Integrity In The Outsiders

All through the diverse communities around the world, lower social classifications are given unprincipled facades with regard to their valor, loyalty, and commitment. However this is proven incorrect throughout the novel ‘The Outsiders’, as the characters Ponyboy, Tim Shepard, and Dallas Winston all display forms of honor and integrity throughout the events that they encounter. The author, S.E Hinton gives readers an understanding of the many honorable and sincere actions and perceptions that individuals who are considered as hoodlums and louts by society are capable of. Despite performing delinquent actions, the greasers are all in possession of the trait of loyalty within their own social sets. In the early stages of the novel, Ponyboy’s connections grows into deeper matters with the soc girl Cherry Valance. Through this, Ponyboy begins to recognize that similar to the greasers, the socs are not all classified under their social expectations either. Despite the empathy that they share, Ponyboy does not hesitate to defend his one of his gang members, Dally, when Cherry refers to him as ‘trash’. He states, “I felt myself stiffen. ‘I am a grease, same as Dally. He 's my buddy’” (page 29). Ponyboy

In conclusion, despite the impression given by society, even people who belong to lower social sets and hoodlum communities are capable of heroic actions, loyalty, honor and valor. Even the most dispassionate of individuals such as Tim Shepard and Dallas winston have the potential to place others before them and offer loyalty to ones around, despite being identified as criminals and juvenile delinquents, as well as Ponyboy who does not hesitate to stand up in the defense of even his most unruly friends. S.E. Hinton takes the readers through a journey that carves the path from imprudence and naivety to wisdom and better judgement towards those among the lawless, and shows that not everyone classified under a social indignity will fulfill their