One thing I noticed in the novel is that the  Greasers are stuck at the bottom because they refuse to conform to society’s standards and the Socs will always have their privilege.The Outsiders, Ponyboy bravely saves children from a church after being on the run from the law because Johnn; his friend; killed Bob, a soc who aggressively attacked them. Randy who participated in this attack now realizes only after Pony saves the children that it was wrong. He and Pony are having a discussion about the upcoming rumble against the Socs and the Greasers when he proclaims, ”You can’t win even if you whip us.You’ll still be where you were before-at the bottom.And we’ll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks.”(Page #117).This quote is important because it shows that even if the Greaser’s win their lives will not change. The ruble will not change their life because the people in power, the Socs, want to continue to hold power over the Greasers.

The idea of caste is shocking but I assure you the same also happens in America. In America black people and people of color are part of a separate caste because of years of racism in our country. Wonder why there has only been on black president? Ever think about why the median black household makes 61% of the median white? This is because of casteism. ”Casteism is the investment in keeping the hierarchy as it is in order to maintain your own ranking, advantage or privilege or to elevate yourself above others or keep others beneath you.”When Socs like Bob jump greasers they do it in order to keep the hierarchy alive. They do it because it cements their power and sends  a message to Greasers that if they stand up to them they will get hurt. All Ponyboy did was talk to Bob’s girlfriend. When Ponyboy did that he was challenging Bob and therefore had to be punished. The article also makes connections to this talking about the murder of George Floyd as a way of instilling fear in black people.

In conclusion caste is a practice used to create a social pyramid of haves and haves nots.However people in America are starting to rise up and change. Because of the death of George Floyd there has been a reckoning in America about race. In The Outsiders you see people who also try to change the status quo, such as Cherry who tries to help the Greasers even though she’s a soc. I have hope that society will come to terms with how it has negatively impacted people of color and that going forward we’ll be a more free and forward thinking country. And if we don’t we are bound to end up like the Greasers and Socs caught in a never ending civil war against ourselves.

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton and Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True? | Decoded | MTV News shows that stereotypes do not define who you are and what you can or can’t do. 

Throughout the book, Ponyboy finds out that he doesn’t have to be like the other Greasers and he proves that his stereotypes do not define what he can and can’t do. 

After Johnny Cade's death, in chapter 12, Pony finds a note inside a book, Gone with the Wind, from Johnny. 

The note says, “when you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it's a day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be,” and then later, “you still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world.” (Hinton 178)

This note is saying that Ponyboy is something special and that he should stay that way. It is telling him that he doesn’t have to be like the other Greasers and that he shouldn’t let his stereotypes define him. 

Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True? | Decoded | MTV News connects to the Outsiders because they both show that stereotypes don’t define what you can or can’t do. 

This link is a 6 ½ minute video called Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True by TV Decoded. In the video Franchesca Ramsey talks about why we believe in stereotypes and why we shouldn’t let it define us. 

One of my favorite quotes from the video was when Franchesca Ramsey talks about “stereotype threat.” The woman said, “when you hear you are not supposed to be good at something, you tend to underperform.” 

This quote explains that when you hear that you are not supposed to be good at something you don’t try as hard to be good at that thing. This is an example of letting your stereotypes define you because you are letting what someone else thinks of you affect you. Later in the video Franchesca Ramsey talks about black college students' test performance. The studies showed black students performed just as good as white students’t when they weren’t confronted with racial stereotypes. This connects to how Ponyboy feels about being good in school. Just like a lot of the Socs, he gets good grades and is very smart. 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True by TV Decoded both show that stereotypes do not define who you are or what you can or can’t do. In the future I hope that we can look past people’s steriotypes and instead judge them by who they really are.  

Interestingly, later in the text on page 141 in chapter 11, Trevor Noah writes of his experience of trying to fit in at Sandringham High School, which had students from various racial and socioeconomic groups, that the group he felt the most affinity for was the poor black kids. Analyze how 2nd text connects to the theme. There are key similarities between The Outsiders and It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime.
Both texts detail the personal experiences of two boys struggling to establish their self-identity, particularly in their early teens. Both texts connect the central theme of self-identity to socioeconomic status (wealthy white versus poor black, and Socs versus greasers) and more promising educational opportunities available to wealthy white and Soc groups. Also, the main character in each book is born into the group they struggle to self-identify with (Ponyboy was born into the greasers and Trevor Noah was born into a racially mixed family).
The main difference between The Outsiders and It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime, is that The Outsiders takes place in the sixties in the United States and Trevor Noah’s text takes place in South Africa during the apartheid which lasted until the nineties. The concept of race is not represented in The Outsiders but is a main component of the text in Trevor Noah’s book since he was born into a racially mixed family when segregation was sadly the norm. 

