Puifai

1103
8 January 2016
The Inexpressible Identity
When we were young, we never thought about having a sense of belonging to any
particular group. As time passed by, we grow up, we start to think that we should do
something to make people in our society accept us, or else others will view us as different and
not belong to the group. This illustrates the concept of conformity. Conformity is common
for many people today. Some people think that being a nonconformist makes them look
different from other people in the group, while others think that if they dont conform, it will
make them feel uncomfortable or insecure since they are not accepted by other members. In
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the characters represent people who conform to the society or
group by using many different ways which are physical description, object, and thoughts.
Sometimes, people conform to the group by changing physical appearance like the
Socs. The Greasers look at how the rich people dress and reflect themselves on how they
dress. One had on a white shirt and a madras ski jacket, and the other a light yellow shirt
and a wine-colored sweater. I looked at their clothes and realized for the first time that
evening that all I had was a pair of jeans and Soda's old navy sweat shirt with the sleeves cut
short. (Hinton, p.38). This shows that there are differences in physical appearance between
these two groups. Greasers dress like people in their group, which is different from how the
Socs do, showing that they conform to the group. Physical appearance, along with objects
which people possess can clearly indicate which group or society people belong to.
Objects can show conformity and that someone belongs to the group. In the story,
when the blue Mustang, which belongs to the Socs came, Ponyboy knew right away that they

are the Socs. The blue Mustang that had trailing us for eight blocks pulled in. I almost
decide to run. (Hinton, p.114). The blue Mustang, in this story, is known to be owned by the
Socs. This shows that object possession can clearly indicate the social group that one belongs
to. For example, people who have cars tend to be rich and will conform to the high social
status group. Objects that people own can show the social group they belong in. Because of
this, people often have thoughts of owning the objects as a way to conform to a group or
society.
Thoughts is one of the biggest factors that causes people to conform, which has a
great impact in the society. If people think that they want to belong to a group or society, they
are likely to do anything that will make them conform. For example, when Ponyboy thought
about the Socs, he said I really couldnt see what Socs would have sweat about - - - good
grades, good cars, good girls, madras and Mustangs and Conrvairs - - - Man, I thought, if I
had worries like that Id consider myself lucky (Hinton, p.36). The Greasers are viewed
inferior to the Socs toward the society since they have nothing that the Socs have. From
Ponyboys thought, as one of the Greasers, this reveals that Greasers are envious of the Socs
because they wanted to be viewed higher in society but realizing that they could never afford
all those things. Instead, they then conform into one another so they would feel proud of
themselves and not just their belonging.
Physical description, objects, and thoughts can show the conformity in the society.
The way the Socs and the Greasers dress seem to have a big contrast. The rich people seem to
wear nice and expensive clothes and people who dress like that are usually seen as rich. The
objects that the person own can show which group they belong to. Having the blue Mustang
show that they are the Socs because Greasers do not have these objects. Thoughts can affect
conformity to the society. Ponyboy's thoughts about the Socs made him want to conform by

possessing things that the Socs own because it can show which group he belongs to. From
this story, what best reflect this seems to be physical description, objects, and thought. These
three things show a person's status or group they belong to. Conformity gives a sense of
belonging to a society, and most people tend to conform in order to fit in. Even though
conformity make you lose yourself, though it could also build you a new identity that might
boost you up.