“Insanity among individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties and epochs, it is the rule” – Friedrich Nietzsche

          The most striking thing about The Outsiders may be the ubiquity and senselessness of the violence depicted in S.E. Hinton’s novel. In the first few chapters, our protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis, (who is not humored by quips about his first name) is nearly killed, witnesses one of his best friends morph into a murderer, and, finally, watches the friend who saved his life get killed. Why did all this violence have to happen? Well, the most facile explanation would be that Ponyboy and his fellow Greasers flirted with some girls that were involved with the Socs, but that’s a pretty unsophisticated and unsatisfying answer. The real question is: What turns flirtatious badinage into murderous intent? Surely, there are arguments to be made that S.E. Hinson is examining the (supposedly) inherent nature of violence and frustration among oppressed working-class folk – the same violence and frustration that occasionally breaks out at a Donald Trump rally — or that this murderous violence finds its genesis in unchecked sexual competition among adolescent males; or even that it’s about honor and sacrifice in the surrogate families known as gangs. All of these arguments are plausible. Heck, it might even be about the legacy of racial violence in the chivalrous South, (The book ,by the way, is set in the shadow/epoch of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, and “Gone with the Wind,” by Margaret Mitchell, plays a crucial role in the novel’s plot).

          Yet no matter which of these ex-post-facto rationalizations proves true, we do know one thing: The novel’s murderous insanity is exacerbated by herd dynamics/group psychosis. Indeed, at the end of Chapter Seven, Randy (a Socs’ ringleader) pulls Ponyboy aside for a heart-to-heart conversation; and, all the sudden, “he ain’t a Soc,” (118). Nope, as soon as you just have just two boys in a car, all the false bravado, machismo, and posturing slips away. Instead, you’re just left with two scared teenagers, and they aren’t so tough or different after all. Then again, maybe that conclusion shouldn’t be so shocking. After all, aren’t those the same dynamics – false bravado, machismo, and posturing — that exist between opposing sides on battlefields? Nobody wants to fight or die, and yet somehow it always seems to happen in a group setting. Thus, insanity among individuals is rare, but in groups it’s the rule – particularly in honor-based/chivalrous cultures.

2 responses to ““Insanity among individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties and epochs, it is the rule” – Friedrich Nietzsche”

  1. drenovales Avatar
    drenovales

    I think you bring up a really interesting point here in regards to the individual versus group dynamic. I think it is interesting that S.E. Hinton makes it a point to allow readers to get to know the characters both as individuals and as members of a group because it really speaks to influence that these groups (gangs) can have. In regards to the murder committed by Johnny, I agree that it goes beyond flirting with some “socs girls”, although I think the Donald Trump rally comparison may be a bit of a stretch. I agree that there are present day examples that could be applied or rather compared to the acts committed by the Socs and greasers, but I think that these examples may be in the continued gang violence that is occurring on a daily basis. While gang violence today may be twice as violent and gruesome as what is presented in this novel, there is definite influence of early twentieth century gangs that has carried over into the present, Overall, I think you pose some really interesting points and questions.

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  2. madisonmarcus Avatar
    madisonmarcus

    I think you’ve brought up some really interesting points! There’s even a term in psychology for the phenomenon you’re discussing – it’s called “groupthink”. The term was first coined in 1972 by Irving Janis and his theory of groupthink still remains today. It basically says that when individuals are in a group, they are more likely to make bad or irrational decisions because they are more prone to ignoring opposing opinions and dehumanizing groups that disagree with them. This can happen due to a desire for group cohesion and harmony.

    I would agree that this phenomenon of groupthink definitely applies to The Outsiders. When the greasers are all together, they seem to think differently than when they are separate. I think this is especially evident before their big rumble with the Soc’s when Ponyboy asks everyone in his gang why they like to fight. Two-Bit responds with “shoot, everybody fights.” Later, Ponyboy says “Two-Bit fought for conformity.” Two-Bit doesn’t really like fighting, he just feels like he should to maintain his group identity as a greaser.

    If you want to know more about groupthink, I found this article that summarizes a bunch of research on groupthink theory: http://liquidbriefing.com/twiki/pub/Dev/RefEsser1998/alive_and_well_after_25_years.pdf

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