Saturday, November 26, 2011

What is a quote from The Outsiders that explains a simalarity between the Socs and Greasers?

In S.E. Hinton's classic novel, The Outsiders, the relationship Ponyboy develops with Cherry Valance reveals that Socs and Greasers have more in common than they think. 
The novel is set in the 1960s, and there are definite distinctions between the classes. Greasers, named for the way they wore their hair, are poorer and of the working class. The Socs are affluent and have designer clothing and nice cars. 
Ponyboy narrates the novel, and he meets Cherry Valance at the drive-in movies one night. He knew who she was before that night, but had never spoken to her due to their class differences. Prior to meeting Cherry, Ponyboy spent a fair amount of time thinking about the differences between the Socs and the Greasers. Here is an example of his musing: 

But most looked at us like we were dirt—gave us the same kind of look that the Socs did when they came by in their Mustangs and Corvairs and yelled "Grease!" at us. I wondered about them. The girls, I mean... Did they cry when their boys were arrested, like Evie did when Steve got hauled in, or did they run out on them the way Sylvia did Dallas? But maybe their boys didn't get arrested or beaten up or busted up in rodeos.

On the night that Cherry and Ponyboy are at the drive-in movies, Ponyboy starts to describe the things that had been done to Johnny when he was jumped by a group of Socs. Cherry doesn't want Ponyboy to think badly of her, and so she takes the opportunity to address the stereotype most people have of her social class, the Socs. In the quote below, she describes a similarity between the Greasers and the Socs:

Cherry no longer looked sick, only sad. "I'll bet you think the Socs have it made. The rich kids, the West-side Socs. I'll tell you something, Ponyboy, and it may come as a surprise. We have troubles you've never even heard of. You want to know something?" She looked me straight in the eye. "Things are rough all over."

Cherry lets Ponyboy know that the Socs lives aren't as perfect and privileged as they appear to be. She divulges that they have troubles of their own and that life is hard no matter what social class you belong to. That is one example of the similarities between the Greasers and the Socs. Toward the end of the novel, when Ponyboy is having a conversation with Randy, there are similarities revealed again.

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