Symbolism In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

). This implies that the Socs have nothing to do, so they resort to tormenting the unprivileged instead of doing anything worthwhile. The Greasers constantly receive the blame when the Socs start a fight, and the Socs use society's prejudice against children like the Greasers when the police arrive. For example, the Socs "get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next" (Hinton 3). This means everyone excuses their mistakes and blames it on the Greasers, and the Socs use mindsets like those to their advantage. When compared to living life in hardship and trying to survive, misusing privilege instead of using it to improve society is far worse, and, similarly, the way they fight is immoral.

The Greasers and Socials in the novel “The Outsiders” are very different in some ways. One example of why the Greasers and the Socials are different is, the Greasers don’t have nice things like the Socials. “ But those two girls weren’t our kind. They were tuff-looking girls - dressed sharp and really good-looking.” (S.E. Hinton 21) This is showing that the girls were Socials and not Greasers, since Greasers didn’t have

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

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

There were conflicts between the Socs that conflicted with the greasers. They were two opposite groups that didn't get along. The Socs, "the jet-set...West-side rich kids, wear madras shirts, smell of English leather, and drive new sports cars..." (6). Socs were rich, while greasers were low class. "Soc" is an abbreviation of the Socials, which are the West-side rich kids. Socs had a better reputation than the greasers.

The Socs mostly came from houses with two parents, drive fine cars, wear fashionable clothing, and even given the freedom they wanted. Instead of focusing on all the goods that the Socs had, they decided to focus on their hatred towards the Greasers. They wanted to jump the Greasers and do whatever it took to cause conflict. “You Greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated--- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us” (Hinton 33). The Greasers feel emotions, but the Socs are too cool to feel anything. Instead of the Socs taking advantage of everything they had, the Socs got editorials in the newspaper for being a public disgrace one day and a benefit to society the next day. Randy and Cherry seem to be the only ones to realize the error of the Socs ways. Cherry feels sympathy for the Greasers even after her boyfriend, Bob, was killed.

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.

A major conflict in this novel is between the greasers and the Socs. These two gangs are made up of complete opposites. The two rivals fall into conflict because of how they view each other and their roles in society. Greasers are poor hoods from the East side that “wear our hair long and dress in t-shirts and blue jeans… and wear leather jackets

Greasers are the main stereotype in the book but also there is a small part played by the Socs. Although the book is about the life and times of a Greaser there is also a ‘Socs Story’ in there, as throughout the book you learn more and more about the Socs and how they live. But this all changes. When Bob dies Cherry and Randy, the main Socs characters, begin to see that there is no difference between Socs and Greasers. Randy, when he talks to Ponyboy in private doesn’t call

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

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 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.

A greaser is really a hood “gang” that no one really cares about but they get into a lot of trouble and go to jail a lot. A soc is in a higher class and are very smart and talented yet are very mean and brutal to the greasers. I would personally be a mean tuff greaser than the little rich kids that lose fights. The greasers and the socs have a war between them, neither of them like each other. The greasers get jumped by the socs all the time, and they are more scared of them because they are older, at least most of them. Quite a ways through the book, towards the end, the greasers and socs have a “rumble” it is kinda like a HUGE fight between everyone! All though the greasers won that doesn’t make any less of the socs. The greasers are all

As a result, Pony doesn’t know what the life has a Soc is truly like. He can only assume based on what he sees. As is human nature, Pony readily victimizes himself and views the Socs as savages and as though their lives are perfect. This, of course, prokes a feeling of rage, which in application, is violence. Though isolation, violence is achieved. Later Pony and his Greaser friend Johnny are confronted by a group of Socs among who are Bob and Randy, the boyfriends of two girls Pony and Johnny had hung out with at a movie. In their exchange, their hatred for each other is all too clear to see, "Next time you want a broad, pick up yer own kind--- dirt." I was getting mad. I was hating them enough to lose my head. "You know what a greaser is?" Bob asked. "White trash with long hair..." "You know what a Soc is?" I said, my voice shaking with rage. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." And then, because I couldn't think of anything bad enough to call them, I spit at them” (Hinton, 55). Pony and Johnny knew nothing of these Socs except what stereotypes had told them. Likewise, the Socs were prejudiced and judged Pony and Johnny as scum without knowing them. The Socs go on to almost drown Pony, only to be stopped by Johnny stabbing and killing one of them in defense. Because of the gap and separation between them, that was brought by judging, Pony and Johnny were the other boys and enemies, and thus violence ensued. The same is true in

Greasers may not have much, but they have a rep. That and long hair.” Greasers are known for their long hair and clothing. This is basically a sense of identity that they have throughout the book. "Hey, grease," one said in an over-friendly voice. Another quote says on p.5, "We're gonna do you a favor, greaser. We're gonna cut all that long greasy hair off." The Socs recognize the Greasers because of their long hair. They use this symbol as a way to emphasize how poor and dirty they were. Their hair isn’t the only thing that ties the Greasers together