Themes In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

It is fascinating how two different kinds of families can have differences, but also have similarities. Racism, education and behavior has been compared into these two families. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Ewells and the Cunninghams are both racist, but they are different when it comes to their education and behavior towards people.

All around the world, discrimination of a certain race occurs. Harper Lees’ novel to kill a mockingbird shows the prejudice in Maycomb, which is revealed by the outsiders. Due to the differences of people in the community, victims are victimized. Also people who choose to be different are victimized from other people due to prejudice. Also, the victims of racial prejudice are treated differently than others. The reality is finally revealed when the Outsiders are judged due to prejudice.

As Ponyboy states when he starts to understand this, “No, it wasn’t Cherry the Soc who was helping us, it was Cherry the dreamer who watched sunsets and couldn’t stand fights.” (Hinton 86). Ponyboy was previously under the impression that all Socs didn’t care about anything, and was surprised when he met Cherry, a Soc who watched the same sunset as he did. The stereotype of Socs being heartless and cruel was all he had seen and heard, so it was hard for him to understand how one could be so different. Ponyboy’s friends felt similarly, and most of them found it even harder to grasp this concept than Ponyboy had. The Greasers were used to judging the Socs as a group, and did not see them as individuals. These group stereotypes are what ultimately caused most of the biggest fights in the novel.

The theme of The Outsiders is that everyone can rise above what others expect from them. This is relevant throughout the book when Johnny and Ponyboy save the kids from the burning church, when Randy doesn't want to fight or hate the Greasers anymore, and when Johnny stands up for Cherry and Marcia.

Thesis: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, a novel which tells the story of conflict between the "greasers" and the "Socs," captures the voice of ponyboy and his friends in a realistic way that relates to boys and their gangs even today.

There are many different social classes in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The factors that separate people into these social classes are their skin color and their occupation.

In the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy develops feeling for Cherry who he met at a movie. But due to the fact that Ponyboy is a Greaser and Cherry is a Soc, society states that “you don’t see a grease and a Socy cheerleader together that often.” (Hinton 30) Ponyboy being greaser is set apart from the rest of society because of his cloths, hair and financial status.”Our hair labeled us greasers, too- it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of.”(Hinton 71) This barrier was created because society labels people based on their appearance. Though they both have feelings for eachother, society thinks that they can’t be together because of their different social party. This obstacle was not resolved, though Ponyboy and Cherry may see more in each other then Socs and greasers, society as a whole still separates them. Ponyboy and Cherry learn from each other that everyone has problems, “Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.” (Hinton

The 1967 novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is about the social outcasts; the Greasers and their rivalry against the high class Socs. In the beginning of the book the characters values and attitudes are revealed to the reader through the point of view of Ponyboy. As the book progresses and the lives of the characters take a turn for the worse there is a significant impact on the characters resulting in an alteration of their values and attitudes. Ponyboy, Dally and Johnny experience these changes due to the death of Bob the Soc and the chain of events that follow.

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

“I think there are just one type of folks. Folks”(231). Scout, an eight-year-old girl filled with curiosity, innocence, and an open mind, says this with her own perspective. Harper Lee portrays her views through Scout, who did not yet experience the world and believes that each person, regardless of their character, race, or class, has the right to be treated equally amongst all. This does not occur in the town she lives in, Maycomb, and although she thinks that everyone is equal, her journey in life makes her realize that this is not true. Without noticing, Scout with her brother Jem, and a close friend, Dill develop major modifications in the ideals, and actions of others. To Kill a Mockingbird displays the relationship between the African American and white race and how it shifts because of various incidents. Affected by racial discrimination, Maycomb’s society faces controversies after turmoil arises. Change is developed in Maycomb’s orderly society because of Dill, Jem, and Scout acting upon their thoughts, creating chaos.

In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses Scout and Jem to suggest that discrimination and prejudice mindsets force to choose a herd mentality or to choose individuality.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is an example of a character who's coming of age process involves gaining a new perspective. Harper lee’s character Scout says that “‘Naw Jem there's just one kind of folks. Folks”’

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, is about the rivalry between the greasers and the socials (socs). The separation of the greasers is tough and the tension of the greasers and the socs causes many problems throughout the novel. In the novel The Outsiders written by S.E Hinton includes various themes, like one major one, stereotypes, the greasers and socs. Also the noel has many motifs throughout the novel. A important motif in The Outsiders is the saying “Stay Gold” .

Another life lesson that Jem and Scout learn about throughout the story is of the categorization of people in Maycomb, which ties in with the prejudice. They notice that most of the people in Maycomb value their ancestry and background very much, especially to see who settled down in the area first and had more distinguished and important ancestors. They also notice how the people of Maycomb are always judging one another and saying that a person acts a certain way because of his background, ancestry, or race. On pg. 226 Jem says, “There's four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary folks like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.”The quote above is the way Jem believes that people are divided in Maycomb County. This shows how the environment around Jem and Scout is affecting them and how they are starting to see and understand people and their actions.

An evident motif that can be found throughout Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the constant theme of “appearances vs. reality”. This story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, a town full of presumptions and misinterpretations. In this town, lives the Finch’s, one of the only few odd people who manage to stay true to their beliefs and values even as the story unfolds. Atticus Finch establishes a firm way of parenting his children, Jem and Scout, by teaching them to go against the wave and stand by your morals at all times. A famous line within the novel said by Atticus himself is, “You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [...] until you climb into