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The Theme Of Belonging In The Outsiders, By S. E. Hinton

458 Words2 Pages

To belong to something is to be part of an organization, group or even a family. The Cambridge Dictionary defines belonging as “A feeling of being happy or comfortable as a part of a particular group and having a good relationship with the other members of the group because they welcome or accept you”. In The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, the author, explains belonging through the lens of gang members such as Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston. All three of these characters are associated with gang life, a sense of loneliness and a desire to find their place in the world. Ponyboy has to learn and experience new things throughout the story. He learns to mature and fight far too early when he should have had the chance to be a kid who was smart and good …show more content…

“We are just a small bunch of friends who stick together, in this warfare between the social classes.” This shows that he finds a sense of comfort in the gang. He sees them as an extended family instead of a gang. This helps him in gang life. Johnny shows a sense of loneliness. Before he was forced into temporary isolation in the church he was abused, beaten down and scared. Although he was never truly lonely he was depressed and getting beaten by the socs just added to the hole of depression and loneliness. EVan in the gang he was more alone than not he was considered the gang pet or a lost puppy. He was lonely because he was unnoticed and no one understood him. “I walk in that house nobody says anything. I walk out and nobody says anything. I stay away all night, and nobody notices. At least you got soda. I ain't got nobody” Johnny claimed. Dallas has been in multiple gangs in his life. He has committed lots of crimes in his time. Before he was a greaser he lived in New York and was associated with other gangs there. He was considered tougher, colder and

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Johnny Cade, one of the members of the gang called the “greasers” who died at age 16, 1949 who died from burn injuries and a broken back. Johnny’s parents didn’t want anything to do with Johnny but the gang loved Johnny for who he is, especially Dally. The gang always had each other’s back and his friends are Dallas Winston, Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Two-Bit, and Steve and were in a rival with the Socs. Johnny Cade’s life accomplishments were saving Ponyboy from drowning by killing Bob (a Soc) and rescuing kids from a burning church without think twice. Johnny’s family members were Mr. Cade and Mrs. Cade who don’t care for him and ignore him but mostly the gang were his family because they cared and loved him.

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Later, Johnny is in the hospital. The doctors give the bad news that he has a broken back and third-degree burns, and, “Even if he lived he’d be crippled for the rest of his life.” (Hinton 102.) This makes the gang very sad. The gang is the group of Greasers, including Johnny, who always stick together, so Johnny being crippled will make him unable to run around with them or fight.

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In the story The Outsiders written by S.E Hinton, there are two rival groups/ gangs, the greasers and the Socs. A young boy named Ponyboy explained his journey being a greaser and the sacrifices, consequences, and decisions he had to manage with. This story reminds me of William Shakespeare's story Romeo and Juliet of their similarities which are they gangs, fights, and loyalty and differences that are the wealthiness, behaviors, and between the two books. One of the similarities of the two books is the groups/ gangs, because in Romeo and Juliet there are the Montague and Capulets and in The Outsiders there are the greasers and the Socs. They are both enemies and try to sabotage and fight each other when every they have the chance to.

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Imagine being a sixteen-year-old boy being abused by his parents and being neglected, my middle-class people. The greasers, a gang, has a member being held against the law for violent actions. A gang each has different personality that sets them apart. Whether it is the color or symbol of the gang that tells other people who they are they all do something bad to keep their reputation. Johnny Cade, a sixteen-year-old former member of the greasers.

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The Outsiders is a book made in 1967 based on a young boy named Ponyboy, his story includes his two brothers Sodapop and Darrell along with his other friends. Ponyboy is a part of a gang known as the “Greasers”, the main group consists of Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darrell, Johnny, Steve, Two-bit, Dally, and Tim. However, this gang has a specific enemy, a gang called the “Socs”. The main members of the Socs are Cherry, Martia, Bob, Randy, and Paul. Both gangs are opposite from each other, but maybe they aren’t so different as people think they are?

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A clear sign of the gangs influence on Johnny was when he decided to prevent the Soc’s from drowning Ponyboy and defending himself instead of letting the Socs beat them up and have them possibly drown Ponyboy. More specifically, after finally fighting back and killing Bob, he says to Ponyboy “‘I killed him’ he said slowly. ‘I killed that boy”’(Hinton 56). Here the author is explaining how shocked Johnny was once he killed the Soc.

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“Running away won 't help.” Johnny was right. Ponyboy had people that loved and cared for him... they just didn 't know how to show it!” In the book The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, proves that no matter what type of Social class you are; Greaser or Socs, family is most important and will help you get through the difficult parts in life.

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Like Ponyboy, Johnny does not fit into the Greaser gang. Ponyboy says to the reader at the beginning of the novel, “Johnny Cade was last and least. If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny. He had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes, and that beating he got from the Socs didn't help matters (Hinton 11).” Stated in the quote, Pony explained in detail how Johnny can be considered as an outsider.

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There is a number of reasons that range from simple to complex, on why teenagers join gangs, and we can help by finding solutions to their specific problem before they choose to join one. To help someone get out of a gang, we as a society need to show there’s more out there in the world that they could do that will make a positive impact. Teenagers have different reasons to join gangs depending on their life situation. Everyone in the “Greasers” in The Outsiders had different reasons to be part of the gang. “We were used to seeing Johnny banged up-

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Johnny, the second youngest Greaser, gets jumped by Socs, and has feared them since the incident. Johnny, the loyal gang member, gets described as the gang 's pet. Yet, he still believed in doing the right thing and was the most law-abiding kid in the group. For example, one

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When you think of family you might think of adults and their children, or kids who lost their parents but are still related to each other. The Outsiders by S.E Hinton tells otherwise. It shows that even if you are not related, you can still be family; you can still have love and affection for each other. In the book, there is a contradiction between the gang’s biological family and their “family”. There is connection shown between the greasers from the Socs in the blue Mustang to Johnny dying in the hospital not wanting to see his mother.

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Johnny probably had one of the worst lives of the greasers, yet he still managed to stay optimistic even after being beaten on an almost daily basis. Johnny would also stand up for people even after being isolated for most his life, as shown when Dallas was harassing Cherry and Marcia. Finally the most loyal of them all, even on his deathbed he stuck by his friends and only allowed them to vist and not his horrible mother that ignored him for most his life. After an abusive childhood most people would give up but Johnny cade stood amongst the Greasers with pride, not

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People are often misconceived for what they present on the outside, not what’s on the inside. This is shown in a number of characters in a number of novels. One of these novels, is called the Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton. In this novel, there is a boy named Johnny, who is in a gang called the greasers. He is like the pet of the gang, and without him, their is no balance between the gang mates.

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