Violence In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

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Many people have used violence to solve problems that they have at some point in their life, but as you look back at what you accomplished, you realized that violence doesn’t help you in a good way. Ponyboy learned that the hard way. In The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton presents the idea that using violence against your rival(s) isn’t the solution, it is the problem. One scene that reveals the idea that violence isn’t the answer and that it can only hurt others, was in Chapter 3 when ponyboy talks about what happened to Johnny. He said, “Johnny was lying face down on the ground. Soda turned him over gently and I nearly got sick. Someone had beaten him badly.” This shows that when violence is used, it can either help or harm others. Sometimes, it could help you, but not in a good way, because while it’s a solution, it is also a problem. The socs are doing that so the greasers would know which gang is better and to show them who is boss, but did they gain anything. No, but they now have to face the …show more content…

You'll still be where you were before - at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the killing. It doesn't prove a thing. We'll forget it if you win, or if you don't.” This part of the book is clearly showing that violence can sometimes do nothing for your situation, which defeats the purpose of violence. The rumble in the story was intended to help make them even. But as you see, it still didn’t make a difference. Although the greasers might be happy temporarily that they ‘beaten’ their enemies, but it doesn’t change the fact that their in the middle class and that they aren’t an asset to