Something that stuck with me throughout the outsiders was the constant showing of the socs having more power over the greasers because of where they stood in the economy.

How is power back then similar to how power affects people in current life?

In the outsiders the power the socs had over the greasers made them more powerful and selfish than others with less. I chose this quote because it shows the power the socs had. It also made me feel bad for the greaser because no matter what happened and who started it the greasers would always be the ones to blame because of the way they looked against the socs. Ponyboy says, “ That's why people don't ever think to blame the socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent.” Another quote that shows power is, 

“Greasers will still be greasers and socs will still be socs. Sometimes I think it's the ones in the middle that are really the lucky stiffs.”  I think this means its not easy to have power and it's not easy to have none at all. 

On the other hand people in current life may use power in many different ways. In this article, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/jobs/power-leaders.html It  shows how people use power in life today. It says some people use their power selfishly while others use it selflessly. In the article it says that, “ When you see power as a source of freedom, you are likely to use it to serve yourself, selfishly.”  The socs used their power against the greasers because they knew in the end the greasers would be the ones to get in trouble. The article also states that,   “ When people feel their power is being threatened, they tend to behave more selfishly.” This made me think of when johnny and soda went to the movies and were hanging out with the socs girls. The socs felt threatened and wanted to fight the greasers.

This connects to how people back then mostly used their power selfishly and now people use their power in both selfish and selfless ways it shows the kind of person they are. In conclusion, some of the statements from the articles state that having power should make you more of a leader and more sensitive to things. Some examples of this in outsiders is when pony and johnny ran into the fire selflessly to save the lives of others. Also when Randy realized what the socs were doing wasn’t fair and that he shouldn’t use his power like that. Another example of this is when cherry said “things are rough all over” I think this meant having the power isn’t easy but having none isn’t easy either. Cherry understood what the greasers were going through and she wanted to help them so she helped get information on the rumble. This shows she used her power selflessly and instead used her power to help people. How would you use power?

I chose this because it shows how stereotypes are still happening today and they are affecting people largely.


Generally speaking the Ideas from the other text have to do with the Outsiders because it shows how people are constantly being categorized and even discriminated against because of who they are or what they are involved in. Additionally this connects to the Outsiders because in the outsiders stereotypes occur multiple times. For instance the reason why the Greasers and Socs are separated is because common stereotypes like the greaser are tough and rough and the Socs are full of themselves and better than everyone else.  As a result  stereotypes play a very important part in both our world today and the Outsiders so an important question to ask yourself is: “What would our world today look like today without stereotypes?

People believe that being wealthy is essential for being successful in life, and Ponyboy who’s got the short end of the stick when it comes to privileges, believes it too. In his mind, the upper-class, rich Socs get a golden future served to them on a platter, but what he doesn’t realize is that money isn’t what separates someone who is successful, with someone who isn’t, its your determination and perseverance.  

Cherry Valance, one of Ponyboys friends who happens to be a Soc, knows that money doesn’t make you successful.

On page 35 of the book, when Ponyboy and Cherry and taking at the movies, she says, “Things are rough all over.” 

This short quote explains that even though having money is undoubtedly a privilege, it doesn’t mean you can't be successful without it. 

In addition, This statement connects to the movie, Greater, produced by David Hunt and Brian Reindl because of the similar stereotypes formed around wealth. In the movie, the main character Brandon has a dream of playing football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. However, he doesn’t have an ideal football player's body, or wallet. But Brandon knows that if he puts in the effort, he can lose weight, get a scholarship, and become a Razorback. 

After a year of hard work, he gets a scholarship, and plays for the Arkansas State Razorbacks. Brandon Burlsworth disproves the stereotype that you need to have money, in order to be successful, because he started out with all of the odds against him, but his pure determination got him where he had always dreamed of being. (Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Ow6lhvPNk)

In conclusion, It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you look like, or how much money you have, 

The only thing that matters when it comes to being successful in life is how hard you work and how bad you want it.

