ipl-logo

Social Groups In The Outsiders

398 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character development in the outsiders

The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, is a book about two social groups. The Socs and the Greasers. The Greasers are more than just a social group, they are a family. Without each other, they would not be the same. Fighting and wrestling, is just a small part of their relationship. They belong together, they need one another. Individually against the Socs is risky, but together, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Belonging to a family, is a pleasurable feeling. A feeling that Johnny does not have. His parents do not even car about him, they do not even miss him. When Johnny is home, all they do is lecture him. No love, no attention, no safety. Unlike his parents, the Greasers welcome Johnny with open arms. Even though Johnny does not feel …show more content…

In order to have a social group, you need to have a group of people who can relate to one another. The Greasers do not relate to each other just by their greasy hair, but also by their background history. In the novel, the only parents who were mentioned were Ponyboy’s and Johnny’s. Dally’s, Two-Bit’s, and Steve’s parents were not even recognized. Maybe, just maybe, they were not treated very well during their childhood. The Greasers can relate to one another because they have all experienced a time when they felt like they did not belong. Background history is one reason why they all fit together.

The Socs have always been an enemy to the Greasers. They belong on the west side of town, away from any conflicts. This all changed because of one little conversation. When Ponyboy spoke to to Randy, they both realized that fighting is not the solution to this rivalry. The Greasers and the Socs are both regular people. Perhaps, all of these altercations wouldn’t even exist if they all got along.

In conclusion, a sense of belonging is a very common theme in The Outsiders. Everyone has emotions, even the Socs. Without love and friendship can be difficult. If it was not for the Greasers, Johnny may have done something that no one could imagine. As you can see, if people do not have a sense of belonging, they can change

Show More
Related
408 Words | 2 Pages

Ponyboy’s vs the Socs The fiction book the,”The Outsiders,” by S.E. Hilton tells the reader about the ongoing fighting between the west side and the east side in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1965. Hilton writes about a young greaser or east sider and his family fight against the Socs or West siders. In the novel you see ponyboy’s view of the Socs and how it evolves from the beginning of the book to the end.

Read More
618 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the novel, a strong theme displayed is family relationships, even if it had been portrayed positively or negatively. Ponyboy Curtis is the protagonist and narrator of the book, so the Curtis brothers are one of the main families described in the book, which consists of Ponyboy’s brothers. Even though they had lost their parents not a while ago, they still tried to stick together. Unlike Ponyboy's family, Johnny Cade is less fortunate with his family and he’s unwelcomed in his own home. Even though the greasers were not blood related (excluding the Curtis brothers) most of them considered the gang as their family.

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

The Differences Between The Greasers And The Socs Are you a Greaser from the book The Outsiders, or a Socs? Do you know the difference? They think they are very different from each other but, they are actually very similar. Even though they don’t live in the same part of town, and have different lifestyles, they still are humans and go to the same school together.

Read More
219 Words | 1 Pages

When the Socs and Greasers find themselves actually getting along a few times it show that the hope of one day they wouldn’t have to fight anymore. They’d see that they are all pretty alike and there would be no need for everyone to be judged one way. Like when Ponyboy meets Cherry and finds that, as Cherry puts it “Things are rough all over” (S.E. Hinton. The Outsiders.

Read More
1130 Words | 5 Pages

This novel by S.E Hinton, The Outsiders shows a crucial point that everybody is special in some way and should be known as who they are individuality not as a group. The Outsiders is a book that describes 2 gangs , the luxurious Socs, and the hoodlum Greasers. While they have conflicts with each other, the protaganist, Ponyboy, finds his identity outside of the gang. The important message of the story is that everyone has a unique personality that are developed by being in a group of people away from home, this identity can shape anyone’s way of life and the path they may take in the future. First of all, Socs and greasers have a trademark that showed who was part of their gang, Socs are know for Mustangs, Madras, and leather jackets;

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

The persecution and also their personal matters caused the characters Pony, Darry, and Johnny to feel like outsiders, whenever it came to being a greaser. Pony, the main character of the book “The Outsider”, constantly felt conflicted about how different he is compared to the other greaser. These feelings that Pony harbored caused him to feel like he didn't belong in the group. The same can be said about Darry and Johnny who both had parental issues; however, Darry had to give up everything in the end for the greasers while Johnny just wanted to find attention and to be loved. Each character had their hardships and problems that they were going through.

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

The book, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton is about brother hood and friendship. Is also about two gangs called the Greasers and the Soc's constantly arguing and fighting. Constantly fighting about their gangs placement in their cities, girls, and where they can and can't go. In the first chapter, fighting comes up right away. Ponyboy was walking home from the movies when about 5 Soc's drove up to him and jumped him.

Read More
1078 Words | 5 Pages

Loyalty: The Key To Survival Have you ever felt vulnerable or threatened while surrounded by a group of strangers? What did you want at that time? Backup and friends to protect you, right? The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton perfectly represents this struggle and how friends help to resolve it. The novel is realistic fiction that is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma during 1965.

Read More
1073 Words | 5 Pages

(52). This shows that Johnny believed that killing Bob was the only way to save Ponyboy and that he did not kill Bob out of anger and hatred. Also, Johnny risked going to jail and losing his freedom when he killed Bob in order to save Ponyboy from drowning. By risking his life and saving Ponyboy’s life, Johnny proved that when in danger, a Greaser would sacrifice himself to save another, which shows honor among the lawless. Hence, there is honor among the Greasers because risking their life for another shows great love and bravery, which are also honorable

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

Have you ever experience the loneliness? Have you ever be an outsider? Do you care about other people feeling? The book “The Outsiders” written by S.E. Hinton’s novel, is about a boy named Ponyboy, which is on the greaser side. There are two main gangs of people.

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Then there 's the Greasers, who live poorly and get blamed for most of the things that go down in the city. Ponyboy, and Johnny, two Greasers, that at first, clang to the fact that they hated Socs. All they wanted to do was fight the other gang to look tough and earn respect. In the beginning of the story, Ponyboy wishes he looked tough.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel, the main conflict was caused by the Greasers and the Socs, them and the Greasers disdain one another. This was mostly dependant on how different they were relating to their social and economic classes. The Socs were rich and had a luxurious life whereas the Greasers were poor and recognized as troublemakers. Ponyboy expresses that “[he’s] not

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

For the greasers friends was all any of them had. My third example is when Johnny and Ponyboy help the children in the burning church. This is showing friendship because it was showing love. You don't always show friendship to just your friends but to everybody. My last example of friendship is when dally helped Johnny out of the fire.

Read More
672 Words | 3 Pages

The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, is a novel that explores the challenges faced by Ponyboy Curtis and his fellow gang members, growing up in the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma whilst living in the crossfire of two rival gangs: the Greaser and the Socs. During Ponyboy's journey he learns many important lessons, but after several tragic events, three key lessons stand out from all others. These are: to “stay gold,” not to judge others too quickly others and the pointless of violence. One of the most important lessons Ponyboy learns in The Outsiders is to, “Stay gold.”

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

Before the rumble Ponyboy realized the difference between his gang and the Socs. “That was the difference between his gang and ours- they had a leader and were organized; we were just buddies who stuck together- each man was his own leader.(Hinton 138)”. The Socs were just a group of adolescents together for social reasons and were engaging delinquent behavior. The greasers stood up for more than that; they stood up for Johnny, for the hard times they’ve been through, for their respect.

Read More

More about Social Groups In The Outsiders

Related Topics

Open Document