What Is The Outsiders Impact On Ponyboy

Some may believe that Darry had a more significant impact on Ponyboy, but I’m here to prove them wrong. The novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton illustrates how Pony makes assumptions about the Socs but later learns that they are not so different from himself; they all have problems to deal with. Cherry has the most significant impact on Ponyboy because, at the beginning of the story, he assumes all Socs live perfect lives but realizes, when he befriends Cherry, that he shouldn’t judge people too quickly because they might surprise him. Initially, Ponyboy assumed that the Socs were the enemy. That they jumped Greasers for fun and were haughty and snobbish. But when he meets Cherry, his attitude toward the Socs alters. In chapter 2, page 21,

In chapter 6, page 73, Dally visited Pony and Johnny in Windrixville. He starts to explain how Cherry offered to spy on the Socs for them, "...she'd keep up with what was comin' off with the Socs...and would testify that the Socs were drunk and looking for a fight and that you fought back in self-defense." So Cherry... was trying to help us. No, it wasn't Cherry the Soc; it was Cherry the dreamer who watched sunsets... It was hard to believe a Soc would help us, even a Soc that dug sunsets. This evidence is substantial because it shows how Cherry is willing to help the Socs even though they usually don’t see eye to eye. This demonstrates to Ponyboy how Cherry is different from other Socs he has met. Her helping the greasers is out of the ordinary. Also in chapter 8, page 128, Cherry was waiting for Pony and Two-bit so she could tell them about the Socs' plans for the rumble. She asks Pony to stay and explains why Randy isn’t going to the rumble "He’s not scared; he’s just sick of fighting... Bob was his best buddy since grade school." This makes Pony think of Soda and Steve, who are also best friends, and how this would affect them. I thought of Soda and Steve. What if one of them saw the other killed? Would that make them stop fighting? Maybe Soda, but not Steve; he would go on fighting. Pony now realizes that the socs and the greasers aren’t entirely

At the end of the book, Ponyboy realizes that the Socs and Greasers are not as different as he thought they were, and he wants others to see that as well. In chapter 10, page 129, Pony starts to walk off but can’t stand to see Cherry crying. Cherry: "I only wanted to help. Wouldn't you try to help me if you could?" Pony: I would. I'd help her and Randy both if I could. Cherry: "Thanks, Ponyboy... You dig okay." Ponyboy starts to see the Socs as equals and is willing to help them. He now knows that having money doesn’t mean you have a perfect life. In chapter 9, pages 114–115, Pony finds out that he and Soda might be sent to a boys' home and blames it on the Socs. I hated them (the Socs). It was their fault Johnny was dying; it was their fault Soda and I might get put in a boys' home. I hated them as bitterly and contemptuously as Dally Winston hated them. But less than 30 pages later, after he talks with Cherry. Darry and Paul circled each other at the rumble. "Even I could feel their hatred. They used to be buddies, I thought; they used to be friends, and now they hate each other... They shouldn't hate each other. I don't hate the Socs anymore. They shouldn't hate." This evidence is important because it shows how Cherry has changed Pony’s point of view. He now sees the true side of the Socs and it’s all thanks to