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Examples Of Classism In The Outsiders

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In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there are many examples that can teach about family and friends, love and longing. The protagonist, a 14-year-old child named Ponyboy lives with his brothers, as both his parents perished in a car accident, and grows up with his friends who have similar difficulties. Ponyboy grows up in a community full of violence and classism, which affects the mental state of the entire town, through the projects to the rich side of town. There are many different types of stereotypes in confrontations between Greasers and Socs. Greasers are known to be poor and ‘no good criminals’, while the Socs are known to just be kids growing up, angels who can do no wrong. An example of this is when Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny are at the movies and meet a teenage Soc named Cherry who calls Dally a dirty no good Greaser. This illustrates how the Socs put a label on the Greasers without even knowing them, proving that all the Socs have been ‘brainwashed’ to this false reality where they have a predetermined assumption that all Greasers are rudimentary and inferior. Classism becomes more visible as the story moves on. There are many examples of this throughout the story, especially in conflicts between the Socs and the …show more content…

Take classism and stereotyping, and they work as a catalyst together towards violence, which is seen throughout the story. Violence is seen commonly, between Socs and Greasers due to the long going rivalry between them. A good example of this is the rumble, a large hand-to-hand engagement between the Socs and the Greasers. Violence can also result in untimely deaths, such as Dally and Johnny who died due to a murder caused by classism. Another example of violence in The Outsiders is when Johnny gets jumped in the beginning of his short, painful, life. He is permanently scarred, both mentally and physically by the pain of getting his face torn open by a Socs fist covered in

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