People are usually not who everyone thinks they are. In fact, many people seem to fit a stereotype, but their overall character comprises of more, including a true self who tends to differ vastly from who others know. The majority of the people who meet them do not recognize this. S. E. Hinton carries this theme throughout every character in her novel. In The Outsiders by Hinton, Two-Bit (Keith) Mathews, who is part of a greaser gang on the poorer side of town, has a difficult and often confusing life. He deals with the conflicts with the Socs, the richer kids who enjoy threatening the greasers, by being the jaunty jokester that he is. However, although Two-Bit Mathews appears to be a conventional wisecracker, he proves to be much more as a serious and deep character. Two-Bit is a jokester from the start. He always manages to take life easy, which protects him from pain. “I couldn’t just take it or leave it, like Two-Bit” (Hinton 47). He sees life simply and is always positive. “He had gray eyes and a wide grin, and he couldn’t stop making funny remarks to save his life. You couldn’t shut up that guy; he always had to get his two-bits worth in” (Hinton 10). Ponyboy introduces Two-Bit to the reader as a wisecracker, who brightens everyone up. Time and time again, he is the liveliest of the bunch. His humor is a defense tactic that he uses throughout the book, and he seems as though has always been ludicrous about his situation. Although Two-Bit Mathews recognizes the