Outsiders And Socs Fight In 'The Outsider'

Hoang Vo

English I

The Outsider Essay

Why do Greasers and Socs fight in The Outsider The Outsider by S.E. Hilton features the fight between two rival groups - the Greasers and the Socs. Even though that the Greasers wins the big rumble at the end, it is still controversial whether the fight makes any impact on the ultimate result, the life of the gangs. Johnny points out his view before he dies: “Useless... fighting’s no good…” (Johnny, pg. 148). If Johnny is right, the gang’s belief in a definite victory, what they all have been fighting so hard for, is pointless. To answer the question, it is important to understand why the two gangs have been hostile toward each other all along; in other words, to know why it all begins. There are several

This happens to be true in the real world, acting as the root of one of the most common problems in schools, bullying. Particularly, kids with a disadvantaged background are often singled out or bullied. In the same way, the Greasers is poorer and therefore often get jumped by the Socs because assumedly, the socioeconomic status makes the Greasers vulnerable and justifies the Socs’ actions. “And you can 't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they 've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn 't going to change that fact.” (Ponyboy, pg. 11). The factor of socioeconomic status is so influencing that Ponyboy believes that it is the key factor that decides every situation. In addition, Ponyboy explains his perception of Socs’ behavior by blaming it on the fact that they have a good economic background. “The Socs had so much spare time and money that they jumped on us and each other for kicks, had beer and blasts and river-bottom parties because they didn’t know what else to do” (Ponyboy, pg.43). At this point, Ponyboy is concluding that Socs jumps on Greasers because they are looking for things to sort out their boredom. Why would the Socs be bored and look for troubles even though they have all the breaks? It turns out that there is something more than

Living in different places and having different backgrounds create a gap between the two gangs. As a matter of fact, the story starts by defining two distinguishing classes. “I 'm not sure how you spell it, but [Socs] is the abbreviation for Socials, the West-side rich kids. It 's like the term greaser that 's used to class all us boys on the East Side.” (Ponyboy, pg. 2) Each of the groups is given with a label, and this label is hold within them throughout the series of events. The label keeps them apart, partly defines their identities, their actions, and their views of the world. The gaps between the two gang is shown more visibly in Chapter 2. “The Socs go to The Way Out and to Rusty’s, and the greasers go to The Dingo and to Jay’s” (Ponyboy, pg. 19) The Socs and the Greasers are so unrelated to each other that they go to different drive-ins. However, it is rather an excuse and does not prove that the two groups are different. Neither the label is. Still, the labels are exaggerated by the Socs and Greasers, which consequently and sadly, ignite major conflicts. However, as we proceed along the series of event, we find out that their labels do not define who they are. The labels are proved to be insignificant as Jerry does not care about Ponyboy’s identity, and the newsletters does not state the Socs as Socs or Greasers as Greasers. More particularly, despite having negative reputation, the Greasers,