Johnny gets abused. Ponyboy says something about Johnny getting abused after Johnny had gotten jumped by the socs and it made things worse for Johnny after getting jumped because it made him more scared now.  “his father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him, except when she hacked off at something, and then you hear her yelling at home clear down at our house.” Pg 12. It connects to the theme because kids in the world are getting abused by their parents and depending on the person it can make a huge impact on their life. 

In addition there are some children in this world who are getting abused by their parents. (https://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect.htm) this link by help guide posted in November 2020, talks about how kids can get abused and how abuse isn’t just fiscal abuse but it can also be verbal abuse, saying something to a child can really scar them and could change them. “Regardless of the type of abuse, the result is serious emotional harm.” This connects to the theme because it talks about child abuse and how lots of people have been abused. Being abused can really change someone’s life and how they view things because they’ve been hurt physically and/or verbally.

As a result there are lots of connections people could make with Johnny if they are being abused at home. People can make a connection with Johnny on how he was getting abused in his own home and how he didn’t feel safe there. Johnny never said how he was getting abused but the people noticed it and in the real world lots of people don’t say they get abused at home because they are scared they will get hurt even more if they do. If you have ever seen bruises on someone and didn’t ask about them, would you do it now?

    The Outsiders’ main theme is the division in one town between the Socs and the Greasers. As Ponyboy narrates this quote, he describes how he felt in comparison to the wealthy Socs by comparing their clothes to his. “The Mustang came to a halt beside us, and the two boys in the front seat got out. They were Socs all right. One had on a white shirt and a madras ski jacket, and the other a light-yellow shirt and a wine-colored sweater. I looked at their clothes and realized for the first time that evening that all I had was a pair of jeans and Soda’s old navy sweatshirt with the sleeves cut short.” (pg. 44) The first thing Ponyboy notices is the Mustang, and says “they were Socs all right.” This implies that the Socs have much nicer clothing and cars than the Greasers. This makes him feel separate from the Socs, like many people feel separate from others today.

As in the Outsiders, divisions are happening in our world. The article ​Vaccine Passports, Covid’s Next Political Flash Point​ on The NY Times by Max Fisher talks about how “dividing the world between the vaccinated and unvaccinated raises daunting political and ethical questions,” which relates to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the Socs and the Greasers are split. “If vaccines become a passport to doing different things, we’re going to see the communities that have been already hardest hit by Covid being left behind” In the Outsiders, the half of the town that has been hardest hit by the economy gets left behind. 

So, in conclusion, people could be divided by being vaccinated or unvaccinated in the same way that the Socs and Greasers are divided by wealth. People who have access to vaccinations and are wealthy will be able to do more and see more than those who are not. This will leave feelings of less than as seen in the Outsiders when Ponyboy realized he was wearing an old shirt. So now, I ask you, why do you think we’re nearly as divided as the Socs and the Greasers? Is it because of money? Power? It’s all in perspective. Personally, I believe that we aren’t as divided as you think. After all, Greaser or Soc, vaccinated or not, we are all human.

In the Outsiders, when Ponyboy and Bob are talking, they are making stereotypes of each other by saying;

“You know what a greaser is" Bob asked. "🤬 with long hair."…

"You know what a Soc is?" I said, my voice shaking with rage. "🤬 with Mustangs and madras”- The Outsiders pg. 55 This quote connects to theme by showing that the socs and the greasers hate their stereotypes that come with being a soc/greasers, but then are so quick to think that just because a person is a soc or greaser, that they automatically fit their idea of a soc or greaser. 

Next I want to talk about my second text, The Danger Of the Single Story by, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and how it also talks about the danger of having one stereotype about groups of people. In this text, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about “the danger of the single story” and how stereotypes of one place carry over to everywhere near that place. ( the link to the video, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en#t-260697 ) In the video, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about the certain stereotypes that people think about her when they hear she is from Africa. People always think that she lived in a tiny hut and never had enough food or money. They thought that she was uneducated and didn’t know English. They had so many stereotypes of Africa, and without even realizing it, they applied it to everyone from there.  “All I had heard about them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor. Their poverty was my single story of them.” This connects to the theme because it gives real life example of how people hear one stereotype about a person and then they just think that every single person who is like or is associated with that person applies to that stereotype. 
In conclusion, The Outsiders and The Danger of The Single Story both have a similar message about stereotypes. This message is often times when you hear or see a stereotype, you without even thinking aptly it to everyone and everything associated with it. In the real world, we need to challenge ourselves to get to know a person before letting ourselves categorize a person based on one story/experience.  

