Social Statuses In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

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Although in society humans are ranked based on social statuses, by the end of the day everyone is in the same boat. As human nature, people have a tendency of categorizing others and themselves as a way to distinguish separate classes when in reality there really is no difference. The author uses this idea as a way of showing the differences between social classes and how they are perceived to be. Throughout the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the author shows how completely different people’s lives are, yet they always seem to find that one similarity where the boundary line between them does not exist. This creates the idea that everyone ends up seeing the same sunset no matter who they are and what rank they may have in society. As the …show more content…

As Ponyboy gets more experiences openly talking to Socs, he says to himself, “Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (Hinton 118). S.E. Hinton told the readers that Ponyboy has finally understood the fact that Socs are not completely different people and that they have a commonality within each other. The importance of this shows how much the main character has grown since the start of the novel. In spite of the many differences, Cherry told Pony, Socs have just as many challenges as greasers, and Hinton referred back to that quote throughout the book to demonstrate the greater impact of what it truly means. Ponyboy is able to manage to move beyond the labels of “Soc” and “Greaser” and get the greater understanding of the realities facing all young people, not just greasers. This creates the result of moving past the titles and genuinely being able to comprehend that others are people too despite the status in society. All in all, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows us the impact of how social classes in society can be perceived. The author successfully establishes that two worlds, no matter how different they may be, still have a commonality between them. This gives the readers a greater understanding that regardless of how big the difference is, there can still be an

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