Teens, in particular, have always sought to separate themselves into different social groups. Whether they’re named the nerds and the jocks or the preps and the rebels, one group has always been “in” and one group has always been “out”. It’s just the names and uniforms have changed(Doc A). This has never been more apparent in the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Set in the 1960’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two groups of teens —the no-good greasers and the rich Socs— are at constant odds with each other. While it may be easy to tell who are the outsiders in the novel at first glance, lines become blurred as the reader gets deeper into the novel. It’s true the Socs and/or the greasers may be the outsiders referred to in the title of the novel, however, the title truly pertains to the individuals who see beyond the divide of the 2 groups aforementioned above. The Socs— the well-to-do kids loved by society— may seem like an unusual choice as outsiders, however they, too, are not insusceptible to a teenage identity …show more content…
After all, they are the “out” group— the clique that society condones. Ponyboy, the protagonist, also identifies himself as part of them. While reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, he felt Pip, the main character reminded him of the greasers–”the way he felt marked lousy because he wasn’t a gentleman or anything, and the way that girl kept looking down on him” (Doc B). Greasers are lookeed down opon in society becuase they aren’t rich, and the image associated with them is negative. They are believed to be a general menace to society; people think they all steal stuff for kicks, attack innocent bystanders for no reason, and are uneducated hoodlums. They are outsiders to society as a whole. Pony, no matter how smart or talented he may be, will always be treated as an outsider by the Socs just because he’s a
The book The Outsiders is the realistic story about this between two very different groups in a town in the United States: the poor Greasers from the east side, and the Socs, whitch is what the greasers call the socials, the richer boys from the other side of the town. Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator of the story, a 14-year-old boy who lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a pretty good athlete and student, but is not treated the same as the richer students at his school. Ponyboy uses to have long hair that he greases back, a symbol of being in the outsider gang. He is unhappy with his situation, because Darry is too protective of him and he always has to be afraid of Socs attacking him.
Assumptions made based solely upon theses stereotypes are constant throughout The Outsiders. Ponyboy and the other Greasers assume that since the Socs are well-off financially, their problems are trivial. This helped to perpetuate stereotypes plastered onto the Socs. Since the Socs were thought of as model teens in
On pg. 2, the text states that, “I’m not sure how you spell it, but it’s the abbreviation for the socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids.” This quote shows how the Socs are viewed by the Outsiders as the wealthy kids that live on the West side. In the book, the Socs are seen as the people who jump the Greasers, wreck houses, and throw beer blasts. The Socs have a mixed opinion by society. In the newspaper, the Socs are in one article for being a disgrace to society and in the next article they are a pleasure to have in the community. The text states that on pg. 38, “You Greasers have a different set of values. You’re more emotional. We’re sophisticated.” This is a quote stated by a Socs girl named Cherry, who describes the Greasers she and a friend met at the movie theatre. Cherry’s perception shows how the Socs are viewed verses the the Greasers. Also, Greasers have preconceived perceptions about the Socs
Have you ever got jumped for doing nothing, get stuff blamed on you for nothing, or even been made fun of for your social class? The book The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton is about two groups of teenagers, the Greasers and the Socs and how they are in conflict with each other. The two informational articles offer facts about how two groups of teenagers struggle in life because wealthy kids have money to buy drugs and alcohol as well as feel pressure from their parents about doing good in school, while low income teenagers have to drop out of school to help their families by getting a job and help pay for the bills. Some people believe that the Socs struggled more in The Outsiders because they had more money and used it to do drugs and more stuff
According to Chris Pine, “The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.” This quote means you can choose how you view people and things.This relates to the Outsiders because the novel is about how you choose to view people. The Outsiders is about how people shouldn’t judge others based on stereotypes and they should get to know them first.
