Conflict between the Greasers ad Socs happen because of fights, rumbles and discrimination between social classes. There isn’t really any conflict between Ponyboy and Randy because they knew each other as soft, those who don’t really want to hurt others. Randy didn’t go to the rumble because he had enough of it, he was tired, and Ponyboy understood. Pg175 “He was just like the rest of the Socs. Cold- blooded mean.” Ponyboy knew that Randy was like him – not tough, but Ponyboy thought that Randy was cold-blooded mean afterwards because Randy kept on saying that Johnny killed Bob, when Pony was in the process of denial. Johnny killed Bob and that results to conflict between the other Socs who knew Bob, besides Cherry and Randy toward the Greasers, because Bob was their leader. Bob had jumped Johnny before and that had hurt Johnny so much that the gang had to protect him no matter what and that separated the Greasers and Socs even more.
Although there is conflict between the two social groups, there is conflict between the Greasers within themselves. Pony and Darry have conflict in a way that isn’t so obvious, but it exists. Pony thought that Darry didn’t like him, didn’t love him, because he always yelled at him to do this and to do that, but Darry did care and he did everything for Ponyboy’s own good. pg136 “You know, the only thing that keeps Darry from bein’ a Soc is us.” Ponyboy knew that Darry could easily be a Soc; he had all the qualities of a Soc, the only thing that stopped him from being a Soc was the gang. Between Dally and Ponyboy there is conflict in a way that Pony thinks that Dally is too real for him, too tough and hard. He doesn’t care and love anything. pg66 “The fight for self- preservation had hardened him beyond caring.” Darry couldn’t care; he had to protect himself from everything since he was little, so he had to be tough, and so nothing can hurt him. Conflict also exists between the Socs, Cherry questions Bob about his aimless life and why he always gets drunk.
Ponyboy has conflict within himself, he wants to make the track team again, but he slacks off toward the end. He likes to read and digs sunsets, he is gold. Pg189 “Like the way you dig sunsets. That’s gold.” Ponyboy has his dreams, he wants to do well in school, he wants to go to college, but he also wants to help Darry and Soda, because he has so many jobs and is too stressed. He does all this just to earn enough money to get Ponyboy to keep on getting an education. Cherry understands the difference between the Socs and the Greasers; she understands that not all Socs and Greasers are the same. The two groups are both people. Cherry also digs sunsets and that is gold like how Pony does. Pg139 “Can you see the sunset real good from the West-side?” She blinked, startled, then smiled. “Real good.” The sunset is the same on both sides. Both Cherry and Ponyboy share the same dreams and thoughts. Randy, himself being a Soc, is in conflict with himself, because he needs to act like a mean Soc, but the other part of him is tired of all this fighting and wants to stop and not continue this way. He tries to overcome this by running away before the rumble, but this comes to the conflict within himself. Randy starts to question whether there really needs to be a social divide between the Socs and the Greasers, if they’re both people, only that the Socs are richer. Darry could be a Soc if he really wanted to because he has all the qualities a Soc needs, but he has the gang and his two brothers. He needs to look after Ponyboy and Soda, so he had to drop out of school. Darry gave up being a Soc for Soda and Pony, but the conflict here is that Darry could always leave his family behind and become a Soc.
The forms of conflict shown in the Outsiders all don’t really exist, but the Socs and Greasers, are always going to have a line that separates them.
Cathy Cheng
