The Outsiders is a story about a feud between two groups in a town: the Greasers, the poor "tough guys" from the east side of town, and the Socials, or Socs, the richer group from the west side of town. The narrator of the story is Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old orphan who lives with his two older brothers, Soda and Darry. He is a good athlete and student, but is not treated the same as …showed first 75 words of 446 total…

…showed last 75 words of 446 total…Pony is scarred by what has happened, and convinces himself that he, not Johnny, killed the Soc. He is also afraid that Social Services will take him and Soda away from Darry and into a foster home. Nevertheless, he is acquitted in the Soc's murder and gets to stay with Darry. The events of the past still haunt him, and finally, as a project for English class, he writes down the story of what happened.