Sunday, December 22, 2013

What is the main source of conflict in The Outsiders?

The main source of conflict in The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is described very early in the story in chapter 1. The conflict described is a a conflict between social classes. In The Outsiders, this conflict occurs between two groups, the Socs, short for "the Socials" (Hinton p2), and the Greasers, a group that the main character, Ponyboy, is a member of. The Socs are described as "the jet set, the West-side rich kids."...

The main source of conflict in The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is described very early in the story in chapter 1. The conflict described is a a conflict between social classes. In The Outsiders, this conflict occurs between two groups, the Socs, short for "the Socials" (Hinton p2), and the Greasers, a group that the main character, Ponyboy, is a member of. The Socs are described as "the jet set, the West-side rich kids." (Hinton p2), while the greasers are "poorer than the Socs and the middle class" (Hinton p3). This is further expanded upon when Ponyboy explains that the Socs "get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next." (Hinton p3). Oppositely, Ponyboy describes the greasers as "like hoods; we steal things, and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while." (Hinton p3). As the reader can see from these descriptions, each group lives a very different lifestyle, with the Socs driving fancy new cars, getting drunk, and jumping greasers for fun, while the greasers struggle to get by and are looked at negatively by society as a whole. 


Hope this helps!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre a feminist novel?

Feminism advocates that social, political, and all other rights should be equal between men and women. Bronte's Jane Eyre discusses many...