There are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for “social”) has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude that shows they know it. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back.
Ponyboy is a greaser, and he’s proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers — until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy’s skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.
The characterization is very real and quite complex. Even though the greasers come from “the wrong side of the tracks”, they each have their strengths and their weaknesses. Some question their choices in life. Even some of the rich “socs” are shown in a humane light.
Author S. E. Hinton wrote the majority of this story when she was only 16-years-old. She obviously followed the “golden rule of writing” — write what you know and care about. Absolute gold, and a must read.