The Outsiders - life is unfair for the lower-class and they are powerless to change it?

The Outsiders

life is unfair for the lower-class and they are powerless to change it?

Sachi Ruaya 8B

 

S.E. Hinton’s earthshattering and revitalising multi-award winning book, The Outsiders -which is considered a phenomenal success - represents how life could or could not be unfair for the lower class and different ways that the characters are powerful and/or powerless in a variety of situations and contexts. Would you agree that life is unfair for Ponyboy and the other Greasers "whose social status is confirmed as the lower class- or not? Or would you agree that they are powerless against the other social classes and have no way of changing the ‘fact’? Well, this discussion endeavours to discuss whether life is unfair or not for the lower class by demonstrating and analysing reasons from both sides, if the lower class have the power to change it (if it is unfair) and, to show how the characters in the lower social class powerful/powerless by providing appropriate evidence and analytical proof.

Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy’s life would be considered as unfair because their parents died (no experienced parental support and no reliable financial support). The brothers’ parents are deceased as proven by the two following quotes; “My father was only forty when he died” (Page 7) and, “Since Mom and Dad were killed…” (Page 2), which has dramatically influenced Ponyboy and his two older brothers since it is inferenced that this may have emotionally influenced the brothers, making them feel powerless. Foremost, Darry had to decline his scholarship for college as the quote, “But we just didn’t have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won” suggests so. And ever since their parents died, they struggled with making money probably because they are considered as young lower class people, that they (i.e. Sodapop and Darry) are already at a social disadvantage being in the lower class and that (assuming that pink-collared to white-collared jobs are considered as stable and ‘proper’ jobs) they do not have the desired employability skills due to his young age or lack of experience. This is extremely unfair for Darry because he had to reject his educational opportunity -it is also inference that since he is the eldest brother, he felt guilty if he chose to continue studying and felt responsible for his two younger brothers, ultimately forcing him to reject the scholarship anyway- meaning that he had lost the opportunity to pursue his passion by prioritising his younger brothers, especially Ponyboy. Despite the frustration that Darry may have felt, Darry had the power to open up opportunities for Ponyboy by working hard to support his brothers (“Darry didn’t deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty”) and by having the power to set high expectations for Poyboy’s grades; “If I brought home B’s, he wanted A’s, and if I got A’s, he wanted to make sure they stayed A’s”. As Sodapop also dropped out of high school to work for a similar reason, it is finalised that Sodapop has the same kind of power in accordance with this context. It is also unfair that Darry seems to be missing out on experiences and opportunities that a typical twenty-year-old would have; “[Darry’s] just got more worries than somebody his age ought to”. So, the brothers’ lives are considered unfair because of the unavoidable variables (e.g. societal impression, unneeded pressure and declined opportunities) of the lower class and losing their parents.

Despite the beneficial expectations that Darry has set for Ponyboy and Sodapop’s dedication to drop out of school to support his brothers, it is deemed slightly unfair for Ponyboy because he holds a plethora of responsibility and unneeded pressure (“What’s the sweat about schoolwork…I’ll get a job as soon as I get out of school” states Ponyboy. “With your brains and grades you could get a scholarship, and we could put you through college…you’re living in a vacuum” Darry replies in page 208) But this does not change the fact that Ponyboy has the most ‘less-unfair’ life amongst his brothers since Ponyboy is the only one amongst them that is "still- formally educated at school and he is expected to remain so. The quote extracted from page 18, “There was a lot of Socs in that class. I get into A classes because I’m supposed to be smart "and most of them thought it was pretty funny” indicates that Ponyboy’s reputation as a Greaser contributes to the number of obstacles he faces in his daily social life. It is not his fault that he is in the lower class, poor and associated with the Greasers. The mindset of the Socs in his class would be propounded as that poor, lower class Greasers are not supposed to be in A classes because that they are rival gangs as proved by two quotes on page 13, “…warfare is between the social classes” and “No rival gang. Only Socs.” Fundamentally, Ponyboy’s social position affects how people "who are not associated with his gang- interact with him.

