Kelsey Ragsdale
Juvenile Delinquency
Fall, 2010
Sociological Examination of The Outsiders
(Excerpt): In the movie The Outsiders, the main character PonyBoy observes how the youth of a town are split into conflicting groups- the Greasers and the Socs. The Greasers are the lower class, the poor kids from the wrong side of town; the designated Delinquents. The Socs, short for Socialites, are the rich kids from the south side of town, getting all the breaks and advantages, but doing a lot of the same things as the delinquents. They are different in much the same way that the Roughnecks and the Saints are different in Chambliss’s essay, but instead of committing separate criminal acts the Greasers and Socs main goal lies in fighting each other.
Juvenile delinquency, as defined by Fuller, means “a youth who’s behavior is marked by the violation of the law and antisocial behavior” (Fuller 2009: 205). Who society defines as a delinquent, however, can be much more biased. Greasers act and look different from traditional society, get in fights and carry blades, act tough, move in groups and generally have loud, aggressive demeanors. They smoke, drink, stay out late and go to parties. They are delinquent, by both Fuller’s standard and the standard of their society. The Socs get in fights and carry blades, act tough and travel in groups, and are seen in the film being inappropriate towards girls. They too smoke, drink, stay out late and go to parties. However, they are not labeled by their community as delinquents- what, then, separates these two? As stated in The Saints and the Roughnecks, “although [the Saints] actually engage in more delinquent acts than [the Roughnecks], the Saints are perceived as ‘good boys,’ merely engaging in typical adolescent hijinks. Because of their higher class background, their behavior is defined as socially normative…” (Chambliss). For the purpose of this essay, the Roughnecks can be interpreted as the Greasers, and the Saints the Socs. And in both cases, the difference in being seen as delinquent lay in their class status.
The culture of the poorer class in the town featured in The Outsiders produced children who were Greaser boys and Greaser girls. A gang of Greaser kids can be a family, banded together for belonging, protection and to combat the emotional and mental damage inflicted by the richer kids and perhaps absent/demanding/stressed/abusive parents. Not that all Greasers come from broken homes, but economic hardships cause familial conflict and damage children in multiple ways. In the film, Johnny’s parents were alternatively abusive and neglective, the Curtis brothers suffered family tension due to economic stress, and Dallas seemed to lack a family structure at all. The Greaser culture adapts to fill the needs of these underdogs, and then repeats itself in the community through circles of family and friends, since as stated by Sutherland in his theory of differential association, “crime is learned from others, especially close family members and delinquent peers” (Fuller 2009: 4). Crime acts as an extension of the Greaser image, and PonyBoy and his friends accept this as part of their identity and roles as Greasers.
Strain theory, “the personal strain and anger caused by being excluded from economic rewards,” (Fuller 2009: 114) explains some of the Greasers actions, specifically characters like Dally and Darry. Darry, still a young man, has to deal with stressors such as paying the rent, how to make sure there’s enough food for him and his two brothers, and being an older brother in the position of single parent. These stressors are also social barriers in addition to the problems he faces when trying to get a job. Dally, alternatively, has fallen head first in the criminal life of a Greaser, and reacts more violently to the strain of being targeted by authority figures and Socs, society’s judgmental stereotypes about being a criminal and a corrupted kid, most of which he lives up to. The other Greasers have stresses that fall between these two extremes of supporting a family and being alone, but all feel frustration at their inability to get what the Socs are given. In reaction they have rejected society’s goals, and in Merton’s “modes of adaptation” their behavior could be classified as “rebellion” (Fuller 2009: 116). They rejected both society’s goals and means to get them, and replaced them with goals and means of their own. Without the means to get what the Socs had, the focus instead shifted to who could be the toughest (and “tuff”est), strongest, win the most fights, be the least afraid of anything. These motives underlay most of the characters’ actions and identities as Greasers.
“It doesn't matter if you whip us, you'll still be where you were before, at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones at the top with all the breaks. It doesn't matter. Greasers will still be Greasers and Socs will still be Socs,” (The Outsiders). This statement, from a bitter Soc, exemplifies the way society thought about the Greasers in The Outsiders. It’s what Frank Tannenbaum coined as “labeling theory”, the processes of being labeled by society. They then internalized that label, influencing their perception of self and causing them to act in the way expected of them and commit secondary deviance (Fuller 2009: 127). PonyBoy had never done anything illegal, but people expected it of him due to his appearance as a Greaser. His friends, who also identified as Greasers, continued committing delinquent acts as it fit with their self identity. This behavior, when done by the Socs, goes largely ignored or excused, and therefore keeps them clean of the label of Deviant. “Behavior done by teenagers from upstanding, middle class families is tolerated, while similar behavior engaged in by lower class youth is reinforced as deviant” (Chambliss). …
(End Excerpt)
Bibliography
The Outsiders. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillion, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise and Diane Lane. Zoetrope Studios, 1983.
Madfis; 2010
Ferrel. “Culture, Crime and Cultural Criminology” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 3.2 (1995) 25-42.
Chambliss. “The Saints and the Roughnecks” Society V. 11 (1973) 169-182.
Fuller. Juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Boston: Pearson Education, 2009.
