The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton, follows the story of two different groups living in mid-western America: The greasers and The Socs (pronounced so-shoes). The novel deals with many problems that were prevalent in society at this time such as poverty, high crime rates, violence between social classes and gang wars. The novel was written in 1967 (Hinton, 1991) and is written from the perspective of Ponyboy Curtis. The time period in which The Outsiders takes place was one of great social change; the mid-sixties to be exact.
The Vietnam War between America and communist North Vietnam had become very popular after The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964). The war would not end until 1973 when America’s involvement finally came to an end. This war would lead to a new counter-culture that society had never seen before as young people protested against it and for peace. There were also many new advancements being made with clothing, music and art styles that included rock bands such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin along with styles such as The Beatles hair and The Rolling Stones “lips” logo.
The difference between The Greasers and The Socs is the superficial one of dress; The greasers wear leather jackets, jeans and white T-shirts while The Socs wear designer clothing such as Oxford shirts and button up sweaters (S. E. Hinton, 1967). The difference in wealth between the two groups is more detailed than just a name brands or style of clothes that they wear however. The narrator Ponyboy describes it by saying “But don’t think we’re all alike,” I said quickly. “We have different ways of dressing and living, but basically we’re just a bunch of kids who don’t have much money but are proud of what we have.
The Socs have a lot of money, but they’re not proud of it; that’s all” (Hinton, 1967). The Greasers and The Socs both represent different social classes that were prevalent at this time in America during the mid-1960’s. The novel itself was written after The Civil Rights Act (1964) and The Voting Rights Act (1965) had been passed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson which ended segregation and allowed African Americans to vote without unfair restrictions such as poll taxes or literacy tests.
However there were still two distinct groups living in America at this time as wealthy families lived in the suburbs while poorer families like The Greasers would live in urban areas such as Dallas’ North Oak Cliff area where The Greasers lived (Corrigan, The Best Place to be, 1999 & Ford Thesis, 2010). The two social classes The Greasers and The Socs were at the core of the novel Hinton wrote as she described their differences from each other so well.
The stereotypes present in The Outsiders are those of The Greasers being young white boys who have been labeled as “delinquents” by society for their involvement in gangs and violence while The Socs are all rich kids who hang around together and drink a lot however they do not stick up for themselves against others unlike The greasers which is what leads to the conflict between the two groups throughout the novel. Early on Ponyboy states “There were five or six guys about our age lounging around The park.
The biggest group were a bunch of guys who called themselves The socs, short for socials” (Hinton, 1967). The Greasers and The Socs are complete opposite characters which is what separates them from each other; The Greasers look dangerous while The Socs look like the “all-American boy”. The Greasers were often characterized as such because they wore leather jackets and went around town in groups (S. E. Hinton, 1991).
As Ponyboy says early on in the novel “We also had a reputation for liking to fight- not exactly a good recommendation but we didn’t care” (Hinton, 1967) however this led to stereotyping and prejudice by those within their own community. The Greasers were considered hoodlums and delinquents by The Socs and The police only because they hung around in large groups and wore leather jackets (Hinton, 1991). The Socs on the other hand were known to drink a lot which led to their stereotype of being alcoholics when in reality The Greasers drank just as much if not more than The Socs did.
As for The Greasers stereotypes at this time in history their negative portrayal was due to their involvement in gangs such as The Black Panthers who protested against racial inequality during “The Long Hot Summer” of 1967 where riots broke out all over America in response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that same year in April (Ferbrache, n. d. ). The Greasers are characterized as The “outlaw” or The “bad guy” in society due to their lack of wealth which leads them to seem more dangerous than The Socs, who are often seen as The “good guy”.
The label The Greasers receive is also due to the fear of young boys wearing leather jackets and hanging around together like The Greasers do which makes most adults assume they must be members of a gang (Hinton, 1991). This stereotype has come from the fear adult citizens had during this time for teenagers because since large groups of teens would go around and protest against racial inequality they were considered dangerous and rebellious (Ferbrache, n. d. ).
This led people like The Socs parents to complain to The police about The Greasers who they believed made The neighborhood unsafe for their kids which in return led The police to believe The Greasers were delinquents and hoodlums (Ferbrache, n. d. ). The Socs parents made it seem as though The Greasers were looking for trouble while The Greasers on the other hand usually just had altercations with The Socs because of how they treated them however this did not stop The people around them from believing that The were truly dangerous despite all evidence to the contrary.
The stereotypes between the two groups have definitely changed since The Outsiders was published forty years ago in 1967. These days most people would not stereotype high school kids who hang out together or wear leather jackets due to the fact The Greasers were more likely to wear leather jackets and The Socs would mostly wear lettermans jackets (Hinton, 1967).
The Greasers made The jacket popular back in The 1960’s while The letterman was worn by The jocks and rich boys and girls (S. E. Hinton, 1991) which once again separates The two groups into their stereotypes of being dangerous and rebellious or safe and well-behaved. A novel that takes place in modern times or any other time besides The 1960’s or before may have an entirely different result when portraying these characters however the fact still remains that The Outsiders is among one of many novels written about teenagers during this time period where fear ruled over respect for youth.
