1 The "greaser" culture originated in the late 1950s, with young, typically poor, teenagers dressing up in white T-Shirts and wearing black leather jackets. ... Meanwhile, there were the jocks and rich kids known as the "Socs", who spent time wrecking the greasers' homes, throwing beer blasts, and beating up greasers.

Did the greasers actually exist?

Greasers were a youth subculture that originated in the 1950's among teenagers in northeastern and southern United States. The two main figures of the look were Marlon Brando and James Dean. In the northeast and southern states, the Greasers were one of the first types of street gangs.

Who are the real greasers?

Greaser (subculture)

• Greasers are a youth subculture that emerged in the 1950s and early 1960s from predominantly working class and lower class teenagers and young adults in the United States. ...
• The etymology for the term greaser is unknown.

Is Johnny a SOC or greaser?

Johnny Cade is a vulnerable sixteen-year-old greaser in a group defined by toughness and a sense of invincibility. He comes from an abusive home, and he takes to the greasers because they are his only reliable family.

Why don t the greasers and SOCS get along?

The Greasers hate the Socs, because the Greasers believe that the Socs have it easy with all of their money and privilege. The Socs hate the Greasers, because they are easy targets to hate. The Greasers are poor and powerless, so the Socs feel that they are entitled to beat upon the low life Greasers.

The Outsiders(1983) - Greasers and Socs

20 related questions found

What makes Greasers better than SOCS?

The Greasers come from a lower social class and have a bad reputation throughout their community. The majority of Greasers come from broken homes and do not hide their emotions. They are more supportive of each other when compared to the Socs, and are a closer group of friends.

Why did Ponyboy not cut his hair?

Ponyboy takes pride in his long, silky hair because it is what distinguishes him as a greaser. ... He tells Johnny he doesn't want to cut his hair because it took him a long time to grow it just the way he wanted it. He is very proud of his long hair and he doesn't want to change it in any way.

Do the SOCS fight with the Greasers?

The Socs and greasers fight because they are in opposite social classes. The Socs are rich, and the greasers are poor. They are caught up in a cycle of violence, and as long as they are fighting, one fight will result in retaliation which will cause another fight.

Did the SOCS smoke?

That is from Chapter two. greasers are the fast-side poor kids that are more savage than the Socs. On the other hand, Socs are the jet set, west-side rich kids who drink whisky and smoke steel tobacco.

What do Girl SOCS wear?

The girls the Greasers hang out with wear a lot of eye makeup. The Socs are the wealthier kids who wear their hair shorter and sport madras shirts or ski jackets. They wear more expensive clothes, like wine-colored sweaters, checked shirts, and tan-colored jackets.

Were there greasers in the 70s?

All over the nation, there was a mild revival of 1950's greaser culture in the 1970s. ... Complaints of property damage were most common, but some gangs openly boasted about the burglary jobs they had pulled and the fights they had won (mostly with other greaser gangs).

Why did the SOCS loved the Beatles?

The ugly, hard side of life didn't seem to touch the Beatles at all, and that was something the Socs admired, and wanted to emulate as much as possible. The Beatles were cool, aloof, and so sophisticated they seemed emotionless, and that is why the Socs were drawn to them.

What were the SOCS like?

Maybe we could lose our cool we could." The Socs (pronounced ˈsoʊʃɪz / so-shis, short form of Socials) are a group of rich teenagers who live on the west side, or the south side in the movie. They are the rivals to the Greasers, and were described as having 'money, cars, and futures', according to Ponyboy Curtis.

Why did greasers put grease in their hair?

The boys in The Outsiders wore long, greasy hair as a reflection of their rebellious natures and to brand themselves as "greasers"; this is the "trademark" and the "one thing [they] were proud of." Although the boys may not be able to afford the attire or lifestyle of the rich, their hair acts as an assertion of their ...

Why is Johnny the gang's pet?

Johnny Cade was considered the gang's "pet", because he is scared and quiet in most situations. Sodapop is the one that everyone in the gang can look up to because he is happy-go-lucky and easy to talk to.

Which Greaser was jumped and badly beaten up by the SOCS?

Ponyboy tells Cherry what happened to Johnny in chapter 2. It's a horrific and sobering flashback within a book that is already brutally honest about violence. Johnny was jumped by a group of Socs and beaten so badly that the Greasers thought that Johnny was dead.

What's the difference between a SOC and a greaser?

In The Outsiders, the greasers are poor, long-haired, teenage boys from the East Side whom society views as delinquents. In contrast, the Socs are affluent boys from the West Side who commit crimes but aren't seen as delinquents.

Do the Greasers and SOCS go to the same school?

One can assume that the high school in the novel The Outsiders was actually Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ... Throughout the novel, the reader learns that Ponyboy excels academically and even has the same classes as Socs.

Why did the SOCS jump Ponyboy?

Ponyboy is attacked because he is walking home from the movies alone. Ponyboy is attacked when walking home from the movies by the Socs because he is a greaser, and the two gangs are engaged in an ongoing retaliatory turfwar. He is vulnerable because he is alone. ... Socs and Greasers are constantly at battle.

Who is spying on the SOCS for the greasers?

That Cherry Valance is acting as a spy for the greasers shocks Ponyboy and Johnny, but then they learn that Bob, the dead Soc, had been her boyfriend. Dally informs them that Cherry has said that she is willing to testify that the Socs were drunk that night and that Johnny acted only in self-defense.

What does Cherry explain as the difference between greasers and SOCS?

Cherry tells Ponyboy that the Greasers have a different set of values and that Greasers are more emotional than the Socs. Cherry says the Socs are so cool and sophisticated that they feel nothing, and they don't mean half of what they say.

Do the SOCS drink?

Like the Greasers, the Socs are often fighting and drinking alcohol.

What does pony mean when he says he drinks Pepsi like a fiend?

To do anything like a "fiend" means to do this like an addict. Pony means that Pepsi is like a drug to which he is addicted, and he drinks it like an addict would use cocaine. Because Pepsi has both lots of sugar and caffeine in it, the drink would keep him hyped up with lots of excess energy.

What do you think Nothing Gold Can Stay means?

One line in the poem reads, “Nothing gold can stay,” meaning that all good things must come to an end. By the end of the novel, the boys apply this idea to youthful innocence, believing that they cannot remain forever unsullied by the harsh realities of life. Here, Johnny urges Ponyboy to remain gold, or innocent.

How does Johnny feel about killing Bob?

When he kills Bob, Johnny loses the look of a wild animal caught in a trap and instead he "looked as cool as Darry ever had." By killing Bob, Johnny takes control of his life in the only way that he thinks is possible.