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The Outsiders Book Report

Decent Essays

At the age of 16, S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders, a fictional novel set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1965, that exemplifies the truth of living outside of social acceptance. The story is told in the perspective of fourteen year old Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy is a greaser, along with his two older brothers and fellow gang members. Greaser, is a nickname for people classified in the lower class. Members of the upper communal populace, are labeled Socs, short for socials. The story describes the conflicts these two groups come across when they encounter each other and the struggle of living in devastating conditions. When Ponyboy and close friend Johnny Cade, are attacked by a set of Socs, Johnny ends ups killing a Soc in order to protect Ponyboy. This …show more content…

So I lay still, swearing at them between gasps. A blade was held against my throat.” A group of Socs had followed Ponyboy and jumped him. They beat him up, chucked him to the ground, and even held an edge to his throat region. There’s a strong possibility they could have killed him then and there if Ponyboy’s gang hadn’t saved him. They chose to purposefully harm a fourteen year old with a blade because he happened to be different from them and for their own enjoyment. Today, a problem school districts try to fight is discrimination and bullying. There are rules set in order to prevent this. Even if something like this went done today, there would be serious consequences. The Socs just ran away, with no problem. From this scene, I felt horrified and disgusted by the actions conducted by the Socs towards Ponyboy. The idea that just because you consider yourself above others, doesn’t give you the right to hurt them. In reality, they were all people, yet the Socs thought their actions were acceptable due to their social standing. There is more proof of the Socs characterization as menaces and monsters throughout the

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