In conclusion, both Ponyboy in The Outsiders and Trevor Noah in Born a Crime struggle to reconcile their self-identities. Comparing the two main characters shows that although the overall theme of self-identity is broadly similar, their circumstances are very different. In contrast to Trevor Noah in Born a Crime,  the self-identity struggle for Ponyboy in The Outsiders is unrelated to race and discrimination.  Thus, there are many similarities but also key differences in their self-identity narrative that ultimately impact who they are and the individuals they will become. 

Each individual may experience a conflict in their personal and social self-identity to find their “right place in the world that surrounds them. This must be reconciled with care and with the help of friends and family to avoid an existential crisis.

In The Outsiders the segregation is between the Greaser and Socs, Greaser is poor and the Socs are very rich so Greaser has a very worth place than Socs have. To  support my idea I found this quote “Can you see the sunset real good from the West side?” (page. 129) This happened when Ponyboy was talking to Cherry and that was the same day of the street fight. In addition the quote shows they do not live in the same place, Socs are very rich so they must have a nice house to live in, the place where Socs live is a very bustling place. Another quote is the  “ I'm not sure how you spell it, but it's the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids. It's like the term "greaser," which is used to class all us boys on the East Side.” This also supports my topic and it is said by the narrator, and on page 2,3. This quote said very clearly, that Socs is in the west, Greaser in the east, they have spread with each other. Furthermore this is also a stereotype, they think greasers are poor, bad and mean, but not all of them are all bad or mean, someone are kind and friendly.

There are some that are very similar to the Outsider.

The article that name is How Has Boston Gotten Away with Being Segregated for So Long? And this is a very good article to make connections to the Outsider. This article talks about the story of people that have experienced or have seen. How Has Boston Gotten Away with Being Segregated for So Long?. The thing that article has talked about is the Homeownership  “from a 2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report showing that the average white household’s wealth in Greater Boston is $247,500 and the average Black household’s wealth is $8.” because they are very poor so that is the reason most black people can not live with white people, in other words live in a good place. Another point is “Amid the clauses about matters such as how far back from the road the houses had to be set was a stipulation that they could not be sold to a “Negro or native of Ireland.'' ' This is also the reason that different races can not live with white people in the past. You can not buy the house, even if you have enough money. So they only can live in areas that have no perfect education, have not complete buildings and are far away from the city. Do you want to live there?

Either in the book or past there are many bad things going on with different races of people and poor people. 

The segregation is not good for the community and this can make economic inequality, and I am not saying that black people are not working hard. I am saying that give them a good job, stop segregation and don't racially discriminate, so they can have a good job, house and education.

These stereotypes from the outsiders can relate to modern day life. One example is stereotypes, by dr. Saul McLeod is an article about stereotypes and the different types of stereotypes. In this text dr. Saul McLeod says that an advantage of stereotypes is that it makes us respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before. In this text it also says that one disadvantage is that it makes us ignore differences between others. There are also different kinds of stereotypes which include racial stereotypes. The purpose of stereotypes is that we use it to simplify our social world in life. This text connects to the theme of stereotypes because it is explaining stereotypes and the different kinds of stereotypes. This can also relate to this theme of stereotypes because it talks about the advantages and disadvantages.

In conclusion stereotypes from the outsiders can connect to modern day stereotypes because they are the same thing and stereotypes happen in the same way. Stereotypes always have an affect on people and people react a certain way. This is why stereotypes can be good or bad. now I want you to ask yourself what do you think about Stereotypes?

The novel exhibits many themes such as friendship, courage and loyalty. A lot of people might see greases as criminals but they live by a specific and honorable code of friendship. Dally who seems like he doesn’t; have feelings shows great loyalty to his friends. When Two-Bit broke the window at school Dally “just took the sentence without baitin an eye or even denyin’ it.” page 76. Johnny considered that as a gallant act of him.  On the night of Bob’s killing Dally helps Pony and Johnny get away from town. He even gives them a gun (illegally) knowing that if they get caught he would pay the price.  Darry, “had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year.”  Darry declined a full time athletic scholarship to a college just to take care of his younger brothers when their parents died. Pony thought “Darry didn't deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty.”page 16. In the church fire Pony, Johnny and Dally all played a big role in saving the kids. They all were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. They’re act was called heroic. When Ponyboy tells Randy that he would “have saved them the same as we did,” (page 117) it shows that Pony thinks that his act was a human thing to do and he doesn’t consider himself a hero.

