The Outsiders, By S. E. Hinton

Social Division

Why might different parties fight? In the book, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, the main character, Ponyboy, lives in a community that is socially divided into the parties of Socs and Greasers, and due to this division, many problems arise. In this book, one can learn not to judge someone by stereotype or class because it leads to social division, creates significant problems, and because each person is unique and complex. First, judgment by stereotype or class leads to social division. When Johnny was looking for a football and minding his business, four Socs pulled up and, “caught him and one had a lot of rings on his hand. they had beaten him half to death. They had scared him” (Hinton 33). The Socs saw Johnny as a greaser

fighting is no good” (148). Johnny understands the bias between the parties and knows that fighting each other will not bring any benefits. Even though fighting may bring pride, it brings hate and harm to whoever participates. In conclusion, it is problematic to judge someone based on their appearance. Furthermore, do not judge people by stereotypes, because each person is unique and complex. During Ponyboy’s conversation with Randy before the rumble, Randy expresses his thoughts, saying, “...people get hurt in rumbles, maybe killed. I’m sick of it because it doesn’t do any good. You can’t win, you know, don’t you? You can’t win even if you whip us. You’ll still be where you were before – at the bottom” (Hinton 117). Randy does not show the Soc stereotype when he shares that he is sick of fights, and how he sees that fighting will do no good to them. Randy reveals his pain and views to be unique and completely different from the Soc stereotype, which is significant because it indicates that Socs are only united because of their social class, but all have individual thoughts and feelings. When Ponyboy talks to Cherry after he comes back from the hospital, he asks her, “‘Can you see the sunset real good from the West Side?’ She blinked,