Honorable Amongst Delinquents 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

First of all, Johnny was justified in killing Bob. It was in self-defense, the Socs beat up Johnny before traumatizing him, and the only reason why Johnny had his switchblade was because of the same Socs who tried to kill Ponyboy. “The Socs caught my arm and twisted it behind my back, and shoved my face into the

“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

In The Outsiders, a book written by S.E. Hinton, there are two polar opposite gangs, the socs and the greasers. The socs, who are high class, have mustangs and “tuff” cars and wear plaid clothing called madras. The Greasers, who are lower class, are known for their long and greasy hair, wearing leather jackets and being hoods. They only have each other and always have everyone’s back. No matter the situation like leaving a door open in case they need to run away from home because of an abusive dad , they can count on one another. Ponyboy, a 14 year old Greaser, who is also the protagonist, along with other characters lose themselves while trying to be someone else they’re not. Hinton teaches us that it is important to remember that individual

One of the main vs man conflict in the Outsiders is the rival between the greasers and the socs. The greasers are the east side boys who " steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations". The greasers, due to their family background and physical appearance, are being stereotyped as individuals who are poor and are provided with fewer opportunities than others. On the other hand, the socs, are " the west-side rich kids" who come from affluent backgrounds and" likes to jump greasers and throw beer blasts for kicks". In the eyes of the public, the Socs are the social elites whereas the greasers are considered the less privileged, second-class citizens.

To explain, the greasers were defined as Outsiders because they were poor and treated like outcasts.

First of all, some Greasers have problems because of the involvement of gangs and the unbiased law towards them. In the article “The Allure of Gangs”, the text states “kids who join gangs feel alienated by their parents...want to feel like they are part of some kind of family”(“The Allure of Gangs” on page 40). This is important because the deprivation of parenting caused the joining of gangs. This shows that Greasers are more emotional and just want to be cared. In addition, the author writes “That's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other

In The Outsiders, we see the respect and honor among the lawless. The Greasers develop honor among one another due to the struggles they face not being treated equally to those like the Socs, that hold a place in the upper level in society treated equally in the law”(Adamson, 58). The Greasers don’t have many people there for them, the rest of society, but they now have to stick together (Hinton, 176). According to The Outsiders, some of the boys in the Greaser face different problems. Darry became responsible for his little brothers, Ponyboy and SodaPop since their parents died, they fight all the time, and throughout the story try to reconcile and come to an understanding of knowing they need one another. (Hinton, 176). Even though the Greasers are stereotyped, and face different problems, they all share a bond of honor that holds innocence and love. Johnny may seem to be a horrible person for killing Bob, but he saves the children in the burning church, which meant he still had

In the story The Outsiders, there is many life lessons that could help many people. Ranging from the people you hang out with, to people who need your help. You should always treat people how you want to be treated,even if that means giving something up. The main character, Ponyboy, experiences certain events in the story that makes you realize that these kind of conflicts are a reality. Ponyboy lives with his two brothers, Darry and Soda. Their parents died in a car crash. Ponyboy never realized how much his parents did for him. There is a “Gang” that Ponyboy is involved in called the Greasers. Their rival “Gang” is called the Socs. The Socs are kids that have a better upbringing and are more of rich kids. The Greasers are basically the opposite. The theme of this story is don’t take the things you have for granted.

Even though the Socs are more of the problem, the Greasers are always blamed, being the poorer and less fortunate kids. Even though the Greasers have a reputation of being rebels and troublemakers, they are not all like that. Even still some events have led certain members to do things that seem way out of their personality. The novel shows that nature doesn’t have that much of an impact on a person like nurture does. One example of this in The Outsiders is when Johnny killed Bob.

In The Outsiders, Johnny and Ponyboy save the kids that were trapped in the church fire. Because both Johnny and Ponyboy are greasers, society would not expect them to have willingly gone in to the church and save the children out of the kindness of their hearts. No, a greaser’s goal was to act tough and be “tuff”. In fact, it clearly states in the book, “Tough is the same as rough; tuff means cool, sharp—like a tuff-looking Mustang or a tuff record. In our neighborhood both are compliments,” (Hinton, pg.12). He wants to be tough and tuff and he wants to be heartless

The Greasers are always getting abused by the Socials in the novel. In the text The Outsiders it states, “...they could kill me. I went wild. I started screaming for Soda, Darry, anyone. Someone put his hand over my mouth, and I bit it as hard as I could, tasting the blood running through my teeth. I heard a muttered curse and got slugged again, and they were stuffing a handkerchief in my mouth.” (8-9) Ponyboy explains his side of the story on how they are slugging him and putting stuff in his mouth. The Socials are always coming to the Greasers side of town which is the East Side to cause trouble with them. The Greasers are just trying to live a normal life like the Socials could, but the Socials always come back for more trouble. The Socials are just doing these things because they are bored. They come over to cause trouble and have fun, but they are affecting the life of the Greasers.

First, The Greasers care about other people. For example, Johnny and Ponyboy saves children from a burning church. The quote that shows this example is “I jerked loose and ran on” ( 91). This shows that The Greasers are honorable by saving other people’s lives and risking their lives for other people. This means that The Greasers are honorable by saving some else’s life and risking theirs for others.

When you think of the words honorable and corrupt what immediately comes to mind? When I think of the word honorable I think of someone with great pride and honor. When I think of the word corrupt I think of someone wanting everything trying to be a dictator. Webster dictionary defines honorable as “Worthy of honor; fit to be esteemed or regarded; estimable; illustrious”. The Webster dictionary defines corrupt as “Changed from a sound to a putrid state; spoiled; tainted; vitiated; unsound”.

A lot of people live their life day by day while living it on the edge sometimes. In S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, the Greasers live a lot of their days, day by day. Ponyboy and Johnny live easier than the rest. Sodapop and Steve live wild and crazy, while Darry works his butt off for his family too. Then Two Bit cracks jokes and lives his life pretty easy and chill. While Dally lives cold hearted and different from the rest. So it was a surprise that three of them risked their lived in a fire. Life as a Greaser is hard and filled with fights and dirt. But when the opportunity to save little kid’s lives comes around, some of the gang is able to show how life can be different.