"The Outsiders" Symbolism Trivia Quiz

Answer:

"The Outsiders" (1967) is a story about the clashes between two social group in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma - the Greasers and the Socs.

The Greasers were easily distinguishable by their hair, which they didn't cut and slicked back with oil. It was a symbol of unity between the members of the group - their trademark - and made them look "tuff", as the narrator of the story said. Because their hairstyle went against the hair grooming norm of their day, it also symbolized their status as rebels.

Greasers came from working class families. After the sudden death of their parents, three of the Greasers, who were brothers, had to find a way to support themselves. The oldest brother worked two jobs to try to make ends meet and the middle brother quit school at sixteen - he was failing everything but gym and auto mechanics - to work in a DX station. It served as a safe meeting place for the Greasers, and also as a reminder that some people had to work hard in order to live. At just fourteen, the youngest of the family, supported by his brothers, tried to be a good student at school.

Greasers carried switchblades - if they could steal or afford to buy one. They needed to protect themselves as they were constantly threatened by the Socs. While one member of the group used his switchblade more to flaunt the fact that he had one, another acquired a switchblade after being badly beaten by the Socs, and used it to save his friend during a brutal attack.

Socs were middle to upper class kids whose families could afford to buy cars and other luxuries for them. The blue Mustang in the story not only represented their wealth and privilege, but also the danger the Socs posed to the Greasers. The appearance of the car was a foreshadowing of impending trouble.

Likewise, the Socs also wore rings, which symbolized not only their status, but also their ability to inflict physical harm. One of the Greasers, who had been brutally assaulted by a Soc with rings, recognized the rings in a subsequent fight and acted to save his friend; he stabbed the Soc to death with his switchblade.

After committing the murder, the two friends escaped to an old abandoned church in a different town to lay low. The church offered them sanctuary from the police and the violence they experienced in Tulsa. When it caught on fire and threatened the lives of school children who were picnicking nearby, the church also symbolized redemption. It gave the boys an opportunity to be more than Greasers and to prove who they really were inside; instead of being lawbreaking murderers, they became heroes.

A resolution to the conflict between the Greasers and Socs began to take place relatively early in the story. During a conversation about sunsets, two individuals from both sides agreed that they saw the same beauty in sunsets in spite of the fact that their worlds were different.

While the boys were hiding out in the old church, they passed the time by reading "Gone With the Wind" out loud and discussing aspects of the book they liked, especially what they saw as the courage and honor of Southern gentlemen. A copy of the book was used later to pass on a final note to the narrator, with a reference to another piece of literature the boys had discussed, a poem by Robert Frost called "Nothing Can Stay" (1923). Both pieces symbolized the changes, such as the loss of traditions and innocence, that were part of life. The note from his friend who had died encouraged him to continue to find beauty in life, and allowed him to finally process the grief he felt.

The narrator then began to write the essay that brought his story full circle, as it began with the same sentence with which it ended. In writing the story he was able to give a voice to the Greasers and honor his friends who died, while taking control of his own life rather than letting society judge him by his looks and social status. "When you're a kid everything's new....Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way...."

The incorrect choices - items, people, and events that might typically be important to kids who are high school age today - were not found in "The Outsiders".