Literary Analysis of The Outsiders
Angela Mohanty
IRLA
Ms.Scoopie
January 11, 2013
Breaking A Label
Ponyboy, a Greaser (hoody group), from S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders once said:
“That 's why people don 't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I 've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks” (141).
This quote says that Ponyboy and his gang of Greasers were judged as being trouble and bad people whereas the Socials (a high class group known as the Socs) who were decent looking were considered to be good people. However, Ponyboy realizes that many “Greasers” are actually decent people while the Socs are not. Would Society be shallow enough to not care what’s underneath a person’s exterior? Yes it would. Even in a fictional book judgment is essential in order to show common day society. Ponyboy ponders about how people judge by looks and do not bother looking at what is underneath. Even in today’s world where inequality is intolerable, labeling people based on their looks and passing judgment is tolerated. Judgment and labeling have become a daily part of the world. People argue that it is human nature to label and judge, however is it human nature to treat people they understand one way and those they do not another. Initially individuals will say they treat people the same and do not judge but in society labeling and judgment are roots common people cannot escape. Many individuals are forced to follow these labels created by society, which may result in negative effects such as being publicly disgraced, facing internal dilemmas and taking drastic actions, as shown in The Outsiders and “On The Sidewalk Bleeding”. People who try to break social labels and join different groups face many challenges: one of them being the internal dilemmas resulting from external
IRLA
Ms.Scoopie
January 11, 2013
Breaking A Label
Ponyboy, a Greaser (hoody group), from S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders once said:
“That 's why people don 't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I 've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks” (141).
This quote says that Ponyboy and his gang of Greasers were judged as being trouble and bad people whereas the Socials (a high class group known as the Socs) who were decent looking were considered to be good people. However, Ponyboy realizes that many “Greasers” are actually decent people while the Socs are not. Would Society be shallow enough to not care what’s underneath a person’s exterior? Yes it would. Even in a fictional book judgment is essential in order to show common day society. Ponyboy ponders about how people judge by looks and do not bother looking at what is underneath. Even in today’s world where inequality is intolerable, labeling people based on their looks and passing judgment is tolerated. Judgment and labeling have become a daily part of the world. People argue that it is human nature to label and judge, however is it human nature to treat people they understand one way and those they do not another. Initially individuals will say they treat people the same and do not judge but in society labeling and judgment are roots common people cannot escape. Many individuals are forced to follow these labels created by society, which may result in negative effects such as being publicly disgraced, facing internal dilemmas and taking drastic actions, as shown in The Outsiders and “On The Sidewalk Bleeding”. People who try to break social labels and join different groups face many challenges: one of them being the internal dilemmas resulting from external
Cited: Hunter, Evan. “On The Sidewalk Bleeding” The Literary Link. 2010. 3 January 2013. Hinton, S.E.. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1995