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Teenage Groups In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

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Wayne Dyer once said, “Conflict cannot survive without your participation.” The rival gangs found in S.E. Hinton’s critically acclaimed novel, The Outsiders, the Greasers and Socs live by these terms as they face many perils considering the flame of deep hatred that separates both teenage groups. The novel is told in the perspective of 14-year-old Ponyboy, who is a part of the east side Greasers. In the novel, The Outsiders, the fault of the majority of the disaccord found in the community belongs to the Greasers.

Most of the dilemmas found in the community are the Greasers’ fault as they could have avoided the Socs in the first place, avoiding all of the problems between them. In the beginning of the novel, as he walks home after exiting a movie theater, Ponyboy is jumped by the Socs and quickly is left alone when the rest of the Greasers gang comes by. Darry, Ponyboy’s guardian, and his older brother checks on him after he finds him laid on the street. “I sat down again, rubbing my cheek where I'd been slugged the most. Darry jammed his fists in his pockets. ‘They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?’ They did. I was smarting and aching and …show more content…

Hinton’s novel The Outsiders are to blame for the problems that were faced by the community that surrounds them. This can be said as the Greasers could have avoided the Socs in the first place, avoiding the problems faced in, and by the community. The gang of teenagers could have also faced their problems instead of running away from them, solving all the problems that they encountered and preventing new ones from emerging. They are also the ones to blame for the deaths that occur in the novel, and if they had not occurred, there would not have been as much tension that was faced that separated the rival gangs (the Greasers and Socs). In the end, the Greasers should be held responsible for the quarrels that occur throughout the

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