The Outsiders is a fictional, relatable teen novel written by S.E. Hinton. The story is narrated by the main character, Ponyboy. One night, Ponyboy and Johnny, who belong to the greasers, a violent group of boys who always stick together, get attacked by the Socs, a group of rich, unpleasant boys. Impulsive decisions were made and due to the circumstances they had to flee and hide with the help of a friend, Dally. An uncontrollable fire occurred and Johnny died because of serious injuries, while Dally committed suicide from the pain of losing a friend, and the series of unfortunate events change Pony’s perspective on the Socs. Although S.E. Hinton never uses the word “outsider” in the novel, it describes the various characters in the story. …show more content…
Outsiders are people or groups of people who aren’t like the rest. From reading the title, I would assume that the story is about people or things that don’t fit in society’s norms. The title is important because it foreshadows the story. It describes characters in the story without actually reading it. S.E. Hinton made many characters in the novel, but the greasers could be what she meant by the “outsiders.” What she meant by it are people that are different from others because of their social differences and their looks. The greasers are teenagers that aren’t the same as the Socs. They have less money than other groups of people in the town. They don’t dress the best and are often judged by their looks. They are known for their violent mentality and they aren’t always loved by people outside their gang and families. They have many differences from the people in their community, which makes them all …show more content…
The Socs are rich kids. Rich kids are generally referred to as disciplined and well mannered. In our society people do things to fit in or please other people. Greasers were always thought of as rough, negligent people. They do as they are “meant” to. They always do the expected unlike the Socs. Pony states, “Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace” (S.E. Hinton 4). This quote proves that the rich kids in his town are the complete opposite, they aren’t like other rich kids. This makes the Socs one of the outsiders in the