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Please note that “Socs” is pronounced “s-o-sh," which is short for "socials."

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is a coming-of-age story about class rivalry between two teenage gangs. The novel tells of the violence that ensues between the “Greasers,” who make up the lower-class gang and the “Socs,” their middle- and upper-class rivals. The boys suffer tragic consequences as they resort to violence; still their loyalty and kinship grow stronger. The novel is set in the early 1960s, in a fictional city loosely based on the author’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Financially and socially disadvantaged, the Greaser gang members are referred to as “hoods” or juvenile “delinquents.” They include the following characters:

- Ponyboy Curtis is the fourteen-year-old narrator of the novel, who loves reading books and watching movies. He lives with his older brothers Sodapop and Darry Curtis, as their parents have passed away in a car accident.

- Sodapop is a happy-go-lucky sixteen-year-old, always grinning and getting high on life while abstaining from drinking alcohol.

- Darry is the oldest Curtis brother, a roofer who takes care of both Ponyboy and Sodapop. Darry won an athletic scholarship which he had to give up because his family could still not afford to send him to college.

- Johnny Cade is a nervous sixteen-year-old who comes from a violent home; his friends treat him like a kid brother.

- Dally is the toughest of the gang. He is a jockey who rides horses, which the narrator tells us, is the only thing he does honestly. He is hardened by his fight for self-preservation. The others know they can count on Dally for help if they are in trouble.

- Two-Bit Mathews is a wise-cracking shop-lifter who carries a switchblade and enjoys both fighting and school.

- Steve Randle is Soda's best friend, whom Ponyboy dislikes.

The rival gang, the Socs, are richer kids from the West Side. They include the following members:

- Bob Sheldon—a bitter enemy of the Greasers who harasses them every chance he gets.

- Randy Adderson is Bob’s best friend.

- Cherry is Bob's girlfriend, whom Ponyboy enjoys getting to know despite their class differences.

One night at the drive-in theater, Ponyboy, Johnny, Two-Bit, and Dally meet Cherry and her friend Marcia. Ponyboy and Cherry enjoy watching the sunset together; it is a bond that crosses their social boundaries and links their worlds. On the walk home, Bob and Randy, the girls' Soc boyfriends, accost the group and then take the girls home.

Later that night, Ponyboy and Johnny accidentally fall asleep in their favorite vacant lot. Ponyboy runs home, but when Darry scolds and hits him for the first time, he goes back to find Johnny. Later, Ponyboy and Johnny are jumped by Bob, Randy, and other Soc gang members. During the fight, Johnny stabs and kills Bob to stop him from drowning Ponyboy in a fountain. Panicked, Ponyboy and Johnny find Dally, who they know will help them. Dally gives them some money, his jacket, and a gun and tells them to get on a train to Windrixville and hide out in a deserted church.

Ponyboy and Johnny stay at the church for nearly a week, cutting their long Greaser hair to disguise themselves and eating baloney. Dally meets them and takes them for burgers. Johnny decides to turn himself in, but when the three return to the church, they find it is on fire. A school group had been having a picnic there, and some children are trapped inside. Johnny and Ponyboy heroically save them, although one of the panicked children bites Ponyboy on the hand. A burning piece of timber hits Johnny in the back after Ponyboy jumps from a church window to safety.

Ponyboy and Dally go to the hospital, but because Ponyboy was wearing Darry’s jacket, he has only suffered a few burns and bruises. Soda and Darry arrive to pick him up. There they learn that Dally has a burned arm from his attempt to pull Johnny through the church window. Worst of all, Johnny is in critical condition with a back injury and third-degree burns. The boys leave Dally and Johnny at the hospital to recover.

The Greasers have planned a rumble against the Socs. Ponyboy feels sick but decides to go anyway. Dally escapes from the hospital to fight in the rumble, and the Greasers win

Dally takes Ponyboy back to the hospital to visit Johnny, who is dying. Before he dies, Johnny tells Ponyboy, "Stay gold”; he does not want him to lose his child-like innocence and become hardened like Dally. Dally, who loved Johnny especially, runs off, overcome with grief. Ponyboy feels even sicker, but goes home to tell the rest of the gang that Johnny is dead. Dally calls the Curtis house from a payphone to say that he has robbed a grocery store and the cops are chasing him.

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