Stereotypes In The Outsiders

In The Outsiders, a timeless novel written by S.E. Hinton, the most prominent theme is that we are all just human regardless of the different social classes we live in. The story is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965 and introduces two different social groups who are natural rivals: The Greasers and the Socs. Greasers are the poor kids from the east side who are known to steal and be violent; on the other hand, the Socs are the rich kids who drive nice cars and never get in trouble with the police, unlike the Greasers. Ponyboy and two Greaser friends, Dallas and Johnny, sneak into the Night Double drive-in theater where they meet a pair of Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. Ponyboy is able to strike up a conversation with Cherry and begin to talk about

“It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset” (40-41). Even though the two groups have unequal lifestyles, attitudes, and financial situations, they nevertheless live in the same world, beneath the same sun. Cherry and Pony are able to look past stereotypes and see each other as individuals. The sunset stands for the common humanity of all people, regardless of where they come from. As the story progresses, Johnny and Ponboy kill Bob, Cherry’s boyfriend and a rumble is planned between the two groups. Ponyboy encounters Randy, a Soc, in front of the Tasty Freeze and has a conversation instead of fight. Randy confides in Ponyboy that he’s not going to the rumble, that its outcome is meaningless. Even if the Socs lose, they will still be favored by society and the greasers will still be rejected. He feels stuck and wants to leave town. “‘What’d he want?’ Two-Bit asked. ‘What’d Mr.Super-Soc have to say?’ ‘He ain't’ a Soc,’ I said, ‘He’s just a

After the conversation, both boys see each other as people and not as Greasers or Socs. As the story comes to an end, the Greasers end up winning the rumble, but Ponyboy had to spend a week in bed to recover from the rumble that ended in the deaths of both Johnny and Dallas. Looking through Soda's old yearbooks to pass the time, he stumbles across a picture of Robert Sheldon–the Soc Johnny killed in the park. “I looked at Bob’s picture and I could begin to see the person we had killed. A reckless, hot-tempered boy, cocky and scared stiff at the same time…But what about the Bob Sheldon that Cherry Valance knew? She was a smart girl; she didn’t like him just because he was good looking…Did he have a kid brother who idolized him? Maybe a big brother who kept bugging him not to be so wild?” (162). For the first time ever, Ponyboy considers the idea that Bob is human. He had never really thought of what Bob was like; he had just seen him as the stereotypical Soc. Ponyboy tries to perceive him the same way Cherry Valance and his Soc friends viewed