Juvenile Delinquency
Fall, 2010
Sociological Examination of The Outsiders
(Excerpt): In the movie The Outsiders, the main character PonyBoy observes how the youth of a town are split into conflicting groups- the Greasers and the Socs. The Greasers are the lower class, the poor kids from the wrong side of town; the designated Delinquents. The Socs, short for Socialites, are the rich kids from the south side of town, getting all the breaks and advantages, but doing a lot of the same things as the delinquents. They are different in much the same way that the Roughnecks and the Saints are different in Chambliss’s essay, but instead of committing separate criminal acts the Greasers and Socs main goal lies in fighting each other.
Juvenile delinquency, as defined by Fuller, means “a youth who’s behavior is marked by the violation of the law and antisocial behavior” (Fuller 2009: 205). Who society defines as a delinquent, however, can be much more biased. Greasers act and look different from traditional society, get in fights and carry blades, act tough, move in groups and generally have loud, aggressive demeanors. They smoke, drink, stay out late and go to parties. They are delinquent, by both Fuller’s standard and the standard of their society. The Socs get in fights and carry blades, act tough and travel in groups, and are seen in the film being inappropriate towards girls. They too smoke, drink, stay out late and go to parties. However, they are not labeled by their community as delinquents- what, then, separates these two? As stated in The Saints and the Roughnecks, “although [the Saints] actually engage in more delinquent acts than [the Roughnecks], the Saints are perceived as ‘good boys,’ merely engaging in typical adolescent hijinks. Because of their higher class background, their behavior is defined as socially normative…” (Chambliss). For the purpose of this essay, the Roughnecks can be interpreted as the Greasers, and the Saints the Socs. And in both cases, the difference in being seen as delinquent lay in their class status.
The culture of the poorer class in the town featured in The Outsiders produced children who were Greaser boys and Greaser girls. A gang of Greaser kids can be a family, banded together for belonging, protection and to combat the emotional and mental damage inflicted by the richer kids and perhaps absent/demanding/stressed/abusive parents. Not that all Greasers come from broken homes, but economic hardships cause familial conflict and damage children in multiple ways. In the film, Johnny’s parents were alternatively abusive and neglective, the Curtis brothers suffered family tension due to economic stress, and Dallas seemed to lack a family structure at all. The Greaser culture adapts to fill the needs of these underdogs, and then repeats itself in the community through circles of family and friends, since as stated by Sutherland in his theory of differential association, “crime is learned from others, especially close family members and delinquent peers” (Fuller 2009: 4). Crime acts as an extension of the Greaser image, and PonyBoy and his friends accept this as part of their identity and roles as Greasers.
Strain theory, “the personal strain and anger caused by being excluded from economic rewards,” (Fuller 2009: 114) explains some of the Greasers actions, specifically characters like Dally and Darry. Darry, still a young man, has to deal with stressors such as paying the rent, how to make sure there’s enough food for him and his two brothers, and being an older brother in the position of single parent. These stressors are also social barriers in addition to the problems he faces when trying to get a job. Dally, alternatively, has fallen head first in the criminal life of a Greaser, and reacts more violently to the strain of being targeted by authority figures and Socs, society’s judgmental stereotypes about being a criminal and a corrupted kid, most of which he lives up to. The other Greasers have stresses that fall between these two extremes of supporting a family and being alone, but all feel frustration at their inability to get what the Socs are given. In reaction they have rejected society’s goals, and in Merton’s “modes of adaptation” their behavior could be classified as “rebellion” (Fuller 2009: 116). They rejected both society’s goals and means to get them, and replaced them with goals and means of their own. Without the means to get what the Socs had, the focus instead shifted to who could be the toughest (and “tuff”est), strongest, win the most fights, be the least afraid of anything. These motives underlay most of the characters’ actions and identities as Greasers.
“It doesn't matter if you whip us, you'll still be where you were before, at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones at the top with all the breaks. It doesn't matter. Greasers will still be Greasers and Socs will still be Socs,” (The Outsiders). This statement, from a bitter Soc, exemplifies the way society thought about the Greasers in The Outsiders. It’s what Frank Tannenbaum coined as “labeling theory”, the processes of being labeled by society. They then internalized that label, influencing their perception of self and causing them to act in the way expected of them and commit secondary deviance (Fuller 2009: 127). PonyBoy had never done anything illegal, but people expected it of him due to his appearance as a Greaser. His friends, who also identified as Greasers, continued committing delinquent acts as it fit with their self identity. This behavior, when done by the Socs, goes largely ignored or excused, and therefore keeps them clean of the label of Deviant. “Behavior done by teenagers from upstanding, middle class families is tolerated, while similar behavior engaged in by lower class youth is reinforced as deviant” (Chambliss). …
(End Excerpt)
Bibliography
The Outsiders. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillion, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise and Diane Lane. Zoetrope Studios, 1983.
Madfis; 2010
Ferrel. “Culture, Crime and Cultural Criminology” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 3.2 (1995) 25-42.
Chambliss. “The Saints and the Roughnecks” Society V. 11 (1973) 169-182.
Fuller. Juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Boston: Pearson Education, 2009.
