The Outsiders: The Greasers

A community is a place where people around supposed to be able to live and thrive together. When one thinks of a community, the image that most likely is visualized is one of a place where each person lives harmoniously with all the other members of that community. While this may be the typical image of a community, it is not the realistic view. In reality communities can share both good and bad aspects. In Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century Peter Dreier, John Mollenkopf, and Todd Swanstrom make the argument that the place a person lives ultimately matters over all else; the place which a person lives effects the choices that that he/she makes and determines his/her ability to obtain a

“Maybe the two different worlds we live in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset” (Hinton 41). This means that both Socs, and Greasers both have problems, and the same interests. Even though they come from different neighborhoods, they still breath the same air, went to the same school, have the same interests such as going to the movies, and have the same types of problems.

The Socs are a disgrace because they beat up greasers based off of their money issues and the side of a city they live on. If you are someone who is rich like a soc and is in a better environment and situation you are expected to be more respectful. Teens with a strong foundation are more responsible, and kids who have no parents or anyone that is a positive role model end up doing more of what they want. Kids that grow up on a wrong side of town tend to make the most crimes based off of how they were raised. As a Soc, they are being a disgrace by the way they act.

According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2008) defines a community as: “A social group determined by geographic boundaries and/or common values and interests. Its members know and interact with one another. It functions within a particular social structure and exhibits and creates norms, values, and social institutions” (World Health Organization [WHO], 1974, pg. 7).

Communities play an essential role in the development of the self and learning about the stranger. Through communities, individuals are able to socialize and gain a greater understanding of each other. A community can be defined in many different ways based on every individual’s experience with it. Developing a strong community takes time. Some people, like Jeannette Walls, do not have the opportunity to develop strong communities throughout their childhood.

The Socs mostly came from houses with two parents, drive fine cars, wear fashionable clothing, and even given the freedom they wanted. Instead of focusing on all the goods that the Socs had, they decided to focus on their hatred towards the Greasers. They wanted to jump the Greasers and do whatever it took to cause conflict. “You Greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated--- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us” (Hinton 33). The Greasers feel emotions, but the Socs are too cool to feel anything. Instead of the Socs taking advantage of everything they had, the Socs got editorials in the newspaper for being a public disgrace one day and a benefit to society the next day. Randy and Cherry seem to be the only ones to realize the error of the Socs ways. Cherry feels sympathy for the Greasers even after her boyfriend, Bob, was killed.

One of the main ideas of S.E. Hintons book The Outsiders focused on how greasers were “victims of their environment”, as the story is told through a greaser’s perspective. This means that the greasers have faced many negative forces in their community, and have been seemingly powerless to overcome them. One example that was used to show this was stereotyping. The greasers and Socs were categorized based on where they live, what they look like, how they act, and how much money they have. The plot of the Outsiders mainly revolves around how the greasers are affected by social, emotional, and economical events and how these events have made them who they are. This then affects how they become “victims of their environment”. However, I believe that the Socs were, in their own way, victims of their environment as well.

A community is a group of people who live in the same area, interact with each other, and share certain norms and values. A community is defined as a locality-based entity, composed of systems of formal organizations reflecting societal institutions, informal groups, and aggregates that are interdependent and whose function or expressed intent is to meet a wide variety of collective needs (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012).

In his book, Nouwen states that "community is like a large mosaic. Each little piece seems so insignificant... however, all these little stones are brought together in one big mosaic portraying the face of Christ... If one of them, even the least spectacular one, is missing, the face is incomplete" (page 63-64). A community should be a safe place that brings joy to all who is in it and that is only complete if the whole community is working

The rejection of community ultimately restricts individuals from ever expressing their thoughts and pains, to others which is a vital step towards recovery and balance. Without a proper community, man is constricted to his the insecure and unknowing mind of the self. Without the assurance in life that there is a community that offers support, perpetual unrest and pain is sure to

Do you have a community? A community is a group of people that are close, almost family. A community could be a group of friends that you hang out with a lot almost daily. You might not even know that you are in a community, but you most likely are. The Greasers are a community.

Community is when people come together as one for a common good or goal. I give back to the community because I think I my success are not all because of my ability. I have the people who helped me and taught me lesson in life that help me reach my success today. I have given back to the community by volunteering on Sundays to teach confirmation. Teaching on sunday gives me a chance to know my parish better and also teach the students more about their faith. I think it is very important to have bond with those who you go to church with. This summer I

First, community is our “home.” We have been living in a community ever since we were just little babies and it has always influenced us. Communities have played a big part in who we are today. We start off in school not knowing anyone or anything and as you get older you begin to think about the

Communities are affected, and in a sense defined by, forces that affect community members and their space. The forces can range from outside organizations such as the government and large corporations … These components of the community vary infinitely, and thus no two communities are the same; even a given community is not the same over time (Cnaan & Milofsky, p. 1)

Throughout my life, I have been privileged to know a strong sense of community. My understanding of community has been carved out and shaped by each community that I have been a part of and the subsequent life experiences that I have had by being a part of these communities. To me, community means a sense of belonging with people who have some capacity of like-mindedness. When you belong to a community, you feel like a piece of a larger puzzle that comes together to create a whole. Each community you belong to both influences you, and is influenced by you. Moreover, your belonging to a community generates a sense of unity and shares a common goal, value, or outlook.