Bridging the Gap Between the Rich and the Poor
The Outsiders is a very well-known novel written by the author S. E. Hinton in 1967. The book follows the story of two conflicting gangs named the Socs and the Greasers who are separated by their positions in society. There are countless themes and main ideas throughout the book which teens can easily relate to, including themes of isolation, violence, innocence and even love. The Outsiders mainly talks about the theme of Society and Class; how the city that the book takes place in is divided into two by factors of wealth and position in society. S.E Hinton is bringing light to the similarities between the Socs and the Greasers throughout her novel; bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. …show more content…
This is evident when Cherry tells Ponyboy, “‘We have troubles you’ve never even heard of. You want to know something?’ She looked me straight in the eye ‘Things are rough all over’” (p. 34 and 35). In the end of Chapter 7, Ponyboy also tells himself, “Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (p. 118). When Cherry states that ‘things are rough all over’ it implies that deep inside; no matter how it may look, everybody has their own problems which isolate them. Ponyboy links this quote back when he is talking to Randy in the car. He finally makes a connection between the two gangs and realizes that Socs have just as many challenges as greasers have. Both have the human element of feelings and suffer in life. This is related to real life, too. Although it may look as though the poor have all the problems, the rich also have problems of their own. Rich people have so much money they are never happy, and the poor don’t earn adequate money to survive every …show more content…
Ponyboy describes the importance of appearances to the gang: “Our hair was tuff--- we didn't have to use much grease on it. Our hair labeled us greasers, too- -- it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of. Maybe we couldn't have Corvairs or madras shirts, but we could have hair.” (p. 71). This sentence explains how important the greasers’ hair is to them; they cannot afford all the other expensive clothes or fancy cars, but they could have hair. The author also described the Socs as though “they were all cut from the same piece of cloth: clean shaven with semi-Beatle haircuts, wearing striped or checkered shirts with light red or tan-colored jackets or madras ski jackets.” (p. 141). This sentence uses imagery to allow the reader to imagine the Socs all having the exact same line of clothing. It shows how important Soc’s image and appearance is to them; just like how our clothes matter to us. Also, when the author is describing the two gangs as following a certain style of clothing, it is an example of stereotyping since she is identifying the group as having a unique characteristic or behavior throughout the novel. This is also evident in real life. Places like India or African countries whose citizens like to wear traditional and cultural cloths show how much significance they have for clothing. Rich people also tend to wear fancy, expensive clothes which
The Outsiders is a very well-known novel written by the author S. E. Hinton in 1967. The book follows the story of two conflicting gangs named the Socs and the Greasers who are separated by their positions in society. There are countless themes and main ideas throughout the book which teens can easily relate to, including themes of isolation, violence, innocence and even love. The Outsiders mainly talks about the theme of Society and Class; how the city that the book takes place in is divided into two by factors of wealth and position in society. S.E Hinton is bringing light to the similarities between the Socs and the Greasers throughout her novel; bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. …show more content…
This is evident when Cherry tells Ponyboy, “‘We have troubles you’ve never even heard of. You want to know something?’ She looked me straight in the eye ‘Things are rough all over’” (p. 34 and 35). In the end of Chapter 7, Ponyboy also tells himself, “Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (p. 118). When Cherry states that ‘things are rough all over’ it implies that deep inside; no matter how it may look, everybody has their own problems which isolate them. Ponyboy links this quote back when he is talking to Randy in the car. He finally makes a connection between the two gangs and realizes that Socs have just as many challenges as greasers have. Both have the human element of feelings and suffer in life. This is related to real life, too. Although it may look as though the poor have all the problems, the rich also have problems of their own. Rich people have so much money they are never happy, and the poor don’t earn adequate money to survive every …show more content…
Ponyboy describes the importance of appearances to the gang: “Our hair was tuff--- we didn't have to use much grease on it. Our hair labeled us greasers, too- -- it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of. Maybe we couldn't have Corvairs or madras shirts, but we could have hair.” (p. 71). This sentence explains how important the greasers’ hair is to them; they cannot afford all the other expensive clothes or fancy cars, but they could have hair. The author also described the Socs as though “they were all cut from the same piece of cloth: clean shaven with semi-Beatle haircuts, wearing striped or checkered shirts with light red or tan-colored jackets or madras ski jackets.” (p. 141). This sentence uses imagery to allow the reader to imagine the Socs all having the exact same line of clothing. It shows how important Soc’s image and appearance is to them; just like how our clothes matter to us. Also, when the author is describing the two gangs as following a certain style of clothing, it is an example of stereotyping since she is identifying the group as having a unique characteristic or behavior throughout the novel. This is also evident in real life. Places like India or African countries whose citizens like to wear traditional and cultural cloths show how much significance they have for clothing. Rich people also tend to wear fancy, expensive clothes which