The Outsiders
Essay by 24 • December 13, 2010 • 573 Words (3 Pages) • 1,522 Views
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton's book of class conflict, choice and determination, set in 1950s Oklahoma, creats suspense for characters who live on the periphery of society. Hinton's protagonist, Ponyboy, along with his gang members, including Two-bit, Dally, Darry and Johnny, who are "greasers”. They wear their hair long and greasy, wear jeans , t-shirts and, if they can eat chocolate cake and soda for breakfast, live in poor homes in poor neighborhoods and are generally doomed to poor-paying blue-colored jobs. Theey do little to endure themselves to those who are not of their group. Foir instance, at the drive-in movie, they "introduce" themselves to some girls through uncouth manner.
The average greaser's enemy is the "soc". The soc comes from a privileges background, wears really expensive nice clothing and often enjoys his or her parents' intelligence.
Hinton, through a series of plot elements, presents the greasers as the heroes of the book. For instance, Johnny, the least aggressive of the greasers, kills a soc. but, the killing is clearly presents as a case of self defense. Further, we understand that Johnny had previously been savagely beaten by the very same soc who, on this occasion, without question, had intended to kill Johnny. Johnny later had really bad cuts and bruises when he rescues a group of children from a burning church the same building in which he and Ponyboy had been hiding out about the killing of Bob a well known soc.
The toughest greaser also is crazy and dumb but smart. Even when Dally ends up being shot by the police after he attempted armed robbery, Dally seems more a tragic than a threatening person. Ponyboy reveals that Dally 's gun did not hold and bullets; Dally desperate act is attributed to his inability to cope with Johnny's death.
Throughout the book, the greasers are looked at as loyal and misunderstood, and full of an anger and despite that has been brought upon their time through years of abuse and neglect.
Despite this, Johnny and Ponyboy are able to keep a grasp upon their life. Johnny pays with his life. His nervous
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