he is not at all wealthy. The Socs are a group of people who come from the East side and are highly prosperous. Ponyboy has indeed realized that the Socs are a gang of rowdy people based on wealth. Also, Ponyboy has differing values than just the vision of having a surplus of money, and would rather focus on the idea of living in harmony with himself as a greaser and not a rambunctious Soc. Plus, the key facet of being a Soc is to be a wealthy person with a large sum of money to support people. The Socs would not even accept him since he is not even remotely affluent or at all similar to them. Furthermore, the main reason his family is not rich is the fact that they are only focusing on keeping the family together and not spending their money on things they do not need. Ponyboy and his brothers have not even reached a level of the Soc society since they do not meet the main idea of being Soc. Since he does not have the hard cash for the “superiority” and “luxury” of being a Soc, then he would most likely not be involved in shifting to be one of them, and would not be accepted as one of them, since he does not even have the one necessary requirement to be a Soc. Even though Darry is a possible influence on Ponyboy, since he could have been a Soc, Ponyboy is still so different from the Socs for the main fact that he is loyal to his fellow Greasers and would never leave them.
For example, in the quote, “If you don’t stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers. . .” (Hinton 26). The quote portrays that Ponyboy will stay with his gang through thick and thin. He would never betray his fellow Greasers since he obviously respects the fact that they are all together as one group. Plus, Ponyboy admires his companions and they would play a major part in swaying Ponyboy’s decision back to the Greaser side. Furthermore, Ponyboy does not see the Soc as a tight knit group of friends like he does the Greasers. He sees the Socs as cold, intimidating, and just not like him at all. Also, Darry could have been a Soc, but he had to keep his family together. Ponyboy respects the fact of how hard Darry worked to keep his family together, but Ponyboy does not admire Darry for anything else, especially since he could have been a Soc if he left them all behind. Lastly, Ponyboy would not like the image the Socs represent. Ponyboy is more of a solitary, quiet minded character, and does not correspond with the violent and psychotic life the Socs voluntarily live. Overall, the Socs, are not the proper group for Ponyboy, so he would select to stay the same, as a …show more content…
Greaser. Furthermore, the main reason Ponyboy would be better off staying as a Greaser, is due to the fact that he is too emotional and philosophical.
The Socs, on the other hand, are more cool in personality and do not feel the deep and intense emotions that Ponyboy does emanate. Cherry Valance, a gratifying Soc, believes this statement to be accurate and makes the comment, “You greasers have a different set of values. You’re more emotional. We’re sophisticated-cool to the point of not feeling anything” (Hinton 38). The quote further proves the facet of emotion that withholds the position of Ponyboy as a Greaser. Ponyboy wants to keep these feelings bottled up, which would make him more like a Soc, but he is incapable of keeping them inside and must express himself. Therefore, his emotions make him more alike with the Greasers. Furthermore, Ponyboy is an intellectual character who thinks differently from the Socs and has a more philosophical edge to him. For example, on page 77, Ponyboy recites the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. This was when he and Johnny were at the church and Ponyboy wanted to express himself and the poem did just that. He used his philosophical points of view to emote what he was feeling at that point in time. Ponyboy is too emotional to change to a Soc and is more eligible to remain as a
Greaser. To conclude, Ponyboy is a better depiction of a Greaser from a multitude of views. He is not at all alike the Socs since he is not wealthy. Plus, he believes in sticking together and never leaving his Greaser gang. Lastly, he is considered to be more emotional than the Socs and this would exclude him from ever joining them. Ponyboy Curtis is more the image of a Greaser than he will ever be a Soc.