The Outsiders Conflict Essay

Conflicts are struggles and hardships that a character experiences throughout a storyline. These experiences are what make a story captivating. This is demonstrated in the novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hilton. The main character, Ponyboy lives in a society where the wealthy are separated from the poor. He is part of a gang from the East side called the Greasers, which is full of unfortunate boys. On the other hand, the West side belongs to those who are well-off and rich. Due to their contrasting status in society, Ponyboy experiences multiple problems and trouble in his everyday life. Throughout the story, Ponyboy goes through different types of conflicts, such as Character vs. Society, Character vs. Character, and Character vs. Self. In The Outsiders, the main conflict that Ponyboy faces is Character vs. Society. Being part of the Greasers made it difficult to be viewed as a “regular” person. The Greasers were always seen as vulgar and unsophisticated; They were seen as juvenile delinquents due to their actions and reputation. While this is, the Socs are seen as the opposite; innocent and clean. Due to their entirely different reputation

Self. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy continuously questions his identity; who he is, and where he truly belongs. He doesn’t feel like he should be labeled as a Greaser due to his beliefs and personality. As the Greasers head to the lot to fight in the Rumble, Ponyboy determined why all his friends fight and what they fight for. He then questions his reason for fighting, “Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn’t think of any real good reason. There isn’t any good reason for fighting except self-defense,” (137). Ponyboy comes to a realization that he doesn’t fit into an image of a Greaser. Knowing this, he’s in a predicament of what his true identity is. This internal conflict continues through the end of the book, negatively affecting his