Stereotypes In The Outsiders

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One of the main themes in the novel ‘’The Outsiders’’ is stereotypes. The two gangs, the Socs and the Greasers are stereotyped by each other and others. The Greasers are perceived to be poor, unclean, uneducated and troublesome. Although this may be the case for some, this description is not true for all of the Greasers. A good example of a Greaser who is none of these things is Darry, the eldest of the Curtis family. Darry could have gone to college if it wasn’t for his parents being killed in a car crash, which meant he had to stay home to mind his younger brothers or they would be sent to a boy’s home. Some members do git the stereotype, such as Dallas Winston, who was always in trouble with the law. The rival gang, the Socs, are also stereotyped. They are considered rich, spoilt and lucky. Most of the Socs go to college and seem to have a perfect life but they too have problems. Bob got himself killed because he had no rules and his parents would let him get drunk and get into trouble. Cherry Valance, a Soc, and Ponyboy, a Greaser are also good examples of how stereotypes aren’t always true. Cherry teaches Ponyboy that Socs and Greasers aren’t that different like when she says “All Socs aren’t like that, Ponyboy”. She was horrified because Ponyboy had just told her about Johnny being jumped by the…show more content…
The clear rivals of the story are the Socs and the Greasers. They are rivals because they are complete opposites. The Socs are rich and drive nice cars but the greasers don’t have a lot of money. The Greasers are jealous of the Socs and the way they have everything handed to them and don’t have to work for it. They are also annoyed because they get blamed for all the things the Socs do because of the Greaser stereotype. Near the end of the novel, the Socs and the Greasers have a rumble. The Greasers beat the Socs, but this didn’t really disprove any of the stereotypes that people thought about the

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