Who Is The Gangs In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is a novel about a boy called Ponyboy who is involved in a rivalry between two gangs, the Greasers and the Socs. The Socs live in the West side of town; they look clean, have lots of money and drive blue Mustangs. The greasers live in the east side of town; they wear hair oil, t-shirts and jeans, and don’t have much money. Ponyboy is part of the Greasers, along with his two brothers Darry and Sodapop, his closest friend Johnny Cade, Two-Bit, Steve and Dallas Winston, the toughest of the gang... or at least that is what Ponyboy thinks about him in the beginning of the novel in chapter one “He was tougher than the rest of us- tougher, colder, and meaner.”

The Greasers feel like they are the outsiders. “that kid, Pip, he reminded me of us-how he felt marked lousy because he wasn’t a gentlemen or anything,” (Doc B). Here, Ponyboy feels as though the Greasers are stereotyped to be lousy and stupid by everyone else, leading them feeling like outsiders.

Imagine being dumb, stealing and carrying blades everywhere you go, and being unable to feel deeply, those words would make people think of Greasers. Most people when they think of gangs they think, that they fight, steal, and do not care about what is going on around them. Those statements that Greaser's and other assortments of gangs are dumb, criminals, and unfeeling may not be true, Ponyboy, the main character in S.E. Hinton’s book The Outsiders, opposes all of those statements.

Although the exact location is not specified, I can assume (after looking at Hinton’s FAQ and the online version of the book) that The Outsiders takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was Hinton’s hometown and the site of her high school (as stated by herself). In addition, Tulsa is considered a “cowboy town”. And several of the characters like Dally and Sodapop had a profound love with horses (like Mickey). Dally was also into rodeos which could be shown in the following, “He got drunk, he rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids—he did everything. I didn't like him, but I had to respect him.” (Hinton 10). Dally also has a “rodeo partner” who was Buck Merrill. He was described as a “tall and lanky cowboy” (Hinton

In The Outsiders, there are two gangs, The Socs and The Greasers. These two gangs are very different in many ways, but they both get into trouble. The Socs and the Greasers get into a rumble, which are really big fight(s) that people almost die in. Johnny and Ponyboy’s gang is a gang that is rough and tough. They smoke cigarettes and get into trouble, but they never try to get into trouble by the cops.

Last but not least, Ponyboy faces the society’s impression of the greasers. Everybody thinks that they are hoods and that nothing good can come out of them. The greasers are judged strongly because of their economic status and face judgment from everyone. Nobody cares to understand their life and what experience on a daily basis. He also finds out when he was in Windrixville, that people don’t judge them like they do in their city. The whole conflict of the story is the Greasers and the Socs. The characters in the story have gone about their own ways to at least try to fix the problem. Many chose fighting and violence in general, but Ponyboy choose to write a book for a writing assignment. He discovers that there is no difference between them

Ponyboy Curtis in the fourteen-year-old boy that explains the story in both the book and the movie, and also the youngest of the greasers. Ponyboy is very intelligent compared to the rest of the gang he is most defenatly the smartest to them all. Because his parents have died in a car accident, Ponyboy lives with his two brothers Darry and Sodapop in both the book and movie. Darry repeatedly accuses Ponyboy of lacking common sense in the book more so then in the movie, but Ponyboy is a much brighter then his brother takes him for. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy struggles with class division, violence, innocence, and familial love but in the movie they dont focus on his school as much. He matures over the course of the book and the movie both.

Ponyboy, Johnny, Sodapop, Darry are all a part of the unruly gang, the Greasers. S.E Hinton is writing these characters as rebellious young men, with a harsh background, who takes their anger and hardship out on gang fighting. These roles play an important part in this book because it shows that even though they nothing physically, they have a heart stronger than gold for each other and others mentally. Hinton use these characters to show prejudice leads to wrong conclusions, violence and oppression because these “poor” young men are getting beat up by the rich Socs who have never felt the feeling of being in poverty. “ You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you’re in a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don’t stick up for them, stick together, make

Ponyboy is looking up to his brothers bc his mom or dad isn't there for him to look up too. Darry is the one who is taking over his father's spot. He works all day to help ponyboy and his brothers. He wants his brother to graduate and get a scholarship. ”I love soda more than i have loved anyone, even my mom and dad”(2).

“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 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

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a novel about two neighborhoods separated because of classes in society. In these two neighborhoods, teenagers are separated into two different gangs, the lower-class Greasers and the upper-class Socs. Ponyboy, a greaser comes from a hard life. His parents died and he is left being raised by his older brother Darry. After both his brothers failed at accomplishing their dreams in life, Pony is left feeling like he will only be a greaser. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy realizes he has many traits making him have an outstanding future, such as his intelligence instincts and heroic skills.

In the story The Outsiders, there is many life lessons that could help many people. Ranging from the people you hang out with, to people who need your help. You should always treat people how you want to be treated,even if that means giving something up. The main character, Ponyboy, experiences certain events in the story that makes you realize that these kind of conflicts are a reality. Ponyboy lives with his two brothers, Darry and Soda. Their parents died in a car crash. Ponyboy never realized how much his parents did for him. There is a “Gang” that Ponyboy is involved in called the Greasers. Their rival “Gang” is called the Socs. The Socs are kids that have a better upbringing and are more of rich kids. The Greasers are basically the opposite. The theme of this story is don’t take the things you have for granted.

Ponyboy Curtis - The novel's fourteen-year-old narrator and protagonist, and the youngest of the greasers. Ponyboy's literary interests and academic accomplishments set him apart from the rest of his gang. Because his parents have died in a car accident, Ponyboy lives with his brothers Darry and Sodapop. Darry repeatedly accuses Ponyboy of lacking common sense, but Ponyboy is a reliable and observant narrator. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy struggles with class division, violence, innocence, and familial love. He matures over the course of the novel, eventually realizing the importance of strength in the face of class bias.

Thesis: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, a novel which tells the story of conflict between the "greasers" and the "Socs," captures the voice of ponyboy and his friends in a realistic way that relates to boys and their gangs even today.