ipl-logo

The Outsiders By SE Hinton: Can Criminals Be Good People?

528 Words3 Pages

Can criminals be good people? Well the Greasers, in the book The Outsiders by SE Hinton, are a gang of people who stick up for one another. Even though the Greasers are hoodlums, they are still honorable because whenever one of their gang members are jumped or is in a situation, they are there to help out. They also risk their lives to do stuff that they don’t have to do. To begin, Ponyboy and Johnny risk their lives to save others. When the church was burning, Johnny and Ponyboy jump in to save the trapped kids. Ponyboy also thought in his head “We started it!’We started it.” This shows that Ponyboy and Johnny are honorable because they started the fire and they have to do something to save the kids that are trapped inside. If they …show more content…

When Ponyboy got jumped by the Socs, his buddies came to rescue him. “Then someone had me under the armpits and was hauling me. It was Darry.” This shows that the gang is honorable because they are always around in case someone needed help. If they aren’t around, they might lose a gang mate. It proves that the Greasers care and love each other because they are like a family. Also, the Greasers protect themselves while protecting others. When Ponyboy was being drowned, Johnny saves him by killing Bob. Johnny said “I killed him. I killed that boy.” This shows that Johnny was being honorable because after the Socs get rid of Ponyboy, they might go after Johnny. He had to kill Bob to protect himself and Ponyboy. This shows that the Greasers is always there to help their buddies. Some may argue that it is never ok to kill someone no matter what the reason is. When Ponyboy is being drowned, Johnny saves him by killing Bob. This shows dishonor because killing someone is not nice and it can get you into a lot of trouble. This may be true but killing a person in a situation that is dangerous is ok because you have to protect yourself. When Johnny killed Bob, he was trying to protect himself and Ponyboy from getting hurt by the other Socs. The only way to make the other Socs run away was to scare them and that was what Johnny did. This shows honor because the Greasers care about each

Show More
Related
318 Words | 2 Pages

Bob is dead. Jonny has killed him. While Ponyboy was getting drowned by David, johnny was scared that the other “Socs” were going to start in on him. Why did Johnny kill Bob? Because he was scared!

Read More
665 Words | 3 Pages

Another reason the greasers are honorable is that they are all loyal and stick up for each other. Specifically, when Pony was drowning, Johnny

Read More
435 Words | 2 Pages

Secondly, in one scene Johnny (greaser) kills Bob (Socs) because the Socs were going to drown Ponyboy and beat Johnny, so he took his pocket knife and stabbed him. Just like Romeo

Read More
363 Words | 2 Pages

The Trial of Johnny Cade In SE Hinton’s novel the Outsiders, the Socs and Greasers have a conflict with each other because Socs are wealthy and Greasers are poor. That is not the only reason they disagree with each other. Johnny held a grudge against the Socs ever since they beat him up badly, So this is what eventually leads to the death of Bob which is a Soc.

Read More
1188 Words | 5 Pages

Besides that Johnny also has trauma that made him do certain things as well. Johnny later in the story kills a handsome soc named Bob with a pocket knife then says once Ponyboy wakes up, “I killed him,” slowly. (Hinton 56) Due to needing to protect Ponyboy, he stabbed Bob who was jamming Ponyboy’s head into a fountain. From what I saw Johnny was scared his trauma made him react because he thought Ponyboy was going to die or get the same trauma in which he did.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Consequently with all that was going on at that moment, Johnny defended himself and Ponyboy who is one of the Greasers. Furthermore, Ponyboy responds saying, “‘You really killed him, huh, Johnny? ‘Yeah.’ His voice quivered slightly. ‘I had to.

Read More
400 Words | 2 Pages

One example of symbolism is, Two-Bit’s switch blade. The ten inch switchblade, is Two-Bit’s prize posession which represnents a disregard for authority. The switchblade was stolen by Two-bit from a hardware store, also showing how the Greasers pride themselves with the potential to comment violence. In the Greaser’s way of living, stealing and robbing are not shunned or counted as socially inapropriate crimes. These crimes are counted as normal, and as a respected survival tactic.

Read More
1047 Words | 5 Pages

Oh, I forget to mention, one of the Greasers, Johnny died today. I don’t know what to feel. Ponyboy asked me if I wanted to visit Johnny, I immediately said no, he killed Bob, and although he can be mean sometimes, I know there’s still heart in him. The Greasers just assume all socs are rich and malicious, yet they themselves fight in what’s called a skin brawls all the

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

From the quote in chapter four, “The next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement beside the fountain, coughing water and gasping...... Where in the world would we get those things?”(Hinton Chapter 5), we could know that as the Socs were drowning Ponyboy, Johnny stabbed Bob and killed him. From this quote, we could know that Johnny used violence to protect his friend and himself. He didn’t really mean to kill Bob, but he couldn’t afford to get beaten up again, and to watch his friend drowned to death right in front of his eyes at the same time, so he chose the only, and the most extreme way out to solve the problem. From his action, we could see that how violence from the others, for example, the Socs, and his family, impacted him.

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Then there 's the Greasers, who live poorly and get blamed for most of the things that go down in the city. Ponyboy, and Johnny, two Greasers, that at first, clang to the fact that they hated Socs. All they wanted to do was fight the other gang to look tough and earn respect. In the beginning of the story, Ponyboy wishes he looked tough.

Read More
613 Words | 3 Pages

Soda turned him over gently and I nearly got sick. Someone had beaten him badly.” This shows that when violence is used, it can either help or harm others. Sometimes, it could help you, but not in a good way, because while it’s a solution, it is also a problem. The socs are doing that so the greasers would know which gang is better and to show them who is boss, but did they gain anything.

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

Johnny made this spontaneous decision because the Socs were trying to drown Ponyboy in the park’s fountain. When Ponyboy realized Johnny murdered Bob, Ponyboy was as frightened as if he was at a haunted house . The consequence of this choice was that Johnny and Ponyboy felt guilty ,and they Both decided to run away for a like one million years. Johnny said, “I killed him. I killed that boy (pg56).”

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

The greasers gang sticks together like brothers at makes sacrifices at great costs. Ponyboy says, “You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore.” (Pg. 26)

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

The novel The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton illustrates a theme of stereotyping and its effect on the characters. The protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis is the most affected by stereotyping. Ponyboy is stereotyped as a greaser. He accepts this stereotype, but is negatively affected by it, because society views greasers as poor, bellicose, delinquents from the East Side.

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

The novel “The Outsiders” by S.E Hinton depicts the theme of violence predominantly. This novel portrays how violence leaves physical and emotional scars. SE Hilton explores the effect of living in a place where a teenager can't even walk home by himself and where fear is the foremost emotion. Gang violence, shooting, stabbing, ignorance etc are examples of violence illustrated in the novel. I will explore the theme of violence through characters such as Johnny,Dally and Bob and analyse the emotional and physical damage caused by the violence in this novel.

Read More

More about The Outsiders By SE Hinton: Can Criminals Be Good People?

Related Topics

Open Document