In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy, the young protagonist is a member of the greaser gang along with his older brother Darry; both brothers have a difficult life, but are able to rise above that and perform noble deeds. Ponyboy, a kind, fourteen-year-old orphan with light brown hair and greenish-grey eyes, has to deal with many obstacles. His parents die in a car crash and he lives with only his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Darry is constantly pressuring Ponyboy to do well in school so he can get a scholarship. Since he is a greaser, he is at great risk of being jumped by the Socs, another gang in his town. Ponyboy does not enjoy being a greaser because he does not believe fighting, stealing, or perpetrating terrible crimes …show more content…
are right. Despite having a rough life, Ponyboy is able to perform many acts of benevolence.
Ponyboy saves up money to try to buy back Sodapop's horse, Mickey Mouse. However, his most noble act is saving little children from a burning, abandoned church with the assistance of Johnny and Dally, two other members of the gang. After all the dreadful experiences Ponyboy endures, he feels he must tell his story to help people like him. Like Ponyboy, Darry suffers from having to live a very rough life, but still manages to produce acts of nobleness. Darry, a strict, 20-year-old muscular man with dark hair and brown eyes, has to deal with many hardships. Since both his parents die, Darry becomes the caretaker of his two younger brothers. He gives up his chance to go to college and instead must work excessively hard to support the family. Although Darry has to endure these hardships, he is still able to execute bighearted acts. Darry manages to always be the father figure of the greaser gang. He also overworks himself so he can help the family and give his little brothers their greatest shot in life. Both Darry and Pony could prosper from programs. Darry and Ponyboy, constantly have arguments and disagreements so maybe group therapy could be beneficial to …show more content…
them. The American Psychological Association states, “Drawing from a primary prevention program he developed called Growing Up FAST (Families and Adolescents Surviving and Thriving), his program makes parents and caregivers an integral part of treatment; focuses on the strengths of the child and family instead of their weaknesses; and asks families to identify the issues they want to work on.The intervention also helps juvenile offenders avoid problem behaviors and develop effective life strategies…” Additionally, Ponyboy could be a member of a scholarship program to have a brighter future ahead of him. Another club that could help Ponyboy is one that focuses on aiding children with their homework, so Ponyboy does not have to face the stress Darry places on him. Although the Curtis brothers encounter challenging times, they are not alone because other members in the greaser gang go through hardships and still are capable of selfless deeds. Greasers, like Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston, suffer through conflicts, but are able to perform heroic actions. Johnny, a little, tan-faced boy with heavily greased black hair and large black eyes, struggles with his very tough life. He grows up without feeling any love from his family: His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him, except when she was hacked off at something, and then You could hear her yelling at him clear down at our house. He Would have run away… If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny Would never have known what love and affection are. (Hinton, p.12) Johnny also lives in crippling fear of the blue Mustang with the Socs that could jump and pummel him again. Johnny even has to suffer with the guilt of murdering Bob, a Soc, when trying to defend himself and save Ponyboy from drowning in the park fountain. Johnny’s most noble act is saving children from the burning church with Ponyboy. Johnny gives up his life to ensure these children are safe. He believes that the children have more of a reason to live because their lives are better than his. In addition, Johnny’s friend, Dally, also exhibits ethical deeds, despite his arduous life. Dally, a 17-year-old boy with an elfish face, bleach blond hair and blue eyes, endures a terribly burdensome life. Dally commits plenty of crimes, so in jail he becomes bitter and harsh. Dally’s parents do not show any love towards him, so he learns not to get attached to people. However, the one person he does care about, Johnny, dies a painful death causing Dally to finally hit his breaking point. At the site where Johnny injures himself in the blazing fire, Dally performs gallant acts. He attempts to rescue Johnny and saves Ponyboy from the fire on his back. He even assists Ponyboy and Johnny escape to Windrixville after the murdering of Bob. Many programs could lead to improvements in Johnny and Dally’s lives and behaviors. Therapy could be useful to Johnny since it could be a place for Johnny to confess his thoughts and struggles. Also a program that focuses on children spending time with the elderly could be beneficial to Johnny and Dally. Not only would it help the elderly, but it would make them feel like they have an authority figure that cares about them. Also, both boys could prosper from something simple like school clubs that could help them to behave better, create more friends, or keep them from getting into trouble. Although the Socs seem to have an easier life, they also face struggles in their lives and enact great deeds, like greasers. Cherry Valance and Randy Adderson, two rich Socs, have difficult lives, but still perform notable deeds despite what the greasers think of them.
