The Allure Of Gangs: A Comparative Analysis

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“Now in any social group whatsoever, even in a gang of thieves, we find some interest held in common, and we find a certain amount of interaction and cooperative intercourse with other groups. From these two traits we deprive a standard,” (John Dewey). In the Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, there are two social groups that share similar as well as different conflicts. The social group known as the Socs are well off and characterized as aristocracies. While on the other hand, the Greasers are considered as the common folk. Along with the Outsiders, articles such as “The Allure of Gangs”, “Alarming Number of Teenagers are Quitting School to Go to Work”, and “A Generation Struggling: Rich Kids are Losing” address the traits portrayed between the Socs …show more content…
In the article, “The Allure of Gangs” Socs and Greasers are part of gangs because, “Being in a gang may also satisfy their needs for attention and provide someone who will listen to and care about them,” (para. 3). This indicates that Socs and Greasers are alike because they both join gangs to be irresponsible but also to share feelings. Moreover, these two social groups are in hoods in order to not feel alienated. In the Outsiders, a Greaser named Johnny addresses his family problems to his hood while, Randy, a Soc, conveys his friend Bob’s family issues, ‘It ain’t the same as having your own folks to care about you,” (Hinton, 51), ‘They spoilt him rotten. I mean, most parents would be proud of a kid like that…but they never told him ‘No’,” (Hinton, 116). This proves that Socs and Greasers have similarities because they both encounter family problems. Even though, their problems are different they still end joining gangs for support. Not only are Socs and Greasers alike, they also have …show more content…
One example that states how low-income families, like Greasers, have to drop out of school, in order to keep their family above the poverty line is addressed in the article, “Alarming Number of Teenagers are Quitting School to Go to Work” it states, “The dropouts are not earning much. Six out of ten teenagers identified in the study earned less than ten-thousand dollars a year working in restaurants, on construction sites, cleaning buildings, among other things,” (para. 4). This comes to show that Greasers with financial issues have to quit school to earn money but still can’t stay too high off the poverty line. As a result, Greasers have to work harder than Socs. In the article, “A Generation Struggling: Rich kids are losing” Socs have difficulties with depression due to, “…the offspring of the affluent today are more distressed, more reactionary to problems, than the youth. High rates of substance abuse, anxiety, cheating, and stealing give a new meaning to ‘having it all’,” (para. 1). This illustrates that Socs have difficulty involving substance because they are a more privileged group. In addition, they use hard drugs more than the Greasers who are less well-funded. This acknowledges the difficulties Socs and Greasers are going