The Book 'The Outsiders' By S. E. Hinton

Sherry Valance, a 16 year-old Soc, who goes by the name Cherry, influenced Ponyboy not just a little, but caused him to ponder about the meaning behind all the rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers. Hate between the Socs, the rich kids of the west side, and the Greasers, the poor kids from the east side, has always existed. Beforehand, Ponyboy greatly disliked the Socs, for they continually jumped and attacked Greasers. He always regarded them as an enemy. However, that one night when Ponyboy Curtis clashed with Sherry Valance, she demonstrated that not all Socs were malevolent and self-centered. While conversing with Cherry, Ponyboy felt her empathy and understanding and softened towards her. She talked about her boyfriend, Bob, and how he

In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, two gangs clash and deal with their own personal conflicts. Told through the outlook of Ponyboy, a fourteen-year-old greaser, the novel is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma during the 1960s. This expository essay analyzes many characteristics of three gang members in the story. Dally, Steve, and Johnny are three characters that will be described in much detail on their characteristics.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is about two groups of kids the greasers and the Socs. The Socs are the rich kids who drive expensive cars and wear expensive clothes and the greasers are considered the bums. They don’t have money and they don’t get whatever they want, they also have to work extra hard to get to where they want to be. If you are considered a greaser you are a muffin and the Socs are the cupcakes. Everybody would prefer a cupcake over a muffin, but in this story two boys were just trying to protect themselves and they get into some trouble while doing it so, they hit the road. I am going to tell you about whether or not Ponyboy and Johnny are heroes.

We see this theme over and over in the novel one example being on page 21, "Dallas could talk awful dirty if he wanted to and I guess he wanted to then. I felt my ears get hot. Two-Bit or Steve or even Soda would have gone right along with him, just to see if they could embarrass the girls, but that kind of kicks just doesn't appeal to me. I sat there, struck dumb, and Johnny left hastily to get a Coke" (Hinton, 21). Here you see how not all the greasers are similar. Dally, Pony, and Johnny evidently don't share the same set of values, even though many privileged or higher class citizens might believe that all lower class or less privileged people are scumbags. Pony and Johnny both show their uneasiness with their actions proving that even lower class

As Ponyboy states when he starts to understand this, “No, it wasn’t Cherry the Soc who was helping us, it was Cherry the dreamer who watched sunsets and couldn’t stand fights.” (Hinton 86). Ponyboy was previously under the impression that all Socs didn’t care about anything, and was surprised when he met Cherry, a Soc who watched the same sunset as he did. The stereotype of Socs being heartless and cruel was all he had seen and heard, so it was hard for him to understand how one could be so different. Ponyboy’s friends felt similarly, and most of them found it even harder to grasp this concept than Ponyboy had. The Greasers were used to judging the Socs as a group, and did not see them as individuals. These group stereotypes are what ultimately caused most of the biggest fights in the novel.

In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, embarks on a story of a young boy Greaser, his gang, the rivalry with the Socs, and how it all ended. The main theme of The Outsider was social class. Socs have wealth that helps them through life and their parents have enough money to do anything for them Greasers do not have an education, and that’s true because they don’t have enough money and the privilege to get a good education. On the other hand, Socs don’t have to worry about not having a bad education because they can afford an education. Although greasers can the opportunity to stop and smell the roses, Socs have everything in life needed, they don’t have the cherishable life they wish for. Hinton notifies, through the text, the main reason for the gang’s separation is because of their social class and expectations.

Susane Colasanti says, “It’s wild how unexpected experiences can shape your life in ways you never saw coming.” The people we interact with, the places we see, and the experiences we learn from, all impact us. We can relate to these experiences in our lives and to our characters in the books we read. The main characters of The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton; “My Favorite Chaperone,” by Jean Davies Okimoto; and the book Alone, by Megan E. Freeman are all shaped by significant experiences. In the novel The Outsiders, Ponyboy is influenced by his experiences with Johnny.

In S.E. Hinton's novel "The Outsiders," Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist, uses a switchblade to dissect a worm during his biology class. The reaction of the girl in his class is one of shock and disgust. She is repelled by Ponyboy's use of the switchblade for such a task and leaves the room in distress. Ponyboy feels embarrassed and uncomfortable about the incident. This reaction reveals several aspects of Ponyboy's character.

In this quote Cherry is telling Ponyboy that Socs aren’t all rich snobbish jerks that get whatever they want, ‘“All Socs aren’t like that,”she said.”You have to believe me, Ponyboy. Not all of us are like that.” “Sure,” I said. “That’s like saying all you greasers are like Dallas Winston. I’ll bet he’s jumped a few people.” I digested that. It was true.’ (Hinton 34). In this part of the book, Ponyboy learns that his stereotypes that he has been forming over the year are proving to only be half right. Cherry reveals that over on the Socs side, it’s rough over

While she is talking to Ponyboy near Two-Bit’s house, Ponyboy and Her have a discussion, “‘No’, Cherry said slowly when I said this. “‘It’s not just money. Part of it is, but not all. You greasers have different set of values.’” (38). Hinton starts to reveal that possibly not all Soc’s are bad, but Cherry says even more, “‘You’re more emotional. We’re sophisticated- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us. You know, sometimes I’ll catch myself talking to a girlfriend, and realize I don’t mean half of what I’m saying. I don’t really think a beer blast on the river bottom is super-cool, but I’ll rave about one to a girlfriend just to be saying something.’” (38). Cherry Valance, a Soc is just trying to fit in and she’s not like herself half of the time. Cherry also says, “‘Did you ever hear of having more than you wanted? So that couldn’t want anything else and then start looking for something else to want? It seems like we’re always searching for something to satisfy us, and never finding it. Maybe if we could lose our cool we could’” (38). Hinton wants to tell readers that Greasers and Socs aren’t always so different. Greasers have it rough with being the underdogs and being treated bad, Socs have it rough because sometimes they get to much of what they want and it doesn’t satisfy them, they try to lose their cool but it’s hard too. Regardless of the social group, people will

This book showed the struggle between rich and poor. The two main groups of the story were the Socs and the greasers. The Socs are in the upper class while the greasers are the poor ones that dislike the Socs because they have more money, better cars, and act like they are better than the greasers. The Outsiders is a good story by S.E. Hinton that shows the struggles of growing up Hinton did a fine job with the character development, the plot, and the theme with a few flaws.

Randy confides in a Pony boy at a moment of raw self reflection stating, “I wouldn’t have. I would have let those kids burn to death” (123). Here in this moment of doubt it is evident that Randy is contemplating the goodness that exist inside of him, Pony boy’s heroism inevitably prompted Randy to seek his identity outside of his social role, and ponder his more ethical self and his own selflessness. Pony reflects on Johnny’s and his own heroism saying, “Greaser didn’t have anything to do with it. My buddy over there would have done it. Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual. Pony boys statement reveals that real heroism is not a characteristic exclusive to either group; but rather an attribute of the pained and selfless. Through Randy’s genuine pain from losing Bob, Pony boy is able to look beyond the Soc facade and see that Randy too would have saved the

fact he was mad. If he was mad, it was a pity, however if he had

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

There were conflicts between the Socs that conflicted with the greasers. They were two opposite groups that didn't get along. The Socs, "the jet-set...West-side rich kids, wear madras shirts, smell of English leather, and drive new sports cars..." (6). Socs were rich, while greasers were low class. "Soc" is an abbreviation of the Socials, which are the West-side rich kids. Socs had a better reputation than the greasers.