Identity In The Outsiders

Understanding identity is not as easy as some people think. In the average lifespan of 71 years, numerous events can impact the outcome of of an individual’s life. Choices, religion, and many external factors can greatly influence a human and his or her identity. Some people believe that feelings can and do determine your identity, so they do whatever they feel is correct. However, this is false. Identity is very strongly influenced by the events, objects, and people around. It is mostly influenced by external factors. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy is, without a doubt, incredibly influenced by the external factors around him, such as Sherry Valance, the rumble between the Socs and the Greasers, and when his best friend passes away.

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

“The Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton, is centered around Ponyboy’s path to maturity and the life lessons he learns along the way. The novel follows Ponyboy, a greaser, and his gang’s conflict with the Socials, a rival gang. In it, he learns to not judge people hastily and reject gang mentality. Ponyboy also loses his innocence. The following paragraphs will explore his growth throughout “The Outsiders”.

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,

The Novel The Outsiders reveals that it is the “real” and “raw” moments the define an individual as human. In these moments of authentic and selfless love the attributes of individual become more definitive then social class, or reputation. Through examining Dallas Winston and his love for Johnny and Randy’s emotional encounter with Pony boy Hinton’s most haunting and enduring argument become evident, that self discovery imposed by love and loss has no sides but the outside.

Have you ever seen a gang? If so, did you judge them on how they looked or how they acted? Did you think they were dangerous? Most importantly, were you scared of them? In The Outsiders Pony boy is the main character. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid-1960. In this novel, the author S.E. Hinton tells how Ponyboy Curtis grows up. Dally was a flat character because we only see one side of him. He is also dynamic as he changes from being tough in the beginning and caring in the end. Well, Dallas (Dally) Winston was tough, heroic, and caring.

Most people strive to belong, to be someone or part of something important. People all around you experience different ways of belonging, such as cliques or social class. Others who are excluded, are simply left as outsiders, forced to make up their own groups, maybe just because of where they live, how much money they have, and the items they have and do not have. This is the case in author S.E. Hinton’s prominent novel The Outsiders. Within this well known book is a 2 week story of 14 year old Ponyboy, as he learns to mature in his rough, poor, East side neighborhood while also dealing with most of the rich, stuck up, West side kids known as the Socs. To rival the Socs are the Greasers, a tight-knit gang that includes many East side teens that have become almost like brothers to each other. Throughout this novel, Ponyboy learns many life lessons, while facing multiple obstacles and overcoming his own inner problems to finally realize a bigger picture in the end. S.E. Hinton focused deeply on symbolism to display these multiple themes.

The Outsiders is a Novel set in the 1960’s that explains the divide between people with similarities and differences. The book explains life as it was in the past, is in the present, and will be in the future. It talks about the rift between different people in society and their social classes. Every rift must try to be changed by someone for the benefit of society, and that person is exalted as a hero. There are many heroes in the outsiders, but the biggest hero is Ponyboy because he was empathetic to others, quick to think and act, and stands strong and moves forward to overcome challenging events in life that seem impossible to overcome.

One good example of this stereotype being wrong when it comes to Ponyboy is when he sees his brother in the hospital after the fire. “Darry”, I screamed, and the next thing I knew I had him around the waist and was squeezing the daylights out of him” (98). Another example is “I didn’t want to feel anything” (171). Notice the word want in that quote. That means that he does feel.

Imagine this- you are poor, wear hair grease, and can’t afford nice clothes. Everyone you know, besides your closest friends, thinks that you are an evil criminal, but you in fact are are very kind person. How would you feel? The Outsiders by S.E Hinton addresses this problem head-on as you follow Ponyboy as he battles stereotypes against his friends and himself. The theme of this book is to never judge a book by it’s cover which is demonstrated through the two main groups: the Soc’s and the Greaser’s. It is also demonstrated through another character who is the group of Soc’s but is a spy for the Greasers, Cherry Valance.

This quote expresses how Ponyboy feels about the

Elastigirl from the Incredibles, once said,¨ Your identity is your most valuable possession. Protect it.¨ In the story,¨The Outsiders¨ a main idea is identity. The story “The Outsiders” follows a kid named Ponyboy Curtis and his gang, which consists of Ponyboy, Soda, Darry, Two-Bit Mathews, Dally, Johnny, and Steve. Ponyboy is not like the rest of his gang, he likes watching sunsets and movies which none of the others like.

1967: The age of greasers versus Socs. 2016: The age of jocks versus preppies versus nerds versus gangsters. In a span of 49 years, the socioeconomic groupings have evolved into more than just one group against another. Nowadays, people are not confined to choose between two groups, but partake into whatever group(s) they feel fits them best.

John C. Maxwell once said “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” This means your life comes from your specific choices. You have agency to do what you want, but what you choose to do affects you personally . The book The Outsiders , S.E. Hinton, talks all about choices. All of the many choices affected the character’s lives. In this essay, there’s many examples of when Ponyboy took the time to get to know people who were different than him and changes his perspective on them. This book talks about the main theme of judging people. Just because someone doesn’t look, act ,or think like you, doesn’t mean you should judge them, especially if you don’t truly know them.

There are three main things that influence a character. They are the environment the character is in, the people the character interacts with, and the experiences that the character goes through. The identity of a person or a character is never complete. The identity will just continue to grow as you grow as a person. The experiences, people, and environment will continue to change your identity as you go through life. Even if a character in a book is deceased their identity can still be growing because the other characters may find things that change their perspective on a person. Someone will always grow as a person which will change their identity. Authors can reveal identity in many different ways. An author can tell you all about that person in the beginning of the book. A person can go from a happy person to a depressed person because of experience, or the environment they're exposed to. Another way that an author can reveal a character's identity is through objects that they have or things that they wrote on. An author can also reveal a character in a book =through the actions that they make or even the people that they are friends with or interact with on a daily basis. My own identity is quite similar and different to Johnny Cade in the book The Outsiders.