Darry And Soda

It was the 1960’s in America, and S.E. Hinton was a 16 year old author living in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was a decade of change. America was fighting a war in Vietnam and a war over racial equality at home. Because it was a decade of change, divisions among people became more apparent. The author believed that teenagers must lean upon families and friends in order to survive and succeed. “By the middle nineteen fifties, most of their parents had jobs that paid well. They expressed satisfaction with their lives. They taught their children what were called middle class values.” (American History) Obviously,with the addition of the middle class, divides among the social classes became more evident. It was the inequality among social
Darry and Soda had different points of view on how to interact with their brother Ponyboy. On page 2, the books states, “Soda’s never hollering at me all the time the way Darry is, or treating me as if I am six instead of fourteen.” From this quote, the reader is told that Darry treats Ponyboy differently than Soda. It can be inferred that Darry is more strict with Ponyboy while Soda may not be as strict. On the other hand, “Soda’s always happy-go-lucky and grinning, while Darry’s hard and firm and rarely grins at all.” (The Outsiders, pg. 2) This quote shows another example of how Soda is different from Darry because it shows Soda being more joyful and relaxed, but Darry is more stern and not warm. Furthermore, the way both brothers treat Ponyboy demonstrates Hinton’s theme that family is there to support each other at all times because both brothers clearly care about Pony but show it in different
Hinton wanted to write a book that taught people how families must protect each other. The author understood what could happen to teens who were in trouble because she had friends who were Greasers. Therefore, one historical fact she was well aware of was the Social Services program. This was the government group who could take children out of their homes if it seemed the environment was unsafe or children didn’t have appropriate parental care. For example, on page 50, Darry warns Ponyboy that not following the rules, “...could get you thrown in a boys’ home so quick it would make your head spin.”Darry was right to worry because Oklahoma was quick to remove children and place them where the city would be responsible for their safety. The only problem was that the city’s homes for troubled children were very dangerous places. According to the article “The Perils of Juvenile Detention” by Tulsa lawyer, Greg Lavender, “The state's juvenile detention system consists of three state-run secure detention centers, 15 privately run group homes, 17 county detention centers, where offenders stay for anywhere from a day to three months, and community intervention centers. The potential for boys to be assaulted in such centers is quite high.” In addition,Darry was worried what would happen to Ponyboy if he was sent to a boys’ home because frequently those children were not released until they were 18 and out of school. Unfortunately, when they were released, they weren’t the