The Outsiders

In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis narrates a story of his gang, the greasers, and the struggles they face. These hardships include everything from rival gangs, class differences, to even death.  The main theme in this novel is the differences in the rich and the poor. Ponyboy is beyond his years with what life has served him, being only fourteen years old. He likes things like literature and the symbolic nature of sunsets. The leader of the greasers’ rival gang, the Socs, actually likes the same things but their different backgrounds make a friendship impossible. They also never have a real reason to constantly beat up each other except mutual hatred. The greasers’ have a brotherhood that is stronger because they hate the Socs so strongly. Barely even being old enough to be in high school, Ponyboy’s friend Johnny is devoted enough to the gang that he kills another boy to protect him. This leads to the two boys having to hide in an abandoned church and change their own identities. In these few days, it is apparent how young they really are and that they are more scared than their persona leads them to seem. They are only really tough in front of the Socs, but in other situations they have a strong conscience even if it isn’t perfect. This is shown as they leave the church and they notice that there is a fire engulfing the building. The boys save children and risk their own lives for strangers. This act put the greasers, the lower class in a more flattering manner than the Socs. The higher class in this novel are the ones who cause fights and initiate hatred. They ultimately wants revenge, and they will find it in the upcoming rumble between the two groups.