Two Groups In The Outsiders

The Outsiders: Two Groups Divided

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences,” is a quote by Audre Lord. Having a closed mind and not being open to diversity creates conflict and tension. This quote connects to the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. In this novel, one can see that conflict occurs between two high school aged groups when they are not open to learning and understanding one another. The Greasers are from a lower socioeconomic class and have lack of family support. The Socs are from a middle to upper socioeconomic class and have full family involvement. The groups dress differently and have different visions of life. The Greasers and the Socs have been in

One example of this is when a Soc stated, “We are going to cut off all that long greasy hair” (5). This quote proves that the Socs discriminate against the Greasers because they are different. Ponyboy explains at the beginning of the novel that most of his group has long hair and they always grease it back. The long greased hair is a part of the Greasers identity. This is a phenomenon that occurs often. The two groups are different in many ways. Socioeconomic class, the way the Greasers wear their hair, the clothes they wear, and their lack of family support are just a few examples. People start fights with others because they are different from each other and fear each other. In this quote, Ponyboy was being surrounded by a group of Socs when he exited the movie theater. Ponyboy was not offending or hurting the Socs in any way; Ponyboy was just minding his own business. The Socs don’t know Ponyboy personally. They assume he is bad because he is a Greaser. This proves that the Socs judge and stereotype Greasers. Another example is when Bob states, ‘“You know what a greaser is?" Bob asked. "White trash with long hair"’ (48). In this situation, the Socs start fights with the Greasers because they are socioeconomically different. The term “white trash” is usually a negative label placed on someone who is caucasian and poor. In the quote, Pony and Johnny were walking in the park

The Socs are the ones who are at fault. If the Socs did not antagonize the Greasers in the first place, there would be no conflict throughout the novel. The Socs didn’t even have a real reason to become violent and confrontational with the Greasers, yet they did. If the Socs and the Greasers would accept and recognize their differences they might be able to understand each other better. This would lead to better relationships between the groups. In the novel, Pony was able to talk with a Soc girl named Cherry. Since they took the time to talk, Cherry and Pony were able to understand each other and realize they had more in common than they thought. In The Outsiders, it was nice to see Ponyboy grow with insight and maturity. He discovers that no matter what group one is from, everyone has their own problems and they are all human. The Socs are the ones at fault because they always go after the Greasers, they use more harmful weapons, and they always start the