Life in 2020 was harsh. The virus caused many ill and sadly many have died. I can infer that everyone in the world wants this pandemic to end but unfortunately you can't wake up and life to be perfect. That is why many doctors and nurses go out to do their job everyday knowing that they themselves may get infected. Sacrifice and risk in the time of COVID-19 by Julia Simons and Jenny Vaughan. Many of these workers choose to not see their families for months because they don’t want to possibly infect their relatives. Not only should we be thankful for the doctor but for all the people we do not get to notice.Truck drivers, grocery store workers and more unsung heroes of the coronavirus pandemic by CHRISTINA CAPATIDES  People such as vaccine developers and major distributors. How about all the electric companies? Hospitals don’t just get electricity out of thin air. Even software developers are having a hard time because many people are working online and they need to sustain the platform. Lastly our very own teachers go to school everyday, meet large amounts of students and are willing to educate us for our good.We all need to be thankful for those who work hard during this time.

In conclusion, I would like to again say that the time I read this book it really corresponded with the present day. Self sacrifice is something special. Something that everyone has. Like Ponyboy and Johnny were willing to give up their lives, so are the people around you. We all need to show appreciation for those who care for us because life isn’t easy right now.

    People have one vision about one group of people. When Ponyboy is in the ambulance, S. E. Hinton writes, “‘Send from heaven?’ Had he gotten a good look at Dallas? ‘No, we’re greasers,’ I said. I was too worried and scared to appreciate the fact that he was trying to be funny. ‘You’re what?’ ‘Greasers. You know, like hoods, JD’s. Johnny is wanted for murder, and Dallas has a record with the fuzz a mile long.’ ‘Are you kidding me?’ (95). This shows that Jerry, the ambulance driver, was very surprised when he heard that the Greasers had saved the kids. He never thought that they could be heroes. He had a single story of Greasers. 

    Many people have a single story. According to  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie she has encountered many single stories. Single stories can affect many people. In the Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares her encounters with stereotypes. She is a colored woman who lives in America. She moved to America to go to a university. Lots of people stereotyped her because she is from Nigeria. In her Ted Talk, she stated, “‘What struck me was this: She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me. Her default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity.’” The Outsiders takes place in the 1960s, this Ted Talk was filmed in 2009. In this 49 year difference, stereotypes and assumptions have differed. Chimamanda says that people she has met thought she could not do certain things because of what she looked like. Just like how people think the Greasers are incapable of being smart. 

    The single stories someone has doesn’t just affect the group of people, it affects many others. Chimamanda states that she did not identify as an African before she moved to America because she didn’t think she had to. The Socs and Greasers identify only as Socs and Greasers because of their social-class. They think they are very different because of how much money they have, just like how people who see Chimamanda think she is very different because of her skin color and heritage. Many people think they know everything about you by a single glance. Do you worry about assumptions? Or preconceived notions?     

One thing that I noticed throughout the book is that even though The Outsiders was written over 50 years ago, many ideas from the hook still occur in our modern day world. There are very few times, if any, that the police are nice to the greasers. One example of this is when Dally was running around in the field with police approaching him when the rest of the gang shows up to find him running around with an unloaded gun in his hands the author writes, “He was jerked half around by the impact of the bullets.” ( Hinton 154). This is very similar to what has been happening with police violence now because in both of these situations, the police could have just noticed their surroundings and could have saved a life. For example, in the story, if they had just waited they would have found out that it wasn’t loaded but instead they didn’t give Dally a chance and just started shooting at him until they were sure that he had died which is very similar to what happened in recent cases.

There are many articles that can represent the similarities from the past and the present and in this article about George Floyd, it talks about he had no freedom and wasn’t given a chance even though he hadn’t done anything wrong which connects to the outsiders in multiple ways. This article is called George Floyd killed in police custody and it was written by By Evan Hill, Ainara Tiefenthäler, Christiaan Triebert, Drew Jordan, Haley Willis and Robin Stein It mentions that not only George Floyd, but many of the people around him were screaming for help and saying stop. It also mentions that the police officer kept putting his knee on George Floyd’s neck even after he became unconscious.This connects to the outsiders because just like how the officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck even after he became unconscious, the police who shot Dally kept shooting him even after Dally fell to the ground. 

In conclusion, I believe that even though our world has gotten much nicer in the past years, there are still many things that need to be fixed about it. Now that I have read the book it puts life into a different perspective that maybe people haven’t seen before and i think it is important to not see life from a single story.

The Outsiders have a bunch of stereotypes within the book. This is one of them “Greasers are poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we’re wilder, too. Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.”-Page 3. This is one of the few very common stereotypes. The stereotype is talking about if you’re not rich, you’re poor. And if you’re poor, you have to steal things to survive. It's saying that if you’re poor, you are a bad person because all you do is steal. This happens a lot in the world too. A lot of people think that if you’re poor and can’t buy a house or afford daily supplies, you have to steal to get what you need.

