Violence In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

I am discussing the book the outsiders by S.E Hinton and analyzing the impact violence has on the main characters. My main aim of this essay is to assess and demonstrating the emotional and physical damage to the characters Johnny, bob and Dally caused by violence.

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

“For thugs from the ghetto, violence is a way of life - it’s what helps you survive.” The Socs and the Greasers were two gangs in The Outsiders. Throughout the novel these two gangs had a continuous rivalry. These two gangs were viewed differently by society. The Socs as rich kids and the Greasers as poor kids.

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.

“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.

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

Violence is one of the most exaggerated forms of physical aggression and it can exist for a series of reasons. It involves a person or a group of persons acting against another person or groups of persons with the purpose to achieve one or several diverse goals. In many cases violence results from individuals perceiving the acts of other people as hostile and thus wanting to act against these people before it is too late. Depending on the situation, more or less individuals might get involved in an act of violence, especially when they consider that it would be essential for them to do so.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the “Outsiders” takes place, the divide in the social classes is very prevalent. The two main social classes that were represented were the rich Socs and the poor greasers. The two groups divide themselves by what their families incomes are either you are rich and live on the westside or you are poor and live on the east side. “ Hey can you see the sunset real good from the West side?” (Hinton,129) In the text it is showing Pony talking to the Soc girl Cherry who lives on the Westside. It is showing how divided the two groups are. People usually hand out by people they in the similar social class with a few exceptions of course. Furthermore in the story the westsiders the Socs hung out together, and the east sider the greasers hung out together dividing each other. In addition the two gangs divide themselves by how they act. “ There are lots of drive-ins in town - the Socs go to The Way Out and to Rusty’s, and the greasers go to The Dingo and Jay’s” (Hinton,19) In the text the gangs both went to there own hangouts because the Socs went to there higher end places and the greasers went to there lower end places. A real life example of this is that all of the most of the rich families would hang out at a country club with other friends in their social class and the poor would hang out a bar with there friends.Social classes create divides in the community Because the Rich Socs and the Poor Greasers live in separate parts of the city because of their income differences. That difference also leads them to handout at different places and handout with that group of people in that social classes. The Isolation of these two groups lead to all the violence that was seen throughout the book.

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.

This book showed the struggle between rich and poor. The two main groups of the story were the Socs and the greasers. The Socs are in the upper class while the greasers are the poor ones that dislike the Socs because they have more money, better cars, and act like they are better than the greasers. The Outsiders is a good story by S.E. Hinton that shows the struggles of growing up Hinton did a fine job with the character development, the plot, and the theme with a few flaws.

In 2016, “there were an estimated 17,250 murders in the U.S…”(www.fbi.gov) This alarmingly large number is a product of violence. Throughout history, violence was used to dispute arguments over land and religions. Our careless use of violence through history is damaging to all people. The use of violence is demonstrated in the book, The Outsiders.

In the novel “The Outsiders,” author S.E Hinton hints to the reader that there are a lot of choices within the book from beginning to the end. From the East side with the rich, cruel and mean Socs to the West side of town with the Greasers where Ponyboy and the gang live. The gang must choose to save their friends despite the consequences, they must turn to each other for help, and they must decide to return home in order to face what they have done and the damage that has occurred. These choices though hard, help the Greasers learn about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

     Another example of violence transpiring for more than a sole purpose, is through the character of Jonathan Harker. Jonathan is struggling with an inner conflict, and one of the supernatural; man versus himself and man versus the supernatural. His inner conflict is due to the fact that in his mind, he is a prisoner in Castle Dracula, and there are no means of escape. Therefore, the struggle within himself is one of keeping his sanity and rational way of thinking, since he is such a rational, business-minded man. However, the most obvious conflict derives from the physical and mental struggle with Count Dracula. The novel sets a tone of good versus evil or the supernatural, which is directly related to the conflict. Accordingly, on June 29, the Count tells Jonathan that this is his last day when he stated, "To-morrow, my friend, we must part"(pg.51). After the Count led him to the door where the wolves were howling, he

Often, violence gets the best of people and they get angry or frustrated and want to take it out on people by fighting aggressively. Humans are savage and cannot control themselves when it comes to violence which breaks out fights between

What would the world be like if there was no resort to violence for a fixture of conflict or fun? The 1967 novel 'The Outsiders' by S.E Hinton follows the existence of a young boy and the way that he lives with such violence in his life. Throughout all and all the notion of violence being engrained in the characters being despite socio-economic divides is heavily purveyed. It is with examples of rough friendships and hostility between the Greasers and the Socs that this message is put forth. To begin with, there is an example of this prerequisite of wildness shown in the relationship between two young greasers who are in fact, friends.