Examples Of Stereotypes In The Outsiders

Understanding identity is not as easy as some people think. In the average lifespan of 71 years, numerous events can impact the outcome of of an individual’s life. Choices, religion, and many external factors can greatly influence a human and his or her identity. Some people believe that feelings can and do determine your identity, so they do whatever they feel is correct. However, this is false. Identity is very strongly influenced by the events, objects, and people around. It is mostly influenced by external factors. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy is, without a doubt, incredibly influenced by the external factors around him, such as Sherry Valance, the rumble between the Socs and the Greasers, and when his best friend passes away.

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. HINTON the main character Ponyboy’s identity changes multiple times over the text. In the beginning of the story Ponyboy was introduced as a greaser, a greaser is someone who is usually poorer than the middle class and like to screw around and start gang fights and they are considered hoods as stated on pages 2-3, “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 almost like hoods.” this shows that even though the Socs are much more wild the greasers are still considered the bad crazy hood people. Ponyboy didn’t like being a greaser

a very handy pacifier for him such as: When he thought he might go to

See now there is this kid named Ponyboy and he is different than the rest of The Greasers. The Greasers are a gang of people who like to do bad things and people look at them that way as bad people. Ponyboy is different from the rest of the Greaser gang because he is smarter than them, he doesn't break the law, and he is softer.

To start, stereotypes are deceptive because people place others into cliques based on their appearances. People assume everyone in a clique are the same, even though their true personality may differ from that clique. The first example from The Outsiders in which somebody doesn’t fit in with the stereotype they are given is Ponyboy. Ponyboy doesn’t quite fit in with his clique, the greasers. After Ponyboy is jumped, Darry has a fight with Pony. Darry yells at Ponyboy to think on the streets and to stay alert. Darry is concerned about Ponyboy’s safety: ‘“You must think at school with all those good grades you bring home, and you’ve always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense?”’ (13). Meaning, Ponyboy isn’t like the greaser stereotype. Compared to all the other greasers, Pony is book smart and not street smart. The greasers are smart where it really matters like on the streets. They carry blades to defend themselves, travel as gangs, and know how to get themselves out of a dangerous situation, if they get stuck in one. Ponyboy, however, is book smart. He succeeds at an outstanding level at school and in his academics. Once he is on the street his intelligence doesn’t follow him. He doesn’t use his common sense and he can’t find his way out of dangerous situations. As a result of this Pony gets jumped by the Socs which

In the first scene of the film, Ponyboy exits a theatre to what looks like the city center area. As he begins his walk home a mustang filled with Socs see him walking and immediately start insulting him, telling him to wash the grease out of his hair. The torment does not stop there, they follow him throughout town, throwing scrap wood at him and chasing him down the street. It escalated to the point the Socs jump out of the car and takes him down, pointing a switchblade at his neck and cutting him. This type of harassment is normal for Greasers, which is why they never should walk alone. This scene is an example of victim precipitation theory. Ponyboy is an adolescent male with a poor upbringing walking alone, even in broad daylight, he is considered an easy target for the Socs and they know they can get away with it. Another example is when Ponyboy and Johnny decide to run away together, they were spotted by the Socs who had been drinking and looking for easy targets.

There were constant fights either between family or friends that affected the way Ponyboy, let alone the whole gang, grew up-not to mention how they connect to the poem’s themes.“‘Hey, grease,’ one said in an over-friendly voice. ‘We’re gonna do you a favor, greaser. We’re gonna cut all that long greasy hair off.’” Excerpts like these are evidence that Ponyboy was never accepted by other crowds, let alone his older brother Darry. Hints are dropped, like those within the poem explaining how the life was “not as ideal” as the Socs on the other side of town. During his youth, Ponyboy had to undergo some very painstaking experiences including the loss of his parents and the emotional complications within his siblings. In my opinion, the quote from “Poverty and Wealth” that best symbolizes Ponyboy’s maturity levels increasing and how he learns to deal with the struggles but still push through with a positive attitude.“His wants were simple, and simple his creed, To trust God fully: it served his need,” Almost afraid of what was to come from the future,

S.E Hinton once said, “ ‘The Outsiders’ cast in particular was a joy to be around- sweet kids, normal goofy teenagers off camera and serious artists on. They were great, I never got them mixed up with the characters though. Each of them had his own strong personality.’” The novel ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton shows that you can't always be so quick to judge others. People aren't always as different from others as it may seem, even if your appearance says otherwise.

In our community stereotypes play a part in life, but in The Outsiders it is the core theme of the story combining with teenage struggles. In The Outsiders the main character Ponyboy Curtis conforms to the image

Those classes are called the Greasers and the Socs. Obviously, Ponyboy is in the Greasers class. Greasers are thought of as the poor kids; they always have it rough and can never catch a break. They’re usually the ones that get into the most trouble with the law. The Socs are presumed to be the rich kids; who always have it made and live on the high side of town. Ponyboy’s self-worth comes in where he doesn’t feel like he fits in. He likes to read, observe the sunrises and look at the colors of the sky. Those characteristics don’t fit in with the typical Greaser boy, so Ponyboy doesn’t see himself as valuable to the gang as he sees everybody else because he sees every member as playing a specific role to the group, but he doesn’t understand what role he plays and if he means anything to the

“The Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton, is centered around Ponyboy’s path to maturity and the life lessons he learns along the way. The novel follows Ponyboy, a greaser, and his gang’s conflict with the Socials, a rival gang. In it, he learns to not judge people hastily and reject gang mentality. Ponyboy also loses his innocence. The following paragraphs will explore his growth throughout “The Outsiders”.

In this novel, Ponyboy Curtis is an outsider from society and his gang. He feels as if he is an outsider from society because he is a part of the social class named The Greasers. The Greasers are the hoodlums and freaks of the town. One quote that supports this theory is, “It’s okay...we aren’t in the same social class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.” Pony says this to Cherry

In The Outsiders, a book written by S.E. Hinton, there are two polar opposite gangs, the socs and the greasers. The socs, who are high class, have mustangs and “tuff” cars and wear plaid clothing called madras. The Greasers, who are lower class, are known for their long and greasy hair, wearing leather jackets and being hoods. They only have each other and always have everyone’s back. No matter the situation like leaving a door open in case they need to run away from home because of an abusive dad , they can count on one another. Ponyboy, a 14 year old Greaser, who is also the protagonist, along with other characters lose themselves while trying to be someone else they’re not. Hinton teaches us that it is important to remember that individual

Ponyboy does not quite believe he fits the "greaser" stereotype. He has the looks of a greaser, but does not do all the actions greasers do. He is more “school-smart” and not “street-smart” which greasers are all stereotyped as “street-smart. Ponyboy is young for the people in his gang and are a lot smarter than most of the greaser. He is also in school unlike most of the gang members.

Ponyboy has a thought which is that the Greasers and Socials are the same. Ponyboy thinks this thought because, Johnny said “There’s still good in the world.” (S.E. Hinton 179) After Ponyboy read this, it inspired Ponyboy to write about how no matter your differences, we are still the same. “How to start the theme, how to start writing something that was important to me.” (S.E. Hinton 180) The important thing to Ponyboy was trying to show the similarities between the Socials and Greaser and try to show that there are more similarities than differences. Ponyboy started to write about his story and started to show that later in his