In this video by MTV Impact, it talks about stereotypes. It says that stereotypes are putting people into 1 group, and putting the others into another group. It also talks about how stereotypes are cognitive shortcuts. Your brain wants to make an immediate judgement about somebody based on their gender, race, or age. This relates to The Outsiders because the greasers are stereotyped to be bad people. That they steal things and just do bad stuff.

Those are some of the many reasons why The Outsiders and the world share stereotypical similarities. The amount of stereotypes in this book that relate to the world are astonishing. Hopefully you now understand stereotypes in this book.

The first example of stereotypes in the book The Outsiders  is, when cherry was at the movies and dally would not leave her alone, when dally finally left her alone she said to ponyboy and Johnny, ”Are you going to start it on us?” Pg 22 when ponyboy said no she cherry started asking him more questions and learning about his life she realized that he was a completely different person than she thought.

The first example of stereotypes in the book The Outsiders  is, When dally finally left cherry and Marcia alone at the movies pony tried to talk to cherry and at first before talking to him she assumed that he was like dally. Cherry said ”Are you going to start it on us?” Pg 22 when ponyboy said no she cherry started asking him more questions and learning about his life she realized that he was a completely different person than she thought.

A lot of people in the town thought that ponyboy and Johnny were terrible people when they killed a soc when they didn’t know the backstory. Then when they saved the kids from the church everyone considered them “heroes” but it was always in them and people just don’t know because they assume bad about them.

This happened with multiple greasers throughout the story and it happened to ponyboy more then once. Some other examples were darry ponyboys older brother dropped out and everybody assumed that he was bad and dumb but when people talked to him they saw the reasons and why he did it.

A second example of stereotypes in the book The Outsiders is the stereotype that all the greaser boys have to be tuff and like fights..etc but when ponyboy likes sunsets, books, and movies he thinks of that as a bad thing, something to be ashamed of. Cherry asked ponyboy on page 40 “you read a lot ponyboy.” I bet you watch sunsets too.” After these two questions ponyboy felt awkward and embarrassed because he does in fact like those types of things. 

The thing that stuck me is anytime anyone saw the greasers they thought that they were up to something bad. Something also stuck with me is that the greasers were considered bad so the socs were always the ones starting the fights. The big theme I was wondering about was why was everything related to if they had a “perfect life” like a greaser like ponyboy did not have anything close to the perfect life and people always assumed he was bad until they talked to him and realized he's a good human being.

In conclusion stereotypes are everywhere whether we like it or not we have to fight against them and not some things about people because of how they look. Before assuming something about someone get to know them.

Some links connected to stereotypes are

● Rick Reilly: Gainesville State high school football gets the best gift of all: hope

● America's Enduring Caste System

● Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED Talk

● Why Do You Think Stereotypes Are True? | Decoded | MTV News

Most of the Greasers and Socs are way different from the stereotypes that define who they are to outsiders. In the book there are many situations where both sides join in with the stereotype idea. In one situation Ponyboy says “It ain’t fair that we have all the rough breaks!” To Cherry, Macica, Two-Bit, and Johnny. Pony is talking about how he believes that the Greasers are the only one who gets the “rough breaks” or bad times. He doesn't see that the Socs have bad days and bad times too. Throughout chapter 2 you can see Cherry lightly explaining to PonyBoy about the Socs but it isn’t gone too deeply into until later in the book with Randy. This shows that stereotypes deeply effect both the stereotyped and the stereotypers for the stereotypers are made to believe that they are having a worse time or better time than they should comparing themselves to the stereotyped. 

Stereotypes are everywhere and we subconsciously think about them and generalize a large group of people by say their gender or race. In a video explaining stereotypes (The link will be at the bottom of the page) they talk about stereotypes about 2 main groups, racial groups and gender groups. It talks about how we stereotypes all blacks to be fast and dance well and all Asians to be super smart. It takes those stereotypes and uses them against the other race like with people saying blacks can dance they say whites can’t dance. There is also another part to stereotyping and it comes after the main stereotype is down and it is called being biased. Being biased is when you chose or “like” a certain group because of what they are stereotyped to be. An example of being biased is if you hire an Asian American over a White American because you believe that Asians are smarter, that is being biased towards Asian. It happens in every day life too between multiple groups, including men and woman. In the outsiders stereotypes is a big theme between the Socs and the Greasers. Like I said before the Socs were known to be rich, petty, and have carefree lives while the Greasers were known to be poor and rude. The book shows you that is not how it is at all.

Stereotypes are problems in the Outsiders and in daily life, you can see them every day and not just in a book or a movie. Stereotyping is a serious problem since is leads to biases and generalization. Do you think that being stereotypical and biased is bad, or do you think it is good/easier to generalize a group of people without thinking much?

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1-aSIUP4wM