566 Hinton, s. E.
us. . . . Did you ever hear of having more
than you wanted? So that you couldn’t want
anything else and then started looking for
something else to want? It seems like we’re
always searching for something to satisfy us,
and never finding it.Later that evening, Ponyboy realizes: “the Socs had
so much spare time and money that they jumped
us and each other for kicks.” Ponyboy eventually
realizes that this freedom from want or the need to
work was what led to the death of Bob, a Soc. In
a final encounter between Ponyboy and Bob’s best
friend, Randy, Randy notes: “most parents would be
proud of a kid like that—good lookin’ and smart and
everything, but they gave in to him all the time. He
kept trying to make someone say ‘No’ and they never
did. . . . If the old man had just belted him—just
once, he might still be alive.”
The ability to achieve individual dreams is
implied, especially as characters age. Just before the
big rumble at the end of the story, Ponyboy evaluates
the greasers assembled for the fight. He recognizes
that some actually seem to enjoy being hoods and
would likely be hoods for the entirety of their lives.
However, when he looks at his brothers and himself,
he sees something different:
I looked at Darry. He wasn’t going to be any
hood when he got old. He was going to get
somewhere. Living the way we do would only
make him more determined to get some-
where. That’s why he’s better than the rest of
us, I thought. He’s going somewhere. And I
was going to be like him. I wasn’t going to live
in a lousy neighborhood all my life.Although Ponyboy uses a concrete, material example
of what achieving his American dream would mean
(living in a better neighborhood), the emphasis is not
on things but on not being a hood, not simply accept-
ing the life that one started with, but being deter-
mined and making changes to acquire a better life.
At the end of the novel, Ponyboy has reached the
point where he is making sense of what happened.
A letter that his friend Johnny had written before
he died sums up the belief that the American dream
does exist, even for greasers: “And don’t be so bugged
over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to
make yourself be what you want.” Hinton’s novel
points out how strong the obstacles to achieving
the American dream can be, but ultimately supports
the premise that innate talents combined with hard
work make it achievable for all.
Kathleen McDonaldcruelty in The Outsiders
Violence pervades The Outsiders. If it is not actively
taking place in a particular scene, the threat of it
constantly exists just under the surface. Physical
fights occur, both between individuals and between
groups. Characters are beaten, some badly, and
several even lose their lives from violent encoun-
ters. Most of the characters carry knives or guns in
anticipation of meeting violence. Yet cruelty and
violence are not synonyms. Violence is often a
manifestation of cruelty, but each can occur in the
absence of the other. Some of the cruelest moments
in The Outsiders occur without physical violence, yet
these moments still disturb deeply.
In the first encounter with Cherry and her friend
at the Drive-In, Ponyboy notes the cruel taunting
that Dally subjects the girls to, and his discomfort
with this treatment. He says:I had a sick feeling that Dally was up to his
usual tricks, and I was right. He started talk-
ing, loud enough for the two girls to hear. He
started out bad and got worse. Dallas could
talk awful dirty if he wanted to and I guess he
wanted to then. I felt my ears get hot. Two-
Bit or Steve or even Soda would have gone
right along with him, just to see if they could
embarrass the girls, but that kind of kicks just
doesn’t appeal to me.Ponyboy rightly interprets Dally’s motive to be to
make the girls in front of them suffer. He notes that
Dally “was up to his usual tricks” and is not pleased.
His discomfort shows through his ears getting hot
and his unwillingness to participate with the much
stronger, both physically and in personality, Dally, in
teasing these girls, depicting his awareness of how
cruel Dally is being.