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 of a Greaser and seen as the most stereotypical example of a Greaser. On some occasions he can see through the stereotype to see that we are all the same, because it is just how other people see you that make you different, and that doesn’t matter. In some chapters Ponyboy says that he is a Greaser and they are Socs but in others he says they are all the same. Stereotypes are one of the most common things in our community, because in our society you always fit into a group; fat, tall, smart, athletes. 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...
