Theme Of Violence In The Outsiders

Throughout The Outsiders, violence is depicted in numerous ways. The Greasers and Socials use violence towards one another regularly in the story. For instance, the story begins with a group of Socials jumping a Greaser. However, the author tries to convey to the reader why violence is never the answer. In the text, she attempts to get through to the reader that violence does not resolve anything for both groups. By trying to explicate this through the text, she conveys to the reader how violence is the theme of the story. Violence is portrayed in the story for various reasons. The Greasers and Socials use violence to retaliate against one another. For example, Johnny and Ponyboy are jumped, and nearly killed, by a group of Socials (Hinton
However, Ponyboy and Randy, a Social, have a discussion the day of the rumble. Randy explains to Ponyboy how fighting will resolve nothing for both groups (Hinton 103). For instance, no matter if the Socials defeat the Greasers or not Bob will still be dead. Additionally, he explains that neither group will benefit from the rumble. Socials will be Socials in the end. They will still be wealthy and privileged compared to the Greasers. On the other hand, the Greasers will always be less privileged, less wealthy, and live on the wrong side of town compared to the Socials. Nevertheless, both groups will remain as they were before. To conclude, the author informs the reader about violence in the story. She depicts violence in the book. For instance, she depicts acts of violence. These acts of violence include the Socials jumping the Greasers, the Greasers jumping the Socials, and both groups harming one another. However, she also depicts how violence is useless. She does so by showing the reader how unbeneficial violence is in any circumstance, especially in the character’s situation. These alternative perspectives of violence help the reader to comprehend how the author has woven the theme into the