The Outsiders

4 Pages 1080 Words

The Outsiders, a book by S.E. Hinton, is a story about the trials and tribulations experienced by the Greasers and the Socs. Ponyboy belongs to a lower-class status group of kids who call themselves “Greasers” because of their long, greasy hair. Many of them have had hard lives already, and they are tough and angry. They often fight with the “Socs,” short for Socials, a status group of wealthy boys who beat them up just for fun. This deals with the sociological concept of classes. A class is a term used by Max Weber to refer to a group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income. The Socs are all in the same class because they are all very wealthy. The Greasers may feel a sense of social inequality to the Socs. Social inequality is a condition in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige or power.
Ponyboy is shy, quiet and gets good grades. His oldest brother Darry takes care of the family, since their parents died in a car crash. This deals with the sociological concept of role taking. Role taking is the process of mentally assuming the perspective of another, thereby enabling one to respond from the imagined viewpoint. Darry has assumed the fatherly role in their family. Darry is very serious, works a lot, and is very hard on Ponyboy. Sodapop, the middle brother, is happy most of the time, and is very handsome and likable.
Walking home after a movie, Ponyboy gets attacked by a group of Socs. The Socs gang up on him and threaten to slit his throat. A group of Greasers come and chase the Socs away and save Ponyboy. His rescuers were his brothers Darry and Sodapop; Johnny, a shy sixteen-year-old; Dally, a boy with a long criminal record; Steve, Sodapop’s best friend; and Two-Bit, the oldest and funniest member of the group.
The next night, Ponyboy and Johnny go to a movie with Dally. They sit behind two pretty Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. Johnny and Ponyboy sit wi...