Socs are classified as rich kids, the type that wear Madras and drive corvairs (Hinton dig. 14). Greasers don’t have nearly that much money, and as Cherry puts it “Cherry no longer looked sick, only sad. ‘I'll bet you think the Socs have it made. The rich kids, the West-side Socs. I'll tell you something, Ponyboy, and it may come as a surprise. 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.’” (Hinton dig. 31). Because of this, greasers are seen as a menace to society, even if the Socs are just as bad. Like in this example where Ponyboy explains the dynamics, “We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in awhile. “ (Hinton dig. 4). The Greasers are basically given the bad reputation, that only appears to be shown to society. In the quote it talks about how Socs are ranted about, but very soon after, are praised. All greasers are classified as the same hoodlum, troublemaking, no good street kid, though there are people like Johnny and …show more content…
Take Johnny Cade for example, he is physically and verbally abused by his parents, there is no love radiating from them, he was a lost and abused puppy (Hinton dig. 11). His source for vital love was the gang: “ If it hadn't been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.” (Hinton dig. 11). He isn’t particularly like the gang; he doesn’t like to fight, he’s nice to girls, and doesn’t get into too much trouble necessarily. This newfound love sparked him to save the children from the fire in the church and go to the extremes by killing someone in defense for Ponyboy. He risked getting in trouble with the law and even his life for Ponyboy: “‘Yeah.’ His voice quavered slightly. ‘I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you. And they had a blade... they were gonna beat me up....’” (Hinton dig. 50). Ponyboy undoubtedly explains what it means to be in a gang, “ You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang any more. It's a pack” (Hinton dig. 24). Johnny Cade is only one example of how the gangs instituted him, though he was never like them, the love was all he