5th hour Paragraph (copy and paste into Word)

5th hour Body Paragraph:

A person should get to know othes instead of stereotyping because judging others is hurtful to both sides. Stereotyping is judging people based on appearance, friends, background, and financial situation, regardless whether the information is true or false. Prejudging someone can hurt their reputation, keep one from getting to know others, and thus keep one from becoming friends with others. In The Outsiders, two feuding groups stereotype each other. The Socs, or stereotype each other. The Socs, or the rich kids, stereotype the Greasers as juvenile delinquents and good-for-nothing hoodlums. The Greasers, on the other hand, stereotype the Socs as spoiled brats who get everything they want and pick fights for fun. Ponyboy, who does not fit his Greaser stereotype, nevertheless judges all Socs as the same throughout the book. His feelings toward the Socs change when he talks to Randy , the “super-Soc,” at the Tasty Freeze. After Randy reveals the problems he and other Socs go through, Ponyboy “remembered Cherry’s voice: Things are rough all over. I knew then what she meant” (117). Ponyboy is recalling an earlier conversation with Cherry Valence, the beautiful, independent Soc. She and Randy teach Ponyboy that even those who seem to have it easy go through rough times. He begins to see that his stereotype of the Socs was wrong. Ponyboy starts to overcome his tendency to stereotyp when he sees Bob’s picture in the yearbook. Up to this point, Ponyboy “had not given Bob much thought,” because Ponyboy only thought of Bob as the horrible Soc who beat up Johnny and who Johnny killed to save him (140). Now, however, he starts to see Bob as a regular guy and even ponders, “What was he like?” (140). This is a maturing step for Ponyboy because he realizes that Bob is not that different from him, and therefore Ponyboy should have given Bob a chance as a person instead of just a Soc. Ponyboy learns that a person is an individual worthy of being known and should not be lumped together with a group.