The Outsiders Group

Question:

maryo0om
maryo0om
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What is the difference between Tim Shepard's gang and Ponyboy's in "The Outsiders"?

Explain how they are different.

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Posted by maryo0om on Wednesday October 22, 2008 at 9:58 AM and tagged with characters, gangs, ponyboy, the outsiders, themes, tim shepard.

Answers:


  1. dymatsuoka

    eNotes Editor

    Tim Shepherd's group is an organized gang, while Ponyboy's is more like a group of guys who just hang out together.  Ponyboy explains the difference between the two, saying:

    "the difference between (Tim Shepherd's) gang and ours - they (have) a leader and (are) organized; we (are) just buddies who (stick) together - each man (is) his own leader".

    Tim Shepherd "enjoy(s) being a hood...the rest of his bunch (are) the same way...young hoods - who would grow up to be old hoods".  They consciously flout their identity as part of a gang, relishing fights and engaging in petty crime.  There is an edge to their personas, and they exist on the outside of accepted social norms.

    Ponyboy's gang is more like a family; they keep an open door policy and exist primarily as a means of support for each other when family life or other forces get rough.  It is true that the guys in the group like to fight as well, but for them it has as much to do with youthful energy as it does with rivalry with the other gangs.  The members of Ponyboy's gang follow strict codes of honor and fairness, but Darry, who is their unheralded leader, aspires to achieve better things for his life and the lives of his brothers.  As Ponyboy says, "He's better than the rest of us...he's going somewhere...and I was going to be like him...I wasn't going to live in a lousy neighborhood all my life" (Chapter 9).

     

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/outsiders
    http://www.enotes.com/outsiders/character-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/outsiders/themes

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    Posted by dymatsuoka on Wednesday October 22, 2008 at 10:30 AM

  2. trapper
    trapper Student
    High School - 10th Grade

    Tim Shepard's gang is richer than Pnyboy's gang.  Plus Ponyboy's gang is have a brotherly bond.

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    Posted by trapper on Wednesday October 22, 2008 at 12:24 PM