Essay for Outsiders
Social groups exist within our society and influence us as individuals. Each social group has unwritten rules which members of that group follow. Most members conform to group norms because they don’t want to become outsiders. This can be observed in the book The Outsiders by
S.E. Hinton. In this book there are two social groups that are divided the Socs and the
Greasers. The Socs are the rich, wealthy and fortunate kids, who get everything the easy way.
But the Greasers are the opposite of Socs. They are poor, usually uneducated people, who get everything the hard way. The narrator of this book is Ponyboy, a Greaser, so everything is told from the Greasers point of view. Also, other two important characters when looking at different point of view are Cherry and Randy, who are both Socs.Through the book there are many different perspectives on different problems. Still it is possible to see that social groups influence people’s perspectives. Perspective is a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something, a point of view. Like all different social groups, Socs and Greasers have their own set of rules that they follow and particular things that they do to symbolize themselves as members.. Also, individuals are influenced by group think. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that can occur in groups of people. Social groups influence one’s perspective, which makes members of social groups conform to group norms and fall victim to group think.
Social groups influence one's perspective. One time, the Greasers and Socs decide to have a rumble to see who is stronger. Before the rumble, Ponyboy talked to Randy, a Soc.
During their conversation Randy tells Ponyboy that he isn’t sure what he should do. Randy has already decided that he will not go to the rumble. Still Randy understands that if he doesn’t fight in the rumble he will look like a chicken in front of the Socs. He shares his worries with
Ponyboy. To this Ponyboy says that he would help if he could. But Randy doesn’t think that
Greasers would be willing to help the Socs. So Randy answers “No you wouldn’t(help). I’m a
Soc. You get a little money and the whole world hates you”(Hinton 117). This quote shows that
Randy thinks Socs and Greasers are so different they hate each other. When Randy says “I’m a
Soc” he means he isn’t like Ponyboy. Because the Socs don’t view Greasers as possible friends,
Randy thinks that Ponyboy won’t be able to understand his problems. Since Ponyboy is a greaser and Randy is a Soc they possible can’t have any similarities this is what Randy is trying to say.
The phrase “get a little money” means become wealthy or rich. When Randy states this he is thinking that money separates the two social groups. Since Greasers don’t have money, and Socs do they are too different to help or understand each other. Again Randy’s group’s perspective can be seen if you don’t have any money you’re not like us (Socs). The words “the whole group” really means that Greasers and the middle class. This shows the Socials forming Randy’s perspective about the Greasers. From Socs’ perspective Greasers live in another world. A world that is different from the Socs’ world. The word “hates” implies Greasers not liking the Socs.
This is the groups perspective again which is wrong, because not all Greasers hate all Socs. For example Ponyboy likes Cherry as a friend and doesn’t view her as a Soc. Because Randy is a Soc he doesn’t view Greasers as humans, people who can understand them. This shows group perspective because Socs don’t get along with Greasers, and aren’t supposed to since, they’re wealthy and the Greasers aren’t.
Additionally, social groups make people conform to group norms and fall victim to groupthink. One of the Socs Cherry hung out with Ponyboy and the other Greasers during the movies. When her boyfriend, a Soc, came to pick her up, Ponyboy pulled Cherry over to say
