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Novel study essay the outsiders
Similarities and differences between characters in the outsiders
Compare and contrast characters in the outsiders
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Ponyboy loves his hair because it took him a long time to grow it out, it is an important part of his identity, and it is the only thing he truly has. First Ponyboy snaps at Johnny and says “It took me a long time to get that hair just the way I wanted it.” (73). This means that it will take a long time for his hair to grow back and for the bleach to grow out; Ponyboy knows this and is saddened by his loss. Next Ponyboy thinks “Our hair labeled us greasers, too- it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of.” (71). This quote tells us many things about Ponyboy and Johnny, for example “The one thing we were proud of.”; tells us quite literally that he's proud of his hair. Another fragment of this quote, “Our hair labeled us greasers,
too- it was our trademark”, tells us that one of the differences between a greaser and a hood is long greasy hair (hence the name Greaser). Finally, Ponyboy thinks”Maybe we couldn't have Corvairs or madras shirts, but we could have hair.”(71). This quote literally says that this is the only thing that Ponyboy truly has. In conclusion, Ponyboy loves his hair because it took him a long time to grow it out, and it is an important part of his identity.
Upton Sinclair, the author of The Jungle, wrote this novel to unveil the atrocious working conditions and the contaminated meat in meat-packing workhouses. It was pathos that enabled his book to horrify hundreds of people and to encourage them to take a stand against these meat-packing companies. To obtain the awareness of people, he incorporated a descriptive style to his writing. Ample amounts of imagery, including active verbs, abstract and tangible nouns, and precise adjectives compelled readers to be appalled. Durham, the leading Chicago meat packer, was illustrated, “having piles of meat... handfuls of dried dung of rats...rivers of hot blood, and carloads of moist flesh, and soap caldrons, craters of hell.” ( Sinclair 139). His description
Showing that Ponyboy was very inexperienced and thought Mickey Mouse Sodas horse was just like Soda and they were brothers.Thirdly, we see how some actions Ponyboy’s gang does help show the need for childhood innocence like when pony says,” Darrel, who we call Darry, works too long and hard to be interested in a story or drawing a picture,” (Hinton 3). Darry is only 20 and he has a job working on roofs he works so hard so he can care for his brothers Soda and Ponyboy he has no time to be a kid himself he is working like a man when he is only a child.While some believe the main theme is brotherly love I argue its preserving childhood innocence. While this is a good point, because Ponyboy’s group definitely sticks up for one another in a brotherly fashion, it lays a strong foundation for preserving childhood innocence. Jonny had never been a coward he was a good man in a rumble, (Hinton 34) this shows how has Johnny loses his innocence, he becomes fearful of the Soc’s and begins to carry a switchblade to keep his gang safe, you might think this shows brotherly love, but it also shows preserving childhood innocence because when Johnny got used to being targeted by the Soc’s he lost his innocence, that’s why he would carry stuff like switch blades to keep him and others safe from the Soc’s. While the Greasers grew up they lost more and more of their innocence to rumbles and hatred of the Soc’s.
Ponyboy talks about him as having ", an elfish face with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx. His hair was so blond, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in the back in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world. “He works as a jockey, and funnily doesn't rig his races; it's "the only thing Dally did honestly." Even though he is only seventeen years old, "the fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring." He set the stereotype for the greasers its scary to the others how scary he is. In the events when Johnny killed Bob dally helped out the boys and gifted them one handgun and $100. Ponyboy realizes the truth after Johnny's death. When he tries to make sense of Dally's reaction to Johnny's death, it dawns on him, "Johnny was the only thing that Dally
“Inside every cynic is a disappointed idealist.” This quote by George Carlin perfectly outlines the reasons why many people are bitter toward the world in their everyday lives. While cynicism is justified for those who have had a tough life, countless people become exceedingly pessimistic because life didn’t meet their expectations.. An example of this would be Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”. Salinger does an admirable job of portraying how Holden’s attitude leads to a massive downward spiral. When a person holds too high of standards for the world around them, it can lead to an unrelenting undue criticism of people around them and even hypocrisy.
He knows that Ponyboy has a chance because he is very smart. How they both reacted to not having parents shaped and effected who they are. “Johnny was high-strung anyway, a nervous wreck from getting belted every time he turned around and from hearing his parents fight all the time(2).” This explains how Johnny was effected by his parents. His parents constantly fighting and beating him made him who he was. A part of him was effected by all the chaos and pain he had to go through every day. “We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while. I don't mean I do things like that. Darry would kill me if I got into trouble with the police.” Social roles are a part of self-image that makes a person who they are. In the novel Ponyboy explains the groups that the Greasers and Sochs were split into. This
Reginald’s Roses purpose in writing Twelve Angry Men is to point out that justice can be oblivious unless someone or something acts upon it because in some cases, we are over powered by our biases or by individuality and/or conformity that we don’t focus on the facts, or we don’t even bother caring about sending someone to the death penalty because all we want is to rest.
