The Outsiders Character Analysis

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the main character Ponyboy undergoes several changes over the course of the story. At the beginning of the story Ponyboy has a very negative view of the rival gang the Socs. However by the end of the novel he comes to the realization that the gang he belongs to, the Greasers, is not much different than the Socs.

At the beginning of the novel Ponyboy believes that the Greasers and the Socs are completely different. When Ponyboy was talking to Cherry he explained how Johnny was once beat up by the Socs. Cherry said, “Not Socs are bad.” Ponyboy didn’t believe what Cherry said. But in the end of the book he now agrees that the Greasers aren’t all that different from the Socs. When Pony Boy meets Cherry, a Soc's girlfriend and one of the Soc crowd, he is exposed to the discovery of what Socs are like. He has never had the opportunity to know one before. For the first time he learns that they have problems and conflicts as well. He also learns that not all of them are mean and look down on him.

In the beginning of the novel, when Ponyboy was jumped by the Socs, he ran away in fear. However by the end of the novel Ponyboy has gained confidence and stands up the them. “I busted the end off my bottle and held on to the neck and tossed away my cigarette.” “You get back into your car or you’ll get split”
But towards the end of the novel he believes that things can change. He was inspired to write his essay from his own life story which was about being with the Greasers and fighting against the Socs. At the beginning of the story, Ponyboy holds the same opinion of the socs as the rest of the greasers do. The greasers hate the socs because the socs are rich, always pick on the greasers, and think that they are better than the greasers. As the story continues, however, Ponyboy begins to realize that the socs are just people like the greasers