Examples Of Justice In The Outsiders

Honors Justice Final
Faith Windbigler

In The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton and Monster, by Walter Dean Myers; justice was skewed. Justice can be skewed in reality, too. From courtrooms and neighborhoods to even families, justice is a key aspect of life. Justice is skewed through opinion, misunderstanding, and peer pressure. Initially, justice is skewed through opinion. Strong opinions of another can affect justice and create harsh, unruly, and unnecessary consequences. For example, in The Outsiders, the Greasers and Socs have firm opinions of the other. Greasers and Socs each view the other as nasty rascals. The Greasers are repelled by the wild privileges of the Socs. Meanwhile, the Socs are disgusted by the low-class, disadvantaged Greasers. When police arrive at a crime, tending to favor the opinion of the Socs, Greasers are more commonly blamed and

Peer pressure causes forced bias. For example, in Monster, Steve Harmon is black, while his lawyer is white. O’Brien doesn’t enjoy being around him, due to their separate races and racial bias in the era. In The Outsiders, Cherry didn’t want to be seen with Ponyboy, or rather talk to him in school. She was afraid of hurting her reputation by being with a Greaser. In chapter 3, Cherry comments, "Ponyboy… I mean… if I see you in the hall at school or something and so hi, well it's not personal or anything, but…. We couldn't let our parents see us with you all. You're a nice boy and everything…" Even though Cherry attempts to be kind, she still wants to follow standard social class restrictions. A final example is Randy. Randy is a Soc that empathizes with the Greasers. He experiences social pressure, though, before the rumble. He is pressured to attend the rumble, but out of his own morality he chooses not to partake in social warfare. He isn’t allowed the supposed “freedom” because of his own conscious