Of Social Class Division In S. E. Hinton's 'The Outsiders'

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Outsiders The Essay In The Outsiders, people think all greasers are tough and need no support, but for Ponyboy it is quite the opposite. S.E Hinton's novel, The Outsiders is a book about social class division in the 60’s between two groups, the Socs in the west (The Wealthy) and the Greasers in the east (The “Hoods”) that seek violence on each other because they want things that they don’t have. The Socs and greasers each have their own problems which contributes to why they fight. The main character, Ponyboy, who is a greaser, and his story of struggles lies within trying to do well in school and support his gang. Ponyboy might be growing up in a not so great neighbourhood but he has aspirations to become better and go to university or become …show more content…

First of all, Darry sacrificed his whole sports and university career, so Ponyboy could have what he did not. After Pony’s parents died, Darry decided not to go to university but rather, support Pony and Soda by working two jobs. Darry gave away all of his free time to make sure Pony could succeed. To the greasers, Darry is also a very loyal and important member that helps out in rumbles and lets the gang sleep at his place every once in a while. No matter what, Darry will always take away his time to help Pony or Soda, whether that is for homework or getting dressed. In court, Darry showed his loyalty to Dally, as Dallas had died recently. The judge asked if Dally was their friend, and Darry stood his ground and stuck to his opinion. This shows Darry’s selflessness and loyalty as he is throwing all of his dreams out of the window to help Pony and Soda. His contribution to the greasers in the rumble showed his loyalty as he didn’t want to be involved, because he wanted to be out of the east. However Darry still stayed and helped the gang, which shows and teaches Pony the importance of these aspects in