Theme Of Struggles In The Outsiders

The Outsiders Essay

Struggles is a natural part of living, even characters in a book have struggles! In The Outsiders, a group of very close friends called the greaser and their rival, the Socs, fight the struggles of life. Each group is tested with different struggles that affect them in a way. All of them must find a way to overcome them. The greasers struggle more than the Socs because people judge them before even knowing them, they have less money than the Socs, and they are targeted by them.

Money was a struggle for the greasers, which increased people’s perspective of them as hoods. “We’re poorer than the Socs and middle class.” (Hinton, 1965, pg.3) This quote is persuasive because it shows the class, the greasers were identified

“ Greasers can’t walk alone too much or they’ll get jumped… We get jumped by the Socs.” (Hinton, 1965, pg.2) The evidence shows that everyday of a greasers life, they have to constantly be watching their back for Socs. Also, the greasers have to worry what time they may get jumped, whether they may be alone, or if the Socs are armed. Once a Soc has caught you, there is no telling what they will do, “ I remember Johnny--- his face all cut up and bruised, and I remember how he had cried when we found him,... Johnny had it awful rough at home--- it took him a lot to make him cry.” ( Hinton, 1965, pg.4) This evidence shows that if a Soc got a chance to jump on you, they would make sure to get the job done, before help came. Also, the quote is persuasive because it shows that if Johnny had a very rough life; and it was still hard to make him cry, but when he was jumped for the first time made him cry, shows that a Soc will show no mercy to a greaser. The greasers had a very rough life of having to deal with Socs, but some people believe it is the other way

Also, the evidence seems reasonable, but does not support that the Socs have a more difficult life because the Socs could have talked to their parents and explain what he felt. The Socs would also use, “ You get a little money and the whole world hates you.”( Hinton, 1965, pg.117) The opposing idea is not correct because if the Socs actually felt that the whole world hated them, they should have done something good with their money, instead of spending it on themselves. Also, the opposing side is wrong because the Socs could have solved this struggle by giving some money away. The greasers just wanted to live their life, but everyday they had to deal with the Socs, money, and being judged.

The greasers struggles matter because it shows us the real cruelty of the world, of what some people have to go through in life. No matter what the greasers do, people will always think of them as hoods, no one’s opinion will change. The greasers will never be considered better than the Socs just because of money, that is one thing that will never changed in society. every day in the life of a greasers, they will get jumped by the Socs. The greasers wanted freedom in living, even though they had to deal with the Socs, money, and being judged before being known, image how life would be in there