Gang Membership In The Outsiders

‘The Outsiders’ is an often studied novel written by S.E. Hinton and follows the story of Ponyboy and his involvement in ‘Greaser’ gangs and gang violence with the ‘Socs’ groups, in small town America, in the 1950’s. The novel explores the concepts of gang membership and the need for many young people to belong to gangs or groups in order for them to feel accepted in society. Through the novel, Hinton strongly portrays the need for the young to be part of a gang to gain acceptance, security and a warmth of belonging. She does this more specifically for the Greaser gang and to a lesser extent through the Socs gangs. This is demonstrated through the novel in three specific ideas; the gang as a family, the gang as the protector and the gang representing