The Outsiders Stereotypes

Oversimplified ideas regarding the expected behaviors of human kind have been the leading causes of conflicts from the beginning of time. Called stereotypes, these beliefs have played key roles in defining how much the 21st century has improved in terms of acceptance of differences. Stereotypes often dictate the plot of a book or movie, such as The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Akeelah and the Bee, written and directed by Doug Atchinson. Sometimes, characters in such literature are challenged by stereotypes, and their fates are decided by how they react to them. For instance, Dally and Ponyboy from The Outsiders are both affected by the stereotype of being troublesome kids, as they are poor and come from the East, or “bad”, side of town. Similarly,
As stated by Ponyboy, the character-narrator of The Outsiders “We all had money to get in-it only costs a quarter if you’re not in a car--but Dally hated to do things the legal way. He liked to show that he didn’t care whether there was a law or not. He went around trying to break laws.” (Hinton 20). Through this statement, Ponyboy conveys how Dally accepts the stereotypical idea of how he is a hood as he takes a liking towards stealing and breaking laws. Also, Dally’s decisions lead to him developing an identity of a troublemaker, as Dally breaks into the movies, though he has enough money to pay for entrance. Another example of a response to stereotypes is when Ponyboy reacts to the stereotype of poor kids on the wrong-side of town being no-good hoods, saying “Suddenly, it wasn’t only a personal thing to me. I could picture hundreds and hundreds of boys living on the wrong side of cities...they were mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them that there was still good in it...Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. It was important to me.” (Hinton 179). Ponyboy expresses his discontentment towards the stereotype of boys living on the wrong-side of town being hoods; he sees how people
Ponyboy and Akeelah exceed their environmental limitations with the assistance of supporting characters within their respective stories. Akeelah receives help in training for the spelling bee from Dr. Larrabee, her spelling coach, along with her mom, brother, school teacher, and friends, who quiz her on spelling bee words written on flashcards. Additionally, Akeelah receives support from her school principal Mr. Welch, who drives Akeelah to all her bees. Mr. Welch also designs a school-credit program specifically for Akeelah, so that she finish summer school while training for the bee with Dr. Larrabee. This permits Akeelah to spend all her time studying, resulting in Akeelah’s victory in the national spelling bee and, thus, allowing her to break past the stereotype of not being smart enough to compete in the bee. Ponyboy’s brothers Darry and Sodapop help Pony surpass his environmental limitations. This is because Darry and Sodapop drop out of school so that they work odd jobs throughout the day, earning money to support Ponyboy’s education. This allows Ponyboy to break out of the stereotype of being a hood, as his educational background allows him to write The Outsiders to express