Why Is The Outsiders Unfair

The Outsiders Theme “The problem isn’t that life is unfair – it’s our broken idea of fairness. Meaning, our idea of fairness is self-centered” (Tony Warrick). The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton, is a novel about the bond between the rich eastside Socials and the poor Greasers. Although many themes are portrayed throughout the novel, the theme of unfairness is the most consistent theme. First, unfairness is portrayed through the Greasers. Johnny, one of the Greasers, had been treated unfairly his whole life. The narrator states, “ If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.” ( Page 12 ). Johnny’s parents were abusive. Since Johnny was not born into a family that cared about him, he did not know that life could be better. His parents were not Johnny’s fault, he had never done anything wrong. Johnny was just born into an unfair family . Life is unfair, but not all of them are equally unfair. Secondly, unfairness is shown through one of the Socs Bob. Bob had everything he had ever wanted, but was never told no. For
Ponyboy states, “ Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.” (Page 179) Unfairness is not just a problem in our own backyard. Unfairness is worldwide and everywhere. We can’t stop unfairness as we keep committing to it. Every day kids from different unfair backgrounds are concluded to be bad people by what they look like or what they wear. The Greasers are just an example of the unfair in the world. Overall the theme of The Outsiders is unfairness, but I believe that there is more to the theme. Unfairness is everywhere, and can not be ignored, but people can still see the good in the world even if there is not much. No one has to give into unfairness, for we can still “Stay Gold”