The Outsiders CR
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, demonstrates two social classes during the 1960s: the Greasers and the Socials (Socs). The story, narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a former Greaser, depicts through vivid descriptions the members of this social group and really pinpoints on their outside appearances. The Soc’s are narrated from at a distance and are viewed highly for their wealth and power they hold over the Greasers who are considered “hood” because they are low class individuals. Although categorized in a single category, the Greasers each bring a different dynamic to the group. Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest of the Curtis brothers, is described as not tough, with long brown hair, and greenish gray eyes. In comparison, Ponyboy aspires to be like his favorite movie star, Paul Newman, who was tough and rugged. Sodapop, the middle Curtis brother, unlike Ponyboy, was described looking like a movie star. His good looks and charm set him apart from the other Greasers. Darry who is the eldest Curtis brother, is described as tall and muscular, with an appearance similar to their fathers, although he acted nothing like him.
This book is heavily detailed when it comes to the appearance of the Greasers. Like I mentioned earlier, each character brings something unique to the whole of the group and it is important to focus on their differentiations. Narrated through the eyes of Ponyboy, we are only given one glimpse of the story leaving us to wonder if the opinions are based off of favoritism or naivety of the narrator. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a commonly heard phrase when it comes to talking about appearance, although popular opinion can come into play as well when talking about what “beauty” is. Aesthetically, there are features that many people find appealing and can come to an agreement that a person, based off of these features are “beautiful.” While some people, see beauty as more skin deep.
A major difference between these two groups is social class. This is what sets the two apart and what constantly brings them into fights throughout the novel. The Soc’s come from wealthy backgrounds, while the Greasers a low class “hood” background. Because of this disparity in social class, and the attempts to intermingle (the Greaser boys pursuing Soc girls), there is a constant fight between them. Physical fights break out multiple times in this novel. One of these fights breaks out on page 44.Right after the drive in movie, Two-Bit, Jonny, and Ponyboy, are walking home with Cherry and Marcia. Not too long into their walk a blue mustang appears with the girls boyfriends and other Soc members who are in disbelief of the situation. Within minutes of their interaction, Bob (a Soc boy) attempts to get into a fight with Two-Bit warning him that he is outnumbered with the other Soc boys seated in the backseat. The girls were the buffer in this situation and ended the fight, but this is the first instance when the girls are seen as a “prize” between both the groups. Knowing that they couldn’t be seen in public with these guys, the girls end up leaving with the Soc boys, although they would rather be with the “bad boys.” These boys are out of their spectrum and unique, which is the beauty that these girls see within these boys that sets them apart from the rich, Soc boys.
So I like that you’ve picked up on the class discussion of visual appearance. I think it’s a very important theme not just to Ponyboy but to Hinton and to a broader American imagination. It is particularly important to the genre of romance, which in some ways this story seems to fit.
What concerns me about your post is I don’t really see a close reading here. By and large it seems that you do a really good job of summarizing the story around a theme. That’s a good skill, but in these posts you need to pick a specific close reading strategy and use that to think not just about the plot and content of the story but about the writerly choices the author makes and how those choices inform the way we read some aspect of the story. Additionally I am not sure I can tell from your post what your history paper will be on. Again you weren’t required to show it in the post, but in case you thought you had included, I am letting you know that I am not sure what historically locatable thing you might be looking at.