Greasers were the lowest among the society. The society had negative thoughts towards Greasers, because there were not many things people expected from the Greasers other than doing bad things such as stealing, having rumble, and other bad things that happened around the society. Not every Greaser does bad things, however, the Greasers took the blame for anything bad even if it was the Socs fault. It is because everyone expected the Greasers to do bad things instead of the Socs. Even though the Greasers had a bad reputation, they didn’t care, but instead they enjoyed their lives. Sometimes the Greasers do bad things but only for fun and because it was the society’s expectations. If the Greasers did something good, no one would expect or believe the Greasers did it. No one would ever expect the Greasers to be heroes, just like the man whose kids were saved by Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dallas. “’Mrs. O’Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?’ Sent from heaven? Had he gotten look at Dallas? ‘No, we’re greasers.’” (Page...
Greasers are real people just like Socs, but they do not fit in as easily. They feel as though they don’t belong anywhere. Or in other words, they are outsiders. Hence the title name. Ponyboy especially feels like this due to the fact that he does not fit in very well with Socs or Greasers. The rest of Pony’s gang feels more like the fit as Greasers. In conclusion, the title of the novel fits with the theme because they do not fit in anywhere, and they are outsiders.
In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy, along with his brothers and friends, has to face the daily struggles of being a greaser among the Socs. This fiction book focused on Ponyboy’s life and the problems he ran into with the Socs. He and his gang of friends had fights with the Socs that happened often, and had to deal with a Soc being killed by one of the Greasers, though it was an act of self defense. The three topics addressed in this intriguing novel are the fight between rich and poor, the power of friendship, and what it means to be a hero.
The term out¬¬-sider, according to dictionary.com would be considered as a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc. The way society treats outsiders is by separating them into different groups because of things that are different from what people are used to, and in the novel, they’re based and judged by their looks. The greasers who live on the East side are the ones who are considered “outsiders” to the West side of town, home to the Socs (a vicious gang of rich kids) who were always drinking and looking to get into fights with greasers. To be more precise, in the book The Outsiders, Ponyboy one of the main characters is considered an outcast throughout society mainly because he lives in a lower social class and is a member of a delinquent gang of greasers. However, Ponyboy is somewhat of an outsider in his gang, unlike the other members he’s sensitive, intelligent, does not enjoy harming others, and has conversations with Soc members and understands their perspective on
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…
In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, the lower-class, known as the Greasers, and the upper-class, known as Socs, deal with the animosity and daily struggles they have with each other. The novel focuses on the struggles and experiences with being an outsider to society and coping with the rich side of town through Ponyboy’s eyes. His life changes when tensions rise and many tragic things happen to the Greasers and Socs that will create agony in many but heroes in a few. The three topics addressed in this compelling novel are the fight between the rich and the poor, the power of friendship, and what it means to be a hero.
Typically, greasers are depicted as people similar to hoods, as Ponyboy states, "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" (Hinton 4). Yet, even though Ponyboy is a greaser, he avoids getting into trouble for the sake of staying together with his family. He explains that, "I don't mean I do things like that... Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave. So Soda and I stay out of trouble as much as we can, and we're careful not to get caught when we can't" (Hinton 4). Alternatively, Pony also enjoys activities such as reading and watching movies. Even simpler things, such as sunsets and clouds, are something he found beauty and enjoyment in. This sets him apart from the greasers because according to Pony, he states that, "And nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do" (Hinton 3). Since nobody other than Ponyboy himself shares the enjoyment of these particular pastimes, which is drastically different from pursuits such as shoplifting and fighting in rumbles, Ponyboy is divergent from the standard attributes of the greasers. Therefore, Ponyboy is a thoughtful and dreamy individual who holds different interests and aspirations than the
The high schools are made up of cliques and the artificial intensity of a world defined by insiders and outsiders. (Botstein pg.20) The insiders hold control. over the outsiders because of good looks, popularity, and sports power; the teacher. and staff do nothing to stop them, the elite.
The Outsiders is about the life of a 14-year-old boy. The book tells the story of Ponyboy “Curtis” and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers, Darrel (Darry), who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16, have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side rich kids."
Socs and greasers were common in many ways including with “The Allure of Gangs”. In the fictional novel The Outsiders and similar to “The Allure of Gangs” it says,”...Just