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Social Class In The Outsiders

Decent Essays

The Outsiders: Your Social Class Should Not Make You Judge Others Criss Jami once stated, “When I look at a person, I see a person-not a rank, not a class, not a title.” In The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis and his gang are Greaser’s, meaning they have little to no money. As the text progresses, Ponyboy is getting judged because of his social class. Ponyboy is having a hard time fitting in with the people around him. One theme evident in The Outsiders is, you should never think you are better than anyone because of your social class. In the beginning of the novel, the Soc’s think they are better than the Greaser’s because of their social class. In chapter 3 of the text, Ponyboy states, “Soc’s had so much spare time and money they jumped us and each other for kicks, had beer blasts and river-bottom parties because they did not know what else to do” …show more content…

In chapter 8 of the text, Ponyboy states, “He mostly came to rub it in about the rumble” (105). When Johnny killed Bob everyone wanted to fight Johnny. Not to mention, the Greaser’s stick together so the Soc’s wanted to settle everything in a rumble. The rumble is the warfare between different social classes. Whether they fight or not the groups will still judge each other and be in different social classes. In the latter part of the novel, the Soc’s and the Greaser’s know they shouldn’t judge but they still do. In chapter 9, Ponyboy states, “They used to be buddies, I thought, they used to be friends, and now they hate each other because one has to work for a living and the other comes from the West Side” (122). Darry and the Soc, were not friends anymore because of their social class. In addition, Soc’s let the money choose whom they hang around as well who they respect. Equally important, the Soc’s never treat anyone equally besides the other Soc’s. All in all money can really change who you hang

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