hinton’s novel is the community known as the greasers. The “greasers”, a term which arises from their overuse of hair grease, are a community of people who are thought to be “victims of the environment” and underprivileged people. The community is made up of many different people

Survival instincts allow individuals to persevere during times of hardship and struggle. Unfortunately, many families in America are struggling lower-middle class or live in poverty. It’s nice to think a person can easily go from being dirt poor to filthy rich, but it doesn’t usually work that way. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton depicts the hardships and struggles experienced by two rival gangs, “The Greasers” from the lower middle class and “The Socs” from the upper class. Thesis: In The Outsiders, the Greasers experience disenfranchisement mostly due to socioeconomic class and appearance. However, other types of disenfranchisement such as drug, alcohol use and gang participation are also present in the novel.

The difference between the Greasers and Socs in the society is the Greasers treated unequally and criticized for being poor. The Socs are bullying, criticizing, and intimidating the Greasers based on the economic level. Greasers have unequal lifestyles, attitudes, and financial situations, but still live in the same world, beneath the same sun as the Socs (Hinton 18), but repeat the same actions toward the Socs in a way of fighting back and sticking together.

“The silence grew heavier, and I could hear the harsh heavy breathing of the boys around me. Still Darry and the Soc walked slowly in a circle” (Hinton, 143). The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a realistic fiction novel taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1966. The story informs the reader of a rivalry between two gangs, the Socials (Socs) who are the rich people that have nice cars, clothes, and have a bright future ahead of them. The Socs live on the West side. The Greasers are the other gang who weren’t rich, weren’t known to have bright futures and always had grease in their hair, hence the name Greasers. Throughout the story many themes have been applied to our society today. Two themes that I have chosen were that loyalty is a thread that holds people together and to not judge people based on how society labels them.

According to Frederick Douglass, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” Douglass spoke of the danger and issues of organization and separation by class, yet it is the scenario depicted in The Outsiders. The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel written by S. E. Hinton in the 1960s. In The Outsiders, the teenagers of a city are being ripped apart by a violent feud based solely on social class. The first group, known as the Socs, are the wealthy and popular. The second group is the Greasers, who are poor and viewed as the scum of the city. The

The Outsiders is a story regarding the privation and accomplishments experienced by the Greasers and the Socs, two rival gangs living in the inner city in the early 1960’s. The novel The Outsiders is about two groups of teenagers of bitter rivalry which was due to socio-economic differences.The Outsiders takes us through a journey of violence, struggle and death. It examines the life of a recently orphaned young man born into poverty confronted with the prejudices that he could not change. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his conflicts between the lower and the upper class youths and struggles and with the right and wrong in a society in which he considers himself an outsider. The society is divided in two groups Greasers and Socs, ‘Greasers’ are those who are from East side and belongs to a poor section of the society and ‘Socs’ a short word for society used in the novel, means those who are from West side and belongs to a richer section of a society. The greasers and Socs also have somethings in common like Cherry Valance, a member of Socs, and Ponyboy Curtis, a geaser discuss their love for literature, for popular music, and sunsets. A view of honorable action appears throughout the novel, which works as an important element of the geasers behavioral code.

In the first scene of the film, Ponyboy exits a theatre to what looks like the city center area. As he begins his walk home a mustang filled with Socs see him walking and immediately start insulting him, telling him to wash the grease out of his hair. The torment does not stop there, they follow him throughout town, throwing scrap wood at him and chasing him down the street. It escalated to the point the Socs jump out of the car and takes him down, pointing a switchblade at his neck and cutting him. This type of harassment is normal for Greasers, which is why they never should walk alone. This scene is an example of victim precipitation theory. Ponyboy is an adolescent male with a poor upbringing walking alone, even in broad daylight, he is considered an easy target for the Socs and they know they can get away with it. Another example is when Ponyboy and Johnny decide to run away together, they were spotted by the Socs who had been drinking and looking for easy targets.