The Role Of The Community In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Paulo Coelho once said “If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.” This is a quote that is proven true throughout S.E. Hinton's acclaimed book ,The Outsiders. The Outsiders is a novel about two groups of young adults, named the Greasers and the Socs. It takes you through journeys of courage and denial between the groups, and presents how much their feud impacted largely on both groups. The story is told by the perspective of one of the Greasers Ponyboy. In the novel, The Outsiders, much of the contradiction and strife in the community is caused by the Socials.

The Socials were responsible for causing Bob and Johnny's death. They were responsible for putting Johnny in another life or death situation when they attacked Ponyboy and attempted to attack him after. “I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you. And they had a blade... they were gonna beat me up--- "Like..."--- I swallowed--- "like they did before?" Johnny was quiet for a minute. "Yeah," he said, "like they did before.”This
If the Socials did not start all of the quarrels in this novel a lot of things would've been different. Having Bob and Johnny die made an impact on both groups humongously which also is a twist to hearing about all of their conflicts, yet the Socs still fight in the rumble after they lost one of their leaders. What would've happened if the Socs had changed their ways after Bob died...would Dally not of killed himself, would the Dally let Johnny and Ponyboy runway?. After reading this novel you will question what could’ve happened differently if even the smallest thing changed. While you will only see one perspective it is definitely the Socs who should be held responsible for starting