They had little money to afford fancy things so they were left with hair wax. Society though tends to have a way to try and strip youths from their identity. From Sparknotes.com: “When the Socs jump Ponyboy at the beginning of the novel, they ask him if he wants a haircut and threaten to cut off his hair. By doing so, they would rob him of his identity.” As reported by cliffnotes.com: “The evolution of the family relationships is a recurrent theme in the novel. Family relationships are strained during the teen years…” Ponboy and his brothers, Darry and Sodapop, were orphans. Darry worked two jobs to try and provide for them. Ponyboy didn’t realize that Darry was so hard on him because he wanted him to become something and not always be a “Greasers”. Johnny’s parents were both very physically and emotionally abusive. Throughout the book it was quite evident Johnny did not know what family love was. The only love he receives is from the gang. In our culture today family dynamics play a large role. With that said we are in a time were things genuinely are not always black and white. You can come from a struggling background but still have excellent morals and excel in
“As I slowly lost my speech, I gained my voice. As I diminished, I grew. As I lost so much, I finally started to find myself” (Neil Sellinger). ALS changes a lot of people’s opinion on life once they fully experience that they’re unable to do the things they once used to. Their perspective changes fully. In Tuesday’s with Morrie, Morrie teaches people to live life through love, money is not needed to have a happy life, and that accepting death is okay.
So he did not feel like society was holding him back from going on his adventure.so chris decide to burn his money and then he had nothing to lose . he was finally free from the clutches of the outer world and government .through his journey he meet this person called crazy ernie in
He realizes that he had an identity that he can communicate and be like a greaser, but doesn’t devote to the greaser way of life. In the scene, Ponyboy has an advanced way of life that includes both the Soc and greaser style, “Socs are just guys after all...Thing are rough all over.” Ponyboy at this time, understands how a Soc and a Greaser are similar and are of the same kind, human, yet are also different. He establishes an idea that the identity of a person is important because it describes who you are. As a result, Pony learns to look between the lines of people, not just at the extremes. The evidence that supports this is also “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” as I stated before. Andy says, “I’m Andy, he screamed wordlessly, I’m Andy.” When Andy’s death was coming close, the only thing we wanted in the end, was an identity. Similar to Ponyboy who is different from the gang and has a distinct personality. He is disparate because in the gang, Pony was the only one who ever thought about the sky, clouds, and books, which proves him exclusively in the group. This proves that Andy and Ponyboy are different from their gang and have a personality different from the group, and they both actually want to be different and be known not as a Royal or a Greaser, but as Andy and
In David Sheff’s book “Beautiful Boy” he utilizes descriptive diction, allusions to other works, and vivid imagery to recreate the experiences he’s gone through during his son’s addiction, times in recovery, and relapses.
One of the many sources, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton exhibits that memories are important in defining a person. Two of the most prominent figures in the book are Johnny and Ponyboy. Ponyboy recalls Johnny’s background information that shaped who he saw as a friend. Ponyboy once said that “I remembered Johnny-his face all cut up and bruised, and I remembered how he had cried when we found him, half-conscious in the corner lot. Johnny had it awful rough at home-it took a lot to make his cry” (Hinton 4). Ponyboy’s considerate companionship with Johnny is all defined by his past. Johnny’s pitiful stature makes Ponyboy a more proactive person. His new protective attitude towards Johnny depicts both of their new identities. The fact is that at home, Johnny’s “…father was always beating him up, and is mother ignore...
Loyalty is one of the only things that can hold the bonds of family and friends.
Many students want revenge against Mr. Dobbins because he can run a very strict classroom. He has a very short-temper and I assume this could impact what causes him to have such a strict classroom and why many students want revenge on him. His ways of discipline scare me when reading the novel. They seem rather harsh and overrated. The novel shows this in this quote, “The schoolmaster, always severe, grew severer and more exacting than ever, for he wanted the school to make a good showing on “Examination” day.”(127) His main character traits include, egotistical, mean, impoverished, and many others. He’s also a disciplinarian and not very theological. Opinion wise, I think he’s very vengeful. The chapter shows this by using this quote, “As the great day approached, all the tyranny that was in him came to the surface; he seemed to take a vindictive pleasure in punishing the least shortcomings.”(127)I feel as if he doesn’t care for the schoolchildren, like he doesn’t show any affection towards them.
“One sees clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” I found this quote on page sixty-three. This quote was the fox's secret, where he, later, told the little prince. In chapter twenty of the “Little Prince”, the little prince encountered a rose garden. He was unhappy because his rose had told him that she was the only one of her kind in the universe, but there were so many roses that looked just like her. He, then, wept because he felt like he owned just an ordinary rose. On chapter twenty-one, the little prince met the fox. He asked the fox if he would come play with him because he was feeling sad. The fox told him that he cannot play with him because he is not tamed. The little prince asked the fox what “tamed”