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Symbolism in the outsider
Analysis of the outsiders
Analysis of the outsiders
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In S.E. Hinton’s novel “The Outsiders” Ponyboy is in a social group that has a negative effect on his life. This is because he is judged by others, put in danger and has limited school opportunities and job options because of this. While Ponyboy is getting jumped a death occurs and johnny is wanted for murder. Ponyboy and Johnny go on a run. Later Ponyboy and Johnny help children get out of a burning church. The church caves in on Johnny and is crippled. Later he dies and Ponyboy is left to face trial. The social groups are a negative influence on Ponyboy's life because they often categorize him, put him in danger and also limits his various opportunities in both getting a job but also finishing school. Ponyboy is from the Greaser gang and automatically looked as a troublemaker, and a poor kid. The Socs don't treat him very well he is sometimes jumped by the Socs. But the Socs don't really see how smart Ponyboy is and how he not like the other members in his gang. But Ponyboy shouldn't be treated they way he is being treated because he doesn't deserve that. …show more content…
The Socs treat him like trash and jump him, put knives up to his throat and gets threatened by them a lot. Bit he isn't the only going through that, many of his gang members are having the same problems with the Socs and that because they're in a social group that the Socs don't like. It's unfair. In self defense Johnny had to pull out his switchblade and kill a guy while Johnny and Ponyboy are being jumped. I don't think Ponyboy wants to see his brothers and friends to go through that and get hurt. Ponyboy should not be treated like trash just because he is in a certain group. It's bad enough he has no
He is smart, and gets good grades in school. This is purposefully mentioned several times within the story, and people tend to be surprised to learn that he is a Greaser. In addition, some Greasers are nicer than people tend to think. When the church burned down, Ponyboy and Johnny run in to save the children without a second thought. They acted with selflessness, putting the safety of the children above their own. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Ponyboy is asked if he and Johnny are "professional heroes". He responds by telling the entire story of how they're Greasers and Johnny is wanted for murder, shocking the man in the ambulance. It is difficult for him to believe that a group of Greasers would do something so heroic. Johnny dies as a direct result of their actions, but neither Ponyboy nor Johnny regretted what they
People should have a conversation with someone and get to know them before judging them. Ponyboy changed the way he thought of the Socs. At first he thought of the Socs as thugs who enjoy jumping Greasers. He later learned that Socs have problems that Greasers don’t know of and not all Socs hate Greasers.
In the beginning of the book Ponyboy said, “Greasers can’t walk home alone too much or they’ll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream ‘Greaser’ at them, but I liked walking alone after movies” (Hinton, p. 2). Ponyboy was not afraid of walking home alone or of the Socs because he knew he had the gang and he was tough enough to act like he wasn’t scared of the Socs. Ponyboy is always smoking cigarettes even though he is only 14. “Jerry stared at me for a second. ‘You shouldn’t be smoking.’ I was startled. ’How come?’ Jerry stammered, ‘Uh you’re too young.’ ‘i am?’ Everyone in the neighborhood smoke, even the girls, smoked” (Hinton, p.97). This shows that he breaks rules whether he wants to or not he does what makes him tough in the
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.
To save Ponyboy from the Socs, he kill the Socs Bob though he is really scared and terrified by them. He can take the consequence of killing a man because he needs to save his friend. Another example is that when the church is on fire Johnny not only saves school children but saves Ponyboy by pushing Ponyboy out of the church leaving himself in great danger of being crushed by the building’s falling timbers. He can die for his friend. So it is really sad that such a heroic character died after the church fire incident.
Ponyboy was walking home from the theaters and he got jumped. The socs surrounded him and it was an unfair fight for Ponyboy. The Greasers carry around knives to protect themselves. “ I had seen Johnny after four socs got hold of him, and it wasn't pretty.” (4). This shows that the Greasers have to be careful and always be on the lookout for socs so they don't get jumped.
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
Throughout life individuals face many challenges testing their values and personality one situation at a time. In the evocative novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton themes of growing up and innocence are shown. Ponyboy is not your average 14 year old he is part of a gang known to many as the Greasers. He encounters many situations testing his values and beliefs. Having lost both his parents recently he and his brothers stick together like a true family but this relationship is tested when Darry hits Ponyboy. He also experiences the loss several close friends in a very short period of time. Throughout this novel, Ponyboy encounters many life changing experiences that prove he is a dynamic character.
Ponyboy is attacked by stereotype threat several times throughout the book. One example is the beginning when he is jumped by four Socs“I about decided I didn’t like it so much ,though, when I spotted that red Corvair trailing me.” Hinton 4. Ponyboy was cornered by four Socs who proceeded to punch and beat up Ponyboy. The four kids only beat up Ponyboy because he is a Greaser and he is the enemy of their gang, the Socs. Beating up Ponyboy is what is expected of them. This shows that these Socs are trapped by stereotype because they embraced that stereotype and made it a part of their identity. Ponyboy does show signs of
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…
By looking at the incidents happened around Ponyboy and the changes of Ponyboy’s attitudes towards reality, we can see that Ponyboy has matured and learned the essence of solving problems, which most readers don’t see; this is important because it reveals the relationship between dreams and reality, that is cocooning from the world is not going to solve any problems, instead, only through facing the reality could we regain lost courage and break the obstacles.
In The Outsiders it is given that through faith and devotion to one another Ponyboy and the gang use their close friendship in troublesome situations for instance when Johnny tells Ponyboy “i had to” he does this as an act of loyalty to Ponyboy to show him that he can trust him no matter what situation they are in. Most of the story is told from first person or Ponies perspective which shows us without exception every aspect of the story. When Johnny dies at the end of the book Ponyboy only then realizes the importance of him, and the gangs need for someone like Johnny to give them a sense of purpose after mentioning “we couldn't get along without him . We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang.” Throughout all of Ponyboys hardships Johnny was always there to support him even when Ponyboy wanted to run away after darry slapped him, he never asked any questions.
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
Ponyboy Curtis struggles growing up as a poor youth with his two brothers. One night while he is out with Johnny, Ponyboy is attacked by the Socs. Johnny ends up killing one of the Socs. They both flee from the scene before the news gets out. They are caught in a fire and Johnny and Ponyboy become heroes for saving some children. The story has a tragic end for Johnny but Ponyboy realises that he is fortunate, having family and friends that love him
Ponyboy tells us in the novel, that he is a member of the gang called "Greasers" These misfits are considered outsiders for the stupid reason that they don't fit in with Socs. The Greasers are from broken homes, poor economic situations and little education opportunities. The Socs have the best of everything, which makes them more popular. As Cherry tells Ponyboy, "You greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated—cool to the point of not feeling anything ... Rat race is a perfect name for our life." This results in a sophisticated and soliloquy like speculation that perhaps it is just natural for the two classes to be separate and