The Significance of Stereotypes Illustrated in Hintons...

Stereotype, someone who is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type. This is the main component of the S.E. Hinton novel The Outsiders. The stereotypes in the novel are the Socs and the Greasers. The Socs are the rich kids who don’t have to work for anything, while the Greasers are the poorer kids who have very little. They both live in the city of Tulsa, one group on the Northside and one on the Southside. Outside of these boundaries no-one knows of them but the hatred for each other still plays on their minds. In our community stereotypes play a part in life, but in The Outsiders it is the core theme of the story combining with teenage struggles. In The Outsiders the main character Ponyboy Curtis conforms to the image†¦show more content†¦It is good to see that Ponyboy can look past people’s differences and begin to like the Socs for who they are. In the city of Tulsa there is a gang war between the Greasers and Socs. When the boys left the city they found that no one knew about Greasers and Socs, so they wouldn’t get jumped or discriminated against by the cops or other gangs. Time away from Tulsa helps the main character Ponyboy, a Greaser, reflect and see there is not much difference between the Socs and the Greasers, just how others see them. Socs like Cherry and Randy help Ponyboy along the way to see through the stereotype after the death of a friend. When the church fire occurs in Windrixville and the boys are hurt, in the ambulance Jerry says he has never heard of Greasers. The stereotype of the city is undeniable with most people on the Southside Socs and the Greasers on the Northside. But outside of the city no one knows about the stereotypes, therefore, do they exist? Greasers are the main stereotype in the book but also there is a small part played by the Socs. Although the book is about the life and times of a Greaser there is also a ‘Socs Story’ in there, as throughout the book you learn more and more about the Socs and how they live. But this all changes. When Bob dies Cherry and Randy, the main Socs characters, begin to see that there is no difference between Socs and Greasers. Randy, when he talks to Ponyboy in private doesn’t call