Each of the Greasers struggled with their life -as of being the lower class and experiencing generally more hardships than the other social classes- eventually making them feel more powerless in relation to the middle class and the upper class. “…you can’t win against them [The Socs] no matter how hard you try, because they’ve got all the breaks and even whipping them isn’t going to change anything” (as stated from Ponyboy in page 13), is a highly self-criticizing quote because, towards the end of the story, they physically drove them of their territory; “We won…we beat the Socs.” (Stated from Darry on page 174 when the Greasers won the rumble) For instance, Johnny first felt powerless when "around the start of the story- when he got jumped by the four Socs (“Johnny after four Socs Got hold of him…Johnny was scared of his own shadow after that” " narrated by Ponyboy in Page 4) resulting him in being traumatised. But he had the power to make himself feel more powerful by carrying a switchblade as shown on page 41; “…[Johnny] now carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade. He’d use it, too, if he ever got jumped again.” Despite him having the power to make himself feel more powerful, the fact that he decided that he would carry a switchblade, indicates that he was powerless against his fear. Also, Ponyboy has a likewise weakness because he relies on smoking cigarettes despite his young age (i.e.14), as confirmed by the following quotes listed; “I want a cigarette [Ponyboy repeats this quote three times]” and “My breath was coming in quivering sobs…Johnny, I’m scared…Gotta cigarette?” So, it is conveyed, by these quotes, that Ponyboy is also powerless against his fear resulting him in relying on cigarettes. An example of a hardship that Johnny faces is that, “His father was always beating him up and that his mother ignored him…” [Extracted from page 14, narrated by Ponyboy] and overcomes this by temporary running away as revealed on page 14; “He would run away a million times…” Inclosure, due to the hardships, Johnny (member of the lower-class gang, the Greasers) experiences, would feel powerless. Despite him having the power to make himself feel powerful, it is a delusional type of power since he was actually powerless against his fear for being jumped by the Socs. So, member of the lower class can make themselves feel powerful but still (choose to) be powerless to their emotions.

Quaternary, the Greasers have the power to support and change each other’s lives. For instance, “If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would have never known what love and affection are…” (page 14, narrated by Ponyboy). And that they (Johnny in particular) has the power to contain each other’s behaviour as unveiled by an instant quote on page 29, “…Johnny reached over and stopped him. ‘Leave her alone Dally’.” Also, on page 36 (i.e. when Dally was caught slashing tyres), Ponyboy states how the Greasers support each other by setting ‘rules’ and the consequences for Dally being caught. [Take note that the quotes that are going to be listed and explained are very self-evident.] “Us greasers usually stick together, but when we do fight among ourselves, it’s a fair fight between two…Dally deserves whatever he gets, ‘cause slashed tires ain’t no joke…besides Stick Together is Don’t get caught…He got caught. He pays up, ‘real simple’.” These quotes suggest that the Greasers have the power to support and change each other’s lives by having the power to make other gang members consider their actions and by standing up for each other in an appropriate manner in order to cope. In addition, in relation to the Dally, Dally committed suicide when Johnny passed away, concluding that he chose to be powerless against the frustration and grief he felt. So, despite my choosing to be powerful by supporting each other, the Greasers still have the potential to choose to be powerless against their own feelings since human emotions are known to overpower logic.

In the end, there is no straightforward answer to whether life is unfair for the lower class. Indeed, lower class members are at a disadvantage due to the societal impression on them, opportunities being declined because of financial issues (i.e. “not enough money”) and "some- with unreliable parental ‘support’. But they have the power to support each other and the power to choose appropriate ways to overcome hardships they face. Also, whether they are powerful or not to oppose the fact that they are powerless to change the unfairness they experience can be argued depending on the who/where the reason is extracted from (e.g. perspective). The Greasers certainly feel powerless in certain situations but "in my perspective- in reality, they are powerful enough to choose to make themselves feel and be powerful by choice. So, even if you are feeling powerless, you are actually powerful ...choose how you can make life for others better (like how Darry opens up opportunities for Ponyboy) and choose to not let your emotions take the best of you.