Cherry, a cheerleader with long red hair from the west side of town deals with problems. She is put under pressure by the other Socs and does not feel free to be herself, because of the divide between the greasers and Socs. When Bob is drunk and tries to pick a fight with Ponyboy and Johnny, she forces herself to go home with him so Pony and Johnny do not get hurt. Cherry even has to confront the grief that follows the murdering of Bob. Although Cherry has to face a lot, she still performs honorable deeds. Cherry accepts Ponyboy and Johnny for who they are rather than treat them like the rest of the Socs do, when she meets them at the movies. She also agrees to be a spy for the greasers, and risks her reputation in the town to assist the greasers because she strives to see the kindness in everyone. Cherry is not the only Soc that faces troubles in their life, but manages to complete acts of big-heartedness. Randy, a rich kid from the west side encounters strenuous times, yet he performs acts of kindness. Randy is constantly afraid of what his pals, and the town will think of him if he does what he would like to do. He wants to not go to the rumble, but he is scared of what people might think. Randy even have to witness his best friend Bob being brutally murdered, and bleeding to death. Although Randy, suffers from these tough
situations, he does some acts of kindness. Randy treats Ponyboy nicely and chooses to call him by his name instead of just saying “greaser” like the other Socs. Randy also worries about Ponyboy being put in a boys home and wants to testify in support of him when they go to court. Programs could greatly improve the lives of Randy and Cherry. Both Socs could attend school clubs, so they have someplace to go and express themselves instead of getting into fights or performing terrible acts. “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the hours immediately after school dismissal are when young people are the most likely to commit or be victimized by serious criminal acts. [FBI, National Incident-Based Reporting System] In fact, the juvenile crime rate triples between 3:00 and 6:00 pm. Afterschool programs can offer a safe and enjoyable place for young people who might otherwise find themselves in dangerous and unsupervised situations.” Both Socs and greasers undergo struggles in their lives, but perform many acts of righteousness to help others.
Ponyboy Curtis - Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old member of a gang called the Greasers. His parents died in a car accident, so he lives alone with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a good student and athlete, but most people at school consider him a vagrant like his Greaser friends.
Pony and Johnny do not hesitate and jump in to save the children, Pony gets out ok but Johnny is hit with a piece of falling wood and serious burnt. The boys appear in the news as heroes, even though they are still wanted for murdering the Soc. Pony is fine, but Johnny is badly hurt. After a while, there is a big fight between the Greasers and the Socs.
"He's as hard as a rock and about as human...he thinks I'm a pain in the neck. He likes Soda--everybody likes Soda--but he can't stand me” (42). This does show that Pony does not get along very well with Darry, however it shows that Ponyboy does get along well with Soda. Pony finds comfort in Soda when he fights with Darry. Sodapop helps tighten the three brother relationship.“ ‘We‘re all we got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don‘t have each other, we don‘t have anything. If you don‘t have anything, you end up like Dallas . . . and I don‘t mean dead, either. I mean like he was before. And that‘s worse than dead. Please’ ”- he wiped his eyes on his arm- “ ‘don‘t fight anymore’ ” says Soda (176). “ ‘Sure... sure little buddy, we ain't goin' to fight anymore’ ” Darry answers (176). This demonstrates that eventually Ponyboy and Darry stop
In the Outsiders written by S.E Hinton one of the main characters is Ponyboy. He is stereotyped as a greaser (a poor boy from the east side of town). Ponyboy accepts being a greaser and it affects him positively. Some people might stereotype Ponyboy as a hero and not a greaser.
In the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, a young boy named Ponyboy faces a problem of being taken away from his two brothers, one who is his legal guardian. If he is taken away he will be put into the foster system. His parents are dead, so he does not want to be separated from his only living family, his two brothers Sodapop and Darry, and his gang called the Greasers. He needs to stay with his brothers because his gang is like his family, his brothers can support him financially, and he does not want to lose the closest thing he has to a family.
“Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave (2).” This explains why Ponyboy, Dally and Sodapop did not have parents. In the novel, this really effected their life and character. "…It was Darry. He hit me. I don't know what happened, but I couldn't take him hollering at me and hitting me too... He didn't use to be like that... we used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died. Now he just can't stand me (2)." This shows that not having their parents anymore effected Darry’s character and how he treated Ponyboy, which in return effected how Ponyboy felt about himself in comparison to how he was treated. This illustrates that Ponyboy believes that Darry picks on him all the time. This shows that Darry was like a caring parent in a tough way,
“ But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college. So he never went anywhere and never did anything anymore, except work out at gyms and go skiing with some old friends of his sometimes,”(15). This shows that Darry puts Ponyboy’s and Soda’s needs above his own, and that he is willing to sacrifice his social life in order to have financial stability for his two younger brothers. Also it demonstrates that Darry obtains two jobs in order to give Ponyboy the chance to make something of himself, and not be stuck in the slums for the rest of his life. Even though Ponyboy staying with his brothers is the obvious choice, others may argue that Ponyboy should be put into a boys home. “...but he can't stand me. I bet he wishes he could stick me in a home somewhere, and he'd do it, too, if Soda'd let him,”(37) This shows that Ponyboy thinks that Darry doesn’t love him, and that he would get rid of him if he got the chance. However, this perception was proven wrong when Darry was crying when Ponyboy finally came home,
The Outsiders is a novel by S.E Hinton, that follows a young boy named Ponyboy who grows up in a gang. Johnny, Sodapop and Darry help him find how he fits into the world and without them he would have a hard time finding his own identity. Without having a close group of friends he would have a tough way of life, especially with the Socs. Being in a group that you associate with, that have different values to yourself can lead you to disregard your own ethics and do things you wouldn’t normally do, but at the same time this can assist and reinforce your own values…
Ponyboy and Cherry start to talk and realize they aren’t that different. On the way, however, they run into Bob and Randy, the girls' drunken boyfriends, and the girls agree to leave with them in order to stop a fight between the Socs and the greasers. Ponyboy then gets home late because of what happened at the drive-in. Dally is mad and starts yelling. Sick of constantly being watched and criticized by his brother, Ponyboy yells at him. The two brothers fight and Darry slaps Ponyboy across the face.
Have you ever felt judged or marginalized only because of the situation you were born in?Having to walk on the street wondering if you’re safe. Have you ever been the one that gets made fun of? The laughing stock? The uncool one? The one with the bad luck? In S.E Hinton's The Outsiders, the Greasers are all of those things. It’s a dark world they live in but they have no choice. Although the narrator, Ponyboy, may not lead the best life, he still tries to make the most of it. Heroism, social class and survival are some of the most transcendent themes demonstrated in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders.
After the church fire Ponyboy comes to the realization of many things. Two-Bit and Ponyboy are eating at a restaurant known as Tasty Freeze when Randy asks to speak with him. Ponyboy tells Randy, ¨Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual¨(115). He finds out that you cannot define someone based on of they are part of the Socs or the greasers. Furthermore, he finds out that every one is a individual and that means that just because he is a part of a certain group it does not mean that they are all going to react or perceive a situation in the same exact way. In addition, he say this to Randy because when there was a fire in the church Dally was not willing to risk his life to save someone else's when Johnny and Ponyboy were more than willing to help the kids. This shows event shows how all Greasers and Socs are not the same. In the beginning of the novel Ponyboy believed Darry disliked him and thought he was a nuisance. However, later on at the hospital Ponyboy tells Darry, “I’m sorry” (98). Ponyboy’s words expose how he feels bad for thinking Darry disliked him all along when in truth he loved him more than words could describe. He realizes that Darry fears losing another family member that is why he is so overprotective of Ponyboy. Hence, proving Ponyboy is clearly a dynamic character.
But they spend almost the entire story neck and neck. They spend all of their time focusing on what is going on in their own lives. For the greasers those things are, living with little money, not having family members to rely on, and having to deal with the Socs. For the Socs, it's wanting their family to discipline them more to show them they care, keeping up their reputation, and having to deal with the neglect of their parents. Both sides have so many thing going on in their lives that they don't even think about the reason they are fighting or what's so wrong about the other side. It takes them quite a while until they finally come to the conclusion about both sides, as Cherry Valance said, “‘Things are rough all over’” (Hinton
At sixteen years of age, S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders, a fictional novel set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the year 1965. The story is told from the perspective of fourteen year old Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy, along with his two older brothers, and other friends, are Greasers. Greasers is a nickname directed towards people in the low-social class region. Those classified in the high-class category are called Socs, short for socials. The two groups tend to bear a great deal of clashing whenever they interact; Socs attack Greasers, Greasers fight back. One day, Ponyboy and a friend of his, Johnny Cade, are approached by a clique of Socs. During the brawl, someone attempts to drown Ponyboy. Johnny retaliates by stabbing a particular
After Dally and Johnny's death,Pony boy's grades started to drop. Darry,Pony boy's older brother, confronts Pony boy about his failing grades,and a huge fight happens between them. Soda, Pony boy's middle
Even from the beginning Ponyboy recognised the different social classes and the struggles that the Greasers face. ‘I'm not sure how you spell it, but Socs is the abbreviation for Socials, the West-side rich kids. It's like the term greaser that's used to class all us boys on the East Side’ (chapter 1 p.3). ‘And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact.’ Despite the death of his friends and a Soc as a result of the warfare between the gangs Ponyboy never truly acknowledges that something should be done, nor does he try to resolve this. Ponyboys character as well as many other characters do not progress or mature through the book and never try to positively solve their problems