As I read the outsiders I began to make connections to our modern day world and I came up with the conclusion that our system is broken, not because many people are forced into poverty, but because it is nearly impossible to get out of the money hole parts of the government inflict upon the lower class. I would like to introduce a quote I thought fitting to America’s representation of “ socio economic equality”. In a fit of rage, Ponyboy confronts Cherry about the injustices in the lower class side of town. He remarks “Do you think that you're spying for us makes up for the fact that you're sitting there in a Corvette while my brother drops out of highschool to get a job? Don’t you ever try to give us handouts and then feel high and mighty about it.” I thought this quote would introduce a fitting opportunity to address America’s COVID injustices. Has anybody noticed how on the news the reporters fret over the lower class losing money but there are no complaints about the upper classes losing wealth. That is because the gap between the two is expanding. The upper class gaining and the lower class losing. Ponyboy's family revolves around the amount of work they do while the soc’s sit on thrones of ignorance not lifting a finger. 

Phycologist Dalton Conley explains to us in a brief representation what social economic status relies on to take form. http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/how-does-socioeconomic-inequality-affect-social-class-for-people-of-color/ The four main categories are education, occupation, income level and wealth level. We can see that all these categories interact with each other. One example from the outsiders lies within the main characters family. Ponyboy's family is supported by Darry, the oldest brother who works two jobs to keep the family in housing and education. Pony’s brother Sodapop drops out of school (losing the education aspect of the system) to assist Darry in the money making arena, and yet no matter how hard both of them work their income rates are low, they have no inherited money, one of them barely has a formal education, and their occupations serve minimum wage. Just enough to keep themselves fed and under a roof. America keeps giving out care packages to its citizens and then acting as if the problem has been solved just as the soc’s did in the outsiders. The moral of this  essay is that equal opportunities need to be given, because the future is no longer based on hard work; it's based on what background you need to come from to make your hard work count.

Phycologist Dalton Conley explains to us in a brief representation what social economic status relies on to take form. http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/how-does-socioeconomic-inequality-affect-social-class-for-people-of-color/ The four main categories are education, occupation, income level and wealth level. We can see that all these categories interact with each other. One example from the outsiders lies within the main characters family. Ponyboy's family is supported by Darry, the oldest brother who works two jobs to keep the family in housing and education. Pony’s brother Sodapop drops out of school (losing the education aspect of the system) to assist Darry in the money making arena, and yet no matter how hard both of them work their income rates are low, they have no inherited money, one of them barely has a formal education, and their occupations serve minimum wage. Just enough to keep themselves fed and under a roof. Ponyboy's family revolves around the amount of work they do while the soc’s sit on thrones of ignorance not lifting a finger.

As I read the outsiders I began to make connections to our modern day world and I came up with the conclusion that our system is broken, not because of the abundant amount of individuals that are forced into poverty, but because it is nearly impossible to get out of the money hole parts of the government inflict upon the lower class. 

I would like to introduce a quote I thought fitting to America’s representation of “ socio economic equality”. In a fit of rage, Ponyboy confronts Cherry about the injustices in the lower class side of town. He remarks “Do you think that you're spying for us makes up for the fact that you're sitting there in a Corvette while my brother drops out of highschool to get a job? Don’t you ever try to give us handouts and then feel high and mighty about it.” (S.E. Hinton - Chapter 7) I thought this quote would introduce a fitting opportunity to address America’s COVID injustices. Has anybody noticed how on the news the reporters fret over the lower class losing money but there are no complaints about the upper classes losing wealth. That is because the gap between the two is expanding. The upper class gaining and the lower class losing. The moral of this essay is that equal opportunities need to be a guaranteed part of society, because the future is no longer based on hard work; it's based on what background you need to come from to make your hard work count.