Julie Soffer

F2 Paper: The Outsiders

 

The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton’s groundbreaking novel, tells the story of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy belongs to a gang called the greasers, who are constantly at battle with the Socs, a vicious group of rich kids. At the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy points out the many differences between the two groups. He describes the Socs as “jet-set, West-side rich kids” (Hinton 2). He goes on to explain, “We’re poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we’re wilder, too. Greasers are almost like hoods” (Hinton 3). It is easy to see that there is a strong rift between these two groups, but after Ponyboy actually meets some Socs, he begins to question if they’re really that different after all. He says, “They liked the Beatles and thought Elvis Presley was out, and we thought the Beatles were rank and that Elvis was tuff, but that seemed the only difference to me” (Hinton 37). In the scheme of things, this one line may seem somewhat insignificant, but in actuality, it speaks volumes about the true differences between the greasers and the Socs. Yes, they are both groups of men, but the greasers and Socs represent two completely different sides of the gender spectrum. By comparing the two gangs to Elvis and the Beatles, S.E. Hinton is able to perfectly depict these gender differences.

Elvis Aron Presley was born in 1935 in the small town of Tupelo, Mississippi and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He was always passionate about music, but he was not able to study it because he had to drop out of school to get a job in order to help his family make ends meet (Elvis Presley). And then one fateful day in the summer of 1954,, a 19-year-old Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records and altered the music industry forever. Sam Phillips, the proprietor of the record label, had been on the hunt for an artist who “could perform with the excitement, unpredictability and energy of a blues artist but could reach across regional, musical and racial barriers” (About Sun Records). Elvis fit the description perfectly, and with Sam’s help, his rise to superstardom began. However, Americans appeared to be scandalized by Presley’s music, as well as his appearance. He was universally denounced as an immoral influence on the youth of America, and it was he who led to the classification of the age group we now know as “teenagers” (Elvis Presley). Elvis was condemned as the embodiment of rebellion and uncleanliness, and horrified adults tried to stop his music from growing in popularity. Teenagers who listened to his music were labeled juvenile delinquents and “greasers.”

This is where The Outsiders comes in. Ponyboy comments that the greasers are big Elvis fans, and by delving into Elvis’s background, the reader can learn a lot about them and their core values. First and foremost, they were able to relate to Elvis on an appearance-based level. Here was a superstar who had long hair, used hair oil, wore jeans, and displayed a lot of greaser attitude. Nowadays, that may sound like your average pop star, but in the 1960s that was revolutionary. Elvis oozed masculinity, and was a sex symbol of the era. Furthermore, Elvis was emotional like the greasers- he did not repress his feelings, and neither did they. Elvis was raw. His music was emotional, and he showed none of the signs of aloofness that were common among the upper class. Throughout his career, even as he made millions of dollars, Elvis retained his image of a poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks. It only makes sense that the greasers would idolize someone like him, because he gave them something to believe in. He started out as one of them, but he was able to rise above the circumstances and make a name for himself. Rock and roll is regarded as the toughest kind of music, and this fits the image the greasers try to portray for themselves as “tuff.” Most importantly, Elvis was not afraid to feel, and neither were the greasers. By voicing their admiration for Elvis, they were ultimately admitting to themselves and to the world that despite their hard-looking exteriors, they too have feelings.

In terms of gender, Elvis challenged the standards set by society in the time period he was living in. Men were expected to be sturdy and responsible figures, to take care of a family and to keep their feelings to themselves. Elvis completely disregarded these traditional roles and paved the way for a new breed of mankind. Elvis proved that society could not dictate what does or does not classify masculine, and despite initial criticism, his platform reached thousands of men nationwide. The greasers were not immune to the influence of Elvis. It was not only his music that affected them, it was his manhood. Elvis helped them realize that feeling more didn’t make them any less of a man, and that even the toughest men out there could still have heart.

On the other hand of the musical spectrum are The Beatles. Universally hailed as one of the greatest bands ever, their influence has stretched far and wide since the day they first started performing in little clubs in Manchester. And on February 7, 1964, they stepped foot onto American soil and became a cultural phenomenon overnight- Beatlemania had swept the nation (The Beatles Biography). The Beatles had been gaining popularity overseas for quite some time, but their sudden rise to fame in America was unprecedented. Nonetheless, the Beatles were embraced with open arms, beloved most for their simple sound and clean-cut image. After a decade of Elvis’s outrageous antics, the nation welcomed this new, softer side of rock and roll.

The Socs were not immune to the pop culture appeal of the Beatles, who basked in money and class. The Socs wanted to be like these men who evidently had it all, so much so that they even tried to look as much like them as possible. Ponyboy describes Randy, one of the Socs, as having a “semi-Beatle haircut” (Hinton 44). The ugly, hard side of life didn’t seem to touch the Beatles at all, and that was something the Socs admired, and wanted to emulate as much as possible. The Beatles were cool, aloof, and so sophisticated they seemed emotionless, and that is why the Socs were drawn to them. Ponyboy noticed as much, stating that “Socs were always behind a wall of aloofness, careful not to let their real selves show through” (Hinton 38). And Ponyboy isn’t the only one who noticed this. In fact, Cherry Valance, one of the Socs, even admitted this. She told Ponyboy “We’re sophisticated- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us” (Hinton 38).

When the Beatles rose to popularity, they completely uprooted Elvis’s notions about manhood. The Beatles regressed the scope of manhood back into what it has been since the beginning of time. They were these untouchable figures, four men who essentially had it all, men who had worked hard for their dream but refused to show how much they cared. Even when they sang about their feelings, their songs were cool and aloof, a far cry from Elvis’s gritty, heartbreaking lyrics. This is what the Socs saw in the Beatles. They appreciated their traditional views on manhood and aimed to model themselves after them. They refuse to show their true feelings and diverted all of their attention to cars and girls and beating up the weak kids. The Socs acted exactly the way society dictates that young men should act.

Hinton’s simple reference to the different types of music reveals all of the underlying differences between the two groups. It’s not just about the money, although that does seem to be the obvious choice. There’s so much more than that. The public perceives the greasers as unruly, unlawful, dirty, and rebellious. Elvis was seen the same way. The Socs were seen as good kids who didn’t get in any trouble. They dressed well and drove nice cars, just like the Beatles. And it goes even further than that. What it all boils down to is not appearance, but their interior values and beliefs about gender. By explicitly stating that these two groups had different tastes in music, S.E. Hinton is able to implicitly inform the reader of the true difference between a greaser and a Soc. Without knowing the history of these artists, as well as the way they were perceived by America, this line would be just another one of Ponyboy’s inconsequential musings. However, with further research in to the subject, it is quite easy to see how much Hinton is able to say by not saying anything at all.