Conflicts In The Outsiders

Teens have lots of issues to deal with. Some are constantly fighting with their feelings, such as fear or caring too much about the wrong thing; others have financial or family problems. Though every teen has a different background, the experience of issues is universal. The Outsiders is a book about two different social groups and the issues they have with one another. Despite the two groups having one major conflict, that being each other, there are minor ones among each individual character aswell. In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Darry and Randy are characters that are relatable to today’s teens because they are caring, fearful, smart, and sympathetic. The character Darry is caring and fearful, and faces issues because of that.

“‘You can’t win, even if you whip us. You’ll still be where you were before- at the bottom. And we’ll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks’” (117). In this sentence Randy is realizing that fighting will not change anything. He knows it won’t fix the Socs Vs. Greaser conflict, instead, it might cause more issues. “He looks seventeen or so, but he was already old. Like Dallas was old” (115). Ponyboy makes this observation when randy came up to explain that he was not going to be attending the rumble. Prior monologue in the book informs us of Ponyboy’s respect for Dallas, and how he admires him because he’s quick-witted. We can infer that he’s calling Randy wise due to the comparison of him and Dallas. “‘But I feel lousy about the old man. And it’s the first time I’ve felt anything in a long time’” (164). Previously, in the book we were under the impression that Socs do not care about anybody, really, but themselves. This excerpt from Randy gives us a different, more sympathetic, side. He further proves my point by saying its the first time he’s felt anything in a long time. “‘I didn’t know that.” Randy looked worried, he really did” (165). Randy is concerned about Ponyboy because the possibility of him getting sent to a foster home was likely. Despite this not directly involving Randy, he feels bad for Ponyboy’s situation. That is, in a nutshell, the definition of

“In that second what Soda and Dally and Two-Bit had been trying to tell me came through. Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda-” (98). Teens today care deeply about those who are close to them. Sometimes even too much. A good example of caring too much is when Darry gets mad at Ponyboy for making a mistake. Darry doesn't do it to be mean, he does it because he cares and wants Ponyboy to learn from his experiences. It’s a similar situation for teens, with just a little less thought and actual reasoning behind it. For example, when you're a teen and your friend talks with an ex partner or even friend, you may get upset because you know your friend will, probably, get hurt. It’s not meant to be malicious, or ruin things for your friend, its just caring about them and not wanting anything less than the best for them. “Darry was rubbing the back of my head softly. ‘We’d better go home. We can’t do anything here”’ (103). Darry knew Ponyboy cared about Johnny. He tried to keep him calm by rubbing his head, and even made him go home because he knew Ponyboy would’ve gone insane waiting for Johnny’s recovery or passing. He didn’t take Ponyboy away from Johnny because he wanted to, he did it to protect Ponyboy because he cares about him. Many teens today have younger siblings, in a situation similar to this they may act the same way Darry did because they care. Randy is similar to teens because he’s