How do greasers come of age?: The Outsiders *SPOILER ALERT*

In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis starts off as the average young "greaser." The greasers are the poorer teenagers in their town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rich kids in town are the Socs. The greasers where their hair greased back, and act tough, while the Socs ride around in Mustangs in larger groups starting fights with the greasers.

In the beginning of the story, I can't say that Ponyboy was comfortable as himself, but I can't say that he was incredibly uncomfortable. He's the youngest of three brothers. The middle brother, Sodapop works at the gas station. He's 16 and a high school drop out. The oldest brother, Darry, is too old to go to school, so he works. Darry is a very tough, but strict father figure, seeing as that the Curtis parents die before the book happens. Sodapop is the handsome one, but can fight to. This is what makes me think that Ponyboy was a little comfortable, because he knew he was somewhat safe among his brothers, but at the same time he wasn't always under the protection of his brothers so it gave more room for attack from the Socs.

Although Ponyboy is slightly comfy with his situation, he doesn't like the fighting between the Socs and the Greasers. He claims he is a Greaser, but doesn't like to fight, which is revealed when he attempts to walk a Soc girl, Cherry, home. Although attempting to show a hard exterior, he obviously has a soft inner self. He reads poetry, and thinks about the sunset. How many tough hoodlums do you know that fantasize about the sunset? Not many, right? He shows that he wants to escape this "beef" between the rich and the poor.

Ponyboy's family is really important to him. Although he doesn't show any interest in his oldest brother Darry, he truly loves him. Everyone know's about his brother Sodapop, because he fills the gas at the gas station. People ask him if Soda's the "handsome one" at the gas station who still looks "school age." Ponyboy looks up to Sodapop a lot, but finds it hard to look up to Darry, because Darry acts as the father, and does a very good job keeping him on track, unlike a brother normally does.

Ponyboy's family and friends are what keep him comfortable, even in such a feuding town. He doesn't like to fight, but is quick to defend himself and his friends.