The Outsiders:a Short Essay

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, there are 2 cliques or groups. There are the greasers and the Socs. Though these to groups are very different, the members within the greasers differentiate as well. For example, Ponyboy and Dally are very different characters who have the same lifestyle. At the same time, Dally is very similar to Bob Sheldon who is a Soc and lives with fortune and “ease”.

Though the greasers may have the same lifestyle and social status, they are each very different and have there own individual personality. For instance, Dally was hardened and “tougher, colder and meaner” then the rest of the greasers while Ponyboy is calm and likes movies and reading books. On the other hand, both groups have characters who have similar personalities. An example of this is how Dally and Bob Sheldon have similar personalities. They both have a “bad” personality as to which Cherry Valance is attracted to. Bob Sheldon, like Dally, is a tough and mean person who “could be sweet sometimes, and friendly” but at the same time can be mean like when he says to Ponyboy, “You know what a greaser is? White trash with long hair.”

        The Outsiders is a thrilling novel in which the author creates a mix in the characters and there lifestyle. S.E. Hinton shows that a gang does not greatly affect someone’s personality but only creates an illusion of what they’re personality is.  The fact that Ponyboy and Dally have very little in common and how Dally and Bob have a lot in common supports that. After reading this novel it is obvious that these characters are struggling to get out of there “blinding” gangs and find there own identity.