Stereotypes In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

In the book The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, there are groups called the Socs, who are rich kids, and Greasers, who are hoods, just like the main character Ponyboy Curtis. The story takes place in a town called Tulsa in Oklahoma, where Ponyboy lives. He lives with his older brothers Sodapop Curtis and Darry Curtis, and is part of a gang of consisting of Johnny, Dallas Winston (Dally), Steve, and Two-Bit. One night when Johnny goes too far and kills a Soc named Bob, him and Pony are forced to run away to avoid capture from the authorities. There are many events, quotes, and author choices that show a common theme, which is Stereotypes are often judged by other people, but aren’t always true. This is proven time and time again after people are beaten up, injured, and even killed through the span of this book.

Dally and Bob are two examples of people who conform to their expectations. Dally conforms to his role as a Greaser because he is an actual hood, as this quote implies, “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 10). “They spoiled him rotten. I mean, most parents would be proud of a kid like that--- good-lookin ' and smart and everything, but they gave in to him all the time.”This proves Bob also conforms to the Soc stereotypes. These examples show a reason to stereotypes, because when people view these personalities, it

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

Stereotype; a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. In the realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, and in the short story, “Geeks Bearing Gifts”, written by Ron Koertge, stereotypes are defied by ordinary people. In The Outsiders, Johnny Cade and Darry Curtis face many struggles throughout their lives. Their town in separated into two: the rich and dangerous Socs, and the quiet, tough Greasers. For them, living dangerously is a reality. As a result of their lifestyle, Johnny has become fearful and Darry is considered the toughest man in the gang. In “Geeks Bearing Gifts” aspiring journalist, Renee, interviews her fellow classmates who are classified as “outcasts.” After meeting several students, she realizes her assumptions were incorrect about them. After reading both of these stories, the reader learns that our thoughts about others often revolve around stereotypes and assumptions, but most of these ideas that we have about other people are proven wrong.

In our community stereotypes play a part in life, but in The Outsiders it is the core theme of the story combining with teenage struggles. In The Outsiders the main character Ponyboy Curtis conforms to the image

Do soceital expectations and living conditions affect how people view someone? Ponyboy Curtis, Cherry, and Johnny are all people who are affected by soceital expectations because people expect them to conform to what they think of similar people, since they do have similar living conditions. Ponyboy and Johnny are part of a social group called the Greasers, who are the poor people in the town, and since many others think of poor people as people who steal, are thugs, and are parts of gangs, as Dally does, Ponyboy and Johnny are not. The Socs are the rich kids of the town, and most people expect them to be snobs who do not care about anything, but Cherry is not. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry are Outsiders

In the short novel The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, many 1960s stereotypes are used which separate the characters by where they live, how they dress, and how they act, but Hinton quickly gave characters who did not abide or fit these stereotypes. This showed that no matter your hair, dress, home, hobbies, or financial situation, everyone will always be different, but that doesn’t mean no two people cannot become friends. The stereotypes that follow you do not determine your personality or actions, only you.

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.

Jumping into a burning building is one of the things that the boys from the “Greaser Gang” would do for each other. When the main character, Ponyboy, jumps into a burning church to save children from the flames, his two gang members and family, Johnny and Dally, jump in after him to help get the children out and ensure that he can get out. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows two main themes. These themes show many examples of stereotyping could lead to misjudgment of people and to be loyal to the people around you, especially the ones close to you.

Stereotype- a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Stereotypes show up everywhere, and the stories The Outsiders, a realistic fiction novel by S.E. Hinton, and the short story “The Athletic Snob” by Sam Barnes are no exceptions. In The Outsiders, the town Ponyboy Curtis lives in is divided in two: the rich, wild Socials, or Socs, and the quiet, tough Greasers. Throughout the course of the novel, Ponyboy, his brothers, and his friends start to realize that not all Socs and Greasers fit into people's ideas of who they are. The main character of “The Athletic Snob”, Joe Ricardo, also encounters false stereotypes when he meets an overweight boy named Piggy who doesn't play sports at

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

We have all seen them in TV shows, movies, and music videos from the day. Greasers were heavily stereotyped gang members in the 40s and 50s that were known for their greased hair, switchblades, and leather jackets. How many of those are inaccurate, for greasers are not the only group that have been wrongfully stereotyped. One fictional greaser that has been stereotyped is Ponyboy, the fourteen year old narrator and main character of the popular novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Ponyboy is wrongfully stereotyped to be dumb, rough, and a criminal as are the rest of the greasers.

In fact he feels deeply enough that he doesn’t want to feel anything because that would be easier. One more quote is not necessarily just about Ponyboy rather it’s about greasers in general. “You Greasers have a different set of values, you're more emotional” (38). This was said by Cherry Valance, a young Soc girl to

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.

The presences of stereotypes are overwhelming and are developed by both the environment a subject is raised in and their family. Stereotypes, which are pervasive throughout different societies, become intertwined in the collective values of the society as justification for all forms of social, economic, and political inequality among groups (Devine and Elliot 2000;Kaplan 2004; Operario and Fiske 2004). As people become more exposed to stereotypes they start to become a permanent part of a person’s life, they begin to stereotype themselves almost always involuntarily.