Main Topic and Idea

Sam Queen
11/21/11
Defying Stereotypes

Authors Note: This is response is about one of the main ideas about the book “The Outsiders.”

I think that this book is mainly about how Ponyboy and Johnny defy the typical stereotype about how all the greasers are bad people who have no future other than going to federal prison. The reason I think that these two defy the stereotype is because they risked their lives and ran into a burning church to save kids they had never even met before. “Suddenly, in the red glow and the haze, I remembered wondering what it was like in a burning ember, and I thought: Now I know it’s a red hell. Why aren’t I scared? (pg 82). This is a quote that directly relates to the theme defying stereotypes because Ponyboy and Johnny both risked their lives for innocent little kids.

That really makes you think wow, these guys must be different no normal greaser would do that. When you think about in no way Dally or Steve goes in there to save the kids because they are the “typical greaser,” their parents are dead or they have completely estranged them because they either beat them or treated them like the dirt, always stepping on them. That is why Ponyboy and Johnny defy the stereotype because they think of others before themselves while most greasers think of themselves before others. Another reason why these two are different is because when they were at the double drive-in movie Dally was being exceedingly nasty to some girls named Cherry and Marcia who were Socs.



But when Dally gets driven away by them Cherry turns around and asks them if they were going to act the way he did and they respond by saying, never. That really shows the real character these two have. Then later it turns out that she helps them by being their informer/spy in a sense by just keeping them up to speed on the latest plots or schemes by the Socs.