The Outsiders Coming Of Age Essay

S.E. Hinton’s coming of age novel The Outsiders tells the tale of two social classes, the poor greasers and the wealthy Socs. Set in 1960s Oklahoma, Pony Curtis, a sensitive fourteen-year-old greaser, gets caught up in a murder and experiences staggering amounts of heartache and grief over the course of just a few fateful days. Ponyboy narrates his story with vivid descriptions and thoughtful insights into the struggle between his impoverished gang and the privileged, vindictive Socs, who hurt greasers for fun with little to no consequence for their actions. Through her imagery, symbolism, and descriptions, S.E. Hinton makes the class struggle between the rich and poor a terrifying and violent reality. The Outsiders shows how the upper class …show more content…
Ponyboy explains how greasers, “can’t walk home alone too much or they’ll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream ‘Greaser!’ at them.” (2). Soon enough, a group of Socs encircle and taunt him, assault him, and hold a knife up to his throat, asking, “How’d you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?” (4). After almost killing him, the Socs leave Ponyboy badly bruised and helpless on the ground, knowing that there will not be any legal repercussions for their actions. Ponyboy explains how Socs, “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.” (3). Because of their wealth, the Socs can abuse greasers with no consequence, perhaps bribing cops and judges to drop charges, fleeing the scene quickly in their fast cars, or persuading newspapers not to report their crimes. “I had just as much right to use the streets as the Socs did,” Ponyboy says, “Why did the Socs hate us so much? We left them alone.” (17). Although the greasers don’t look to start trouble, they fear for their lives when walking alone, occasions that could spell out danger at the hands of spiteful