Summary In S. E. Hinton's 'The Outsiders'

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Inside of the Outsiders One boy’s once simple life is impacted by tragic loss after making one bad decision. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is a novel about the rivalry between greasers and Socs. It is narrated by the main character, Ponyboy Curtis. He tells the reader about his life being turned upside down after making one childish mistake. The greaser struggle more than the Socs because they are poor, the Socs jump them, and people think that they are trash. The greasers do not have money or own very much. “We’re poorer than the Socs an the middle class.” (Hinton 3) They cannot afford things like expensive cars like the Socs. “...Our home isn 't real great. It’s rundown looking and everything…” (Hinton 163) The greasers live on the bad side of town. This evidence proves that they can’t have nice houses and finer things like the Socs and the middle class. The greasers are mistreated because cannot afford to have what others do. The greasers can 't walk alone without looking over their shoulders. “Greasers can’t walk alone too much or they’ll get jumped.” Greasers walk in groups rather than being alone because the Socs will jump them. Greasers can be keeping to themselves and Socs will attack them for the fun of it. “And we don’t like to talk about it either- Johnny getting beat …show more content…

The Socs think that they have a hard life. Randy tells Ponyboy, “You get a little money an the whole world hates you. (Hinton 117) Some Socs feel like they are judged based off of the actions of others an not individually. Still, they are way more fortunate than the greasers and fail to appreciate what they have. Also, Cherry Valance tells Ponyboy, “ Things are rough all over.” This shows that the Socs believe that they have their own set of problems that the greasers have no idea about. Nevertheless, they do nothing to try and make themselves seem like decent people. The greasers struggle more than the Socs because the greasers are not wealthy like them and they have little, if