Skip to main content

Why do the greasers and Socs fight in a vacant lot in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton?

The fight between the greasers and the Socs in the vacant lot is payback for Bob and Johnny. 


The greasers and Socs are always fighting each other. They are in different social classes, and their different gangs are based on using class differences and territories to target one another. Usually, this involves gang members fighting one or two at a time, but sometimes there are “rumbles” where larger numbers become involved. 


The big rumble...

The fight between the greasers and the Socs in the vacant lot is payback for Bob and Johnny. 


The greasers and Socs are always fighting each other. They are in different social classes, and their different gangs are based on using class differences and territories to target one another. Usually, this involves gang members fighting one or two at a time, but sometimes there are “rumbles” where larger numbers become involved. 


The big rumble at the end of the book comes about as a result of Bob and Randy's attack on Johnny, and Johnny killing Bob. Therefore, both gangs consider it an opportunity for payback. They both want revenge. The greasers blame Bob and Randy for attacking Johnny and Pony, which ultimately leads to Johnny's injuries from the church fire. The Socs blame Johnny for killing Bob. 



[The] big rumble was coming up and we would settle this Soc-greaser thing once and for all (Chapter 7).  



Both gangs meet at the vacant lot to fight. The greasers are assisted by Shepard's gang.  



They lined up silently, facing us, and we lined up facing them. I looked for Randy but didn't see him. I hoped he wasn't there. A guy with a madras shirt stepped up. "Let's get the rules straight—nothing but our fists, and the first to run lose. Right?" (Chapter 9)



Pony’s brothers do not want him to fight because he was hurt in the church fire. He is not a big fighter, but he wants to support his gang. Therefore, it is very important to him that he is there. He goes and survives. The greasers win, and Pony feels proud. Unfortunately, Johnny later dies of his injuries from the fire.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more