Judgements In The Outsiders

All human beings are capable of having judgment about someone and it is only because of the people around us that we change those judgments. The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is a novel about a group of Greasers trying to live in a society where they’re not accepted by the Socials and rest of society. Ponyboy is one of the boys in that group and he grows throughout the book. After the loss of three people, Bob, Johnny and Dally, Ponyboy realizes that everything is not what it seemed before. Ponyboy has grown over the course of the text because he used to hate the Socs but now he has gained enough knowledge about them that he doesn’t hate them as much anymore.

In the beginning, Ponyboy has a hatred for the other group called the Socials,

or Socs. He dislikes them with a burning passion because of the way they act. When Ponyboy is confronted by the Socs, he says, “‘You know what a Soc is?’ I asked, my voice shaking with rage. ‘White trash with Mustangs and madras.’” (5). This line from the book describes his hatred for the Socials because he calls them white trash. As he calls them white trash, his voice shakes with rage and that proves that he really doesn’t like them. Ponyboy includes the Mustangs and madras part because a lot of people look up to the Socials just because of the type of clothes they wear and the cars that they drive. Ponyboy doesn’t like it how they act like they are better than everyone else, especially when the Socs act like they’re better than the Greasers. Also, he doesn’t like the way they dress snobby and drive super rich cars. Ponyboy hates the way the Socials treat others and hates it even more when they treat the Greasers like trash.
Ponyboy starts to contemplate his feelings about the Socs when he meets a Soc named Cherry Valence.

As Ponyboy tells Cherry about how a group of Socials jumped Johnny, Cherry is shocked and claims that not every Soc is like that and explains what the Socs are really like. After their discussion, Ponyboy thinks, "I really couldn't see what the Socs would have to sweat about- good grades, good cars, good girls, madras and Mustangs and Corvairs. Man, I thought, if I had worries like that I'd consider myself lucky. I know better now." (36) These lines from the book explains how his feelings starts to change for the Socs because after talking with Cherry, Ponyboy thinks about the Socs. At first Ponyboy glorifies them and makes them seem like they have a perfect life by saying how they have good cars and girls. Then Ponyboy starts to think and slowly changes his opinion of the Socs by knowing better.

In the end of the novel, Ponyboy's opinions about the Socs changes. During the conversation with Cherry, Ponyboy thinks, " She was coming through me all right. . ." (38). Before, Ponyboy didn't think twice about conversing with the Socs emotionally because of his hatred towards them. Now, he lets Cherry Valentine, a Soc, talk to him on a deeper level. It proves that Ponyboy's opinions about the Socs change because as he is speaking to one, he doesn't mind that Cherry is a Soc. He realizes that not every Soc is as horrible he depicted them to be and continues having a conversation with

her.
In conclusion, Ponyboy has grown over the course of the text because his feelings of the Socs changes from what he used to think of them. Before, Ponyboy thinks that the Socs are trash with fancy cars, but then his opinions change after speaking with Cherry Valentine. He soon realizes that the Socs are ordinary human beings like the Socs and grows to not despise them as much.