Sunday, April 26, 2009

Are the Socs a bigger disgrace and menace to society than the Greasers in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?

The Socs’s actions are more accepted by society because they come from wealthy families. In general, the actions of the Socs and greasers are the same.  They are kids who fight each other and sometimes commit acts of vandalism or pretty crime.  The Socs do this for fun, while the greasers often act out of need or anger. 


Pony explains the difference between the Socs and the greasers.



We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. (Ch. 1) 



It seems clear that while greasers may steal things and “hold up gas stations,” their main issue is that they are poor.  They do not have many options in life.  The Socs have greater access to opportunities.  Society accepts their youthful indiscretions, and then they go off to college and become upstanding citizens. 


It is apparent that the Socs target the greasers.  Pony is afraid of them.  He feels that he is in danger, and needs the other greasers to protect him. 



Greasers can't walk alone too much or they'll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream "Greaser!" at them, which doesn't make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean. We get jumped by the Socs. (Ch. 1) 



When Cherry and Pony are talking, she tells him that Socs have problems too.  “Things are rough all over.”  Some of the Socs’s problems just come from having money.  An example is Bob, whose parents are over-indulgent and let him drink and cause trouble.  He never had any boundaries, and it is a significant cause of his death.  His parents were not aware enough or strong enough to stop him.


Thus, the public perception that greasers are the problem is really just prejudice.  The two groups are always fighting each other, which is a never-ending cycle.  Neither one is singularly to blame.

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