The Importance Of Social Groups 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.

Serious events can cause change in a person's life. S.E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders tells a story about a teenage boy, Ponyboy, that lives with his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Pony and his gang are all poor Greasers so they are constantly mugged by the privileged Socs. Since the Socs and Greasers do not get along and are constantly fighting each other, the kids are almost always injured. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy learns a lot of important lessons because of the events that take place. Pony learns that all Socs are not mean, that Darry does love him, and that there is lots of good in the world. He learns many different things that help his life; however, the most valuable lesson is that all Socs are not rude.

The Outsiders, a coming-of-age novel, written by S.E. Hinton who was a teenager at the time of writing is firmly based upon groups of teenagers divided amongst their social classes. The novel takes on the rival battles of the Socials and the Greasers.

The title of the story is The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton wrote it. Dell Publishing published the book. The main characters include Ponyboy, Darry, Soadapop, Dally Winston, Johnny, Cherry, Two-Bit, and Marcia.

The main theme of 'The Outsiders' is that friends are your chosen family. In other words, the people in your inner circle along with your family, are the friends you choose to have there. This is present with many characters in the book, in fact, the only three 'Greasers' that did not seem to have their friends closer than their family were Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry. However, these three boys had many people in their lives who loved their friends more than their family, such as Johnny, who's dad beat him, and mom neglected him, and Dally who had no relation with his parents, then there is Darry, who loves his friends like family, and he is one of the only ones that knows what true family love feels like.

“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.

As a young adult, it is difficult to grow up without parents and still be tough and brave. In addition, teens can be emotional and overreact at times. In the novel The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, a fourteen-year-old kid named Ponyboy Curtis feels different emotions that make him stand out from other Greasers, or “hoodlums”. Ponyboy, the youngest of all the Greasers, is a great example of a teen who feels isolated, brave, and emotional throughout the novel.

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

There are many ways humans can recognize differences amongst themselves, some of the most notable are race, religion, gender, and politics. Many people view these issues as barriers in forming relationships. However, there is another main reason for these complications that is usually overlooked, that is socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic class can put many divisions between us, this is largely seen in iconic pieces of literature, which also express many ways to overcome the issue.

Social class describes the different "layers" that exist in society. These "layers," or classes in society, are a division that civilization has been running on ever since the beginning of mankind. In most modern societies, our system of social class division is one of opportunity. We experience a good deal of social mobility, where people through generations or in their own lifetime can move up or down the social scale. By examining the many different perceptions of social class along with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, it is illustrated that social class has an impact on people while they are growing up, and will usually deny them from rising above adversity.

“The functions of intellect are insufficient and useless if you are without courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy,” says a quote by Dean Koontz. Throughout S.E. Hinton’s book The Outsiders, there are many themes that she conveys in the book as she narrates the experiences of a greaser named Ponyboy who is a member of the Social group (Socs). Ponyboy meets many people and witnesses many difficult situations throughout the book. This inspirational book teaches the reader crucial lessons that are very important for everyone, even if their lives are not anything like Ponyboy’s. Three important themes in the book include friendship, courage and empathy.

The character that I had chosen to analyze was Ponyboy Curtis in the movie, The Outsiders (Coppola, 1983). I chose this character because the movie revealed how Ponyboy got to where he is mentally and everything that had occurred to get him to that point. I will analyze the adolescent phase of Ponyboy’s life. The theme of The Outsiders is how love can affect the relationships of close friends. The theories and theorists that support my analysis are Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial theory, Albert Bandura’s Observational Learning, Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Systems theory: Microsystem (Sigelman, 2015). From those theories and theorists the following points will be analyzed: identity, peer pressure, self-worth, and dependence.

People make many impactful decisions that will affect their future. Psychological theory explains the motive of a person’s actions. It helps understand or analyze a character’s actions and motives. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that in order to achieve self-actualization, one must acquire his/her basic and psychological needs (Maslow). Basic needs include “physiological” and “safety” needs (Maslow). Psychological needs include “belongingness and love” and “esteem” needs (Maslow). A person would need this to reach his/her truest potential (Maslow). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Johnny does not have the requirements he needs to reach self-actualization.

The Outsiders message is about “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” It explains that nothing good can go on forever and nothing young can last forever. It tells you about how and why we should enjoy what we have and keep and cherish everything we have to its maximum limit. Why shouldn’t we cherish what we have? Why do we need more? Why can't we be equally treated with same amount of things such as money and houses? That is the real question. We have that to this very day. In The Outsiders, their lives are exactly like this. They have their awesome rich people lives and the poor have unhappy lives. Some of each gang just want to be normal, the same, or similar at least. But their money splits them up. All because of a little extra

A young adult novel’s audience often desires relatable characters and a meaningful plot that helps them to find resolutions to their own uncertainties concerning life. Many authors employ the literary technique realism to satiate these cravings. Today, there are some popular novels that attempt to imitate this, such as the coveted The Fault in Our Stars or Divergent. These selections, while widespread in the hands of young adult readers today, will not stand the test of time in the way that The Outsiders has, written by S. E. Hinton in 1967, has. This novel, both produced by and intended for teenagers, instead is a better candidate of realistic young adult fiction. Other selections, from Hinton’s era and